Instruments of War: Weapons and Technologies That Have Changed History. By Spencer C. Tucker. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2015. 428 p. Acid free. $89.00. (ISBN 978-1-4408-3654-1). E-Book available (978-1-4408-3655-8), call for pricing.

Experienced reference librarians will immediately recognize the byline of Spencer Tucker, one of our nation’s preeminent military historians. Having written or edited more than fifty books covering numerous aspects of this subject, his name on the cover may well be considered an imprimatur of authority and solid scholarship.

This latest tome from his prolific pen is essentially a catalog of weapons in all their deadly and destructive variety. Entries are encyclopedic in nature, giving the researcher a concise yet informative snapshot of the who, what, where, when, and why of everything from the aircraft of World War I to the Yamato-class battleships of the Japanese Navy. Interestingly, Tucker has opted for a chronological arrangement, which has the advantage of showing how weapons have evolved over time. Therefore handheld items such as the club, spear, sword, etc., make up the initial articles, giving way to those regarding mechanical means (crossbow, catapult), through chemical (poison gas), electronic (sonar, radar) and so on, up to the ultimate destructive force of nuclear fission/fusion (atomic and hydrogen bombs, respectively). Tucker discusses the impetus for creating this listing in his Introduction, noting that “Weapons can have a profound impact on society” (xxi), as when the invention of gunpowder spelled the end of the knight and his age of chivalry.

Ever the thoughtful sort, Tucker has provided the reader with a dual table of contents. The first lists the 270 entries chronologically, as they appear in the text, while the next provides the same articles listed alphabetically. The volume is well illustrated with black and white photographs and contains twenty-five sidebar articles that provide additional details, such as how individual weapons altered the strategy and tactics of warfare.

While one might be inclined to think that such a volume as this would make for dreary reading, what with its emphasis on new and better ways of killing off one’s fellow man, it should be noted that several of the entries concern life-saving technologies adapted for civilian use (penicillin, helmet) or have otherwise made our lives more productive and convenient (telephone, global positioning system).

Overall, this work represents an interesting and informative compendium supported by impeccable scholarship by an acknowledged master of the topic. Therefore this volume is strongly recommended for purchase by all public and academic libraries.—Michael F. Bemis, Independent Reference Book Reviewer