The earliest documented case of a military using a longarm, or rifle, dates back to Christopher Columbus and the Spanish conquests, according to a new book out by Alexander Rose. Back then, Columbus brought with him only one “hand cannon”, a weapons only good for a few dozen yards, barely the short length of a swimming pool.

Unless you’re a gun enthusiast, you may not think that a historical biography of the American rifle would be a very interesting read. However, Rose finds a way to make history fun, digging up facts like the earliest portrait of George Washington and his request that his rifle be subtly added to the picture. Back in the 1700s, very few people carried rifles at all and Washington saw it as a status symbol, but didn’t want to be overly flamboyant in its inclusion.

It actually took a long time for the American military to accept the rifle as an accepted tool of war. Because of the inaccuracy of the weapon, many Soldiers preferred to fight with swords and others objects of iron. Combat was fought with cannons and hand to hand combat and some pistol muskets. By the time of the American Revolution, few people had even seen the long barrelled rifles. In fact, they did more damage to morale than they did to flesh in those days.

Rose does an outstanding job at telling the story of the American Rifle in a way that anyone of any age would get excited about reading. Even being the fan of history that I am, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to reading the entire book and writing a review about it. In reality, I often forgot I was even reading a biography about an inanimate object at all! In a sense, the rifles become a cast of characters in a very interesting documentary that is narrated by Rose’s dedicated sense of competence and love for the subject.

I can’t think of any other book that has covered this topic and been engrossing at the same time. Rose brings the reader through the entire gamut of American hunting and military rifles from the old Kentucky rifle to my favorite rifle, the HK 416 (which SHOULD be a staple of our military inventory if only politics didn’t get involved). Expertly footnoted and well organized, “American Rifle: A Biography” is a must have book for any gun collector or admirer of firearms and history. Fully loaded [pun intended], this is a book the NRA would use as its sole textbook at Hunters University!

But the book tells more than just the history of a piece of iron that shoots fireballs of death. It’s a history of the very country that perfected it as an art form. Filled with historical photos and illustrations, even your 12-year old cousin will want to pick it up.