{"product_id":"the-gun-that-changed-the-elena-joly-9780745636924","title":"The Gun That Changed the World","description":"The Russian word that is most frequently spoken throughout the world isn't Lenin, gulag or perestroika, it's 'Kalashnikov'. The reason for this is simple: there are 80 million Kalashnikovs in circulation on five continents. Once invented, the AK-47 assault rifle became the most widely used weapon in the world: from Vietnam to Palestine, from Cuba to Iraq, it was at the heart of conflicts and struggles everywhere. It is the only firearm that has ever been depicted on a national flag - that of Mozambique, where it symbolizes liberation. \u003cp\u003eMikhail Kalashnikov himself, who was born in 1919, here tells his life story, with the help of Elena Joly, for the first time: his deportation to Siberia with his family while still a child; his time as a soldier in a tank regiment; his invention of the world's most famous weapon and his turbulent life under Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev and Yeltsin. This is a remarkable portrait of a man of ingenuity and vitality in the context of the often frightening and terribly unforgiving Russia of the twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mikhail Kalashnikov\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0745636926\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780745636924\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Polity Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/27\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.63lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.26h x 5.50w x 0.65d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eScitech Book News\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2007 pg. 180","brand":"Mikhail Kalashnikov","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43993990201599,"sku":"9780745636924","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_b49561bf-0e12-4a16-adbd-f70ec5e010d5.jpg?v=1683327476","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-gun-that-changed-the-elena-joly-9780745636924","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}