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Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, And Pyrotechnics: The History Of The Explosive That Changed The World

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Gunpowder is the sort of history book that should be written more often: it shows the larger history of the world through the story of one small, but highly important, component. In this case that component is, of course, gunpowder. Jack Kelly traces the history of this material from China through the Middle East into Europe and the rest of the world. Kelly explains the different ways in which gunpowder changed the course of events. He gives vignettes of battles like Crecy and the Siege of Petersburg to illustrate the important role gunpowder weapons played. Along the way he drops fascinating little nuggets of material, like the real reason Joan of Arc was a success, that are intriguing enough to encourage further study.

Kelly is not a professional historian but a novelist, and his writing flows smoothly. He does not bother with footnotes, but he does provide a good summary of his sources (which are excellent) at the end. This is a book which will be well worth the reading and many subsequent rereadings.

The story of gunpowder is odd enough - initally made from dove droppings by the Chinese, it is the only explosive ever concocted by mixing entirely natural materials. And when it's described by such compelling writing, an irresistible book results. Kelly charts the migration of the stuff across the globe over centuries. His explanation of its chemistry is fascinating and clear, his description of its devastating effects in war horrifyingly real. The wealth of peculiar details the author weaves into his narrative will entice even those who may think initially that they have little interest in the subject. This book shows what a talented writer can do when he is deeply interested in his subject.A really great book!

I've been a great fan of Jack Kelly's for some time, having read all of his riveting "noir" novels. He now changes hats and delves into historical narrative with the astounding new book, "Gunpowder".
I'm not a huge consumer of historical non-fiction, but this book is a real page turner. Kelly obviously has a knack for bringing out the drama inherent in history.
I was astounded by the immense role gunpowder has played in the outcome of history, from the rise of the European nation-state, to the very map of the world as we know it today.
"Gunpowder" offers a fasinating take on the past thousand years of human history and the monumental influence one particular technology has had upon it.

"Better living through chemistry" was the motto of the Du Pont Corporation. Actually, it would have been more accurate to have said "Better killing through chemistry." Du Pont was at the apex in the history of gunpowder, getting out of the outdated business only in 1971, but by then gunpowder had over ten centuries of effects on history. In _Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World_ (Basic Books), Jack Kelly has tied the explosive chemical not only to changes in war and international history, but has explained its effect on the inchoate sciences of chemistry and physics. Kelly more often writes as a novelist, but here shows an impressive range of facts laid out with a novelist's eye to entertainment.

It is well known that the Chinese invented gunpowder (a combination of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter), but it is not true that the Chinese were happy to use gunpowder for fireworks and never used it in war. They had incendiaries and primitive guns. The gun was originally viewed as the weapon of cowards. That anyone could use a gun, and that the results of such use were distant and consisted generally of random havoc rather than, say, a well-placed slice from a sword, took some of the valor out of fighting. By the sixteenth century, cannons had developed into forms that would still be used in the American Civil War. There was little scientific input into making either gunpowder or guns; it was, rather, the work of craftsmen who were the earliest engineers. The craftsmen had to put up with an inherently dangerous arena. Not only were accidental explosions common, but barrels inevitably exploded. Gunpowder burns at hundreds of degrees hotter than the melting point of iron, and every shot eroded the barrel.

There is a good deal of military history here, naturally, and lots about the effects of gunpowder or lack thereof on such wars as the American Revolution or the Civil War. Gunpowder had other effects, societal ones, changing the importance of class. Kelly writes that since it enabled commoners to hold in their hands a new form of lethal power, gunpowder was "...among the elements that fertilized the long slow growth of feelings of rights and entitlements that would blossom into democracy." It also inspired physics. Studying the trajectory of cannonballs, Galileo was able to overthrow the classical physical theories of Aristotle. Newton, building on this, performed the famous thought experiment of firing a cannonball harder and harder from a mountain, hard enough eventually that the ball would only fall in maintaining an orbit around the earth; from there it was but a jump to celestial motions. Eventually, gunpowder was surpassed by better chemicals; investigations into nitroglycerin and dynamite in the 19th century brought better-burning, safer means of shooting guns and cannons. "Black powder" is now the name given to the gunpowder which is the subject of this interesting and wide-ranging history. It is still manufactured, much going to the army of hobbyists and historical reenactors. The greatest market, however, merely shows that things have not changed too much. We take the same delight in fireworks as the Chinese did a thousand years ago, and use the same gunpowder for the charge.

Kelly starts with the invention of gun powder in China and goes through 1900. I found the book very enlightening, as well as a fun read. Kelly describes how powder was originally invented by Chinese alchemists, use by the Chinese to fight off the Mongols, adaptation by European powers, the parallel development of guns and cannons, and societal effects like ending the age of castles and spurring the development of chemistry. The chapter on the Duponts was interesting. Highly recommended.