The Arms of Krupp

A truly historical book, The Arms of Krupp, written by William Manchester, relates the history of the Krupp family, the company owners of the largest gun factory in Germany. The book starts, of course, by relating the short story of the first Krupp who started his business around the 16th century and continues in a very accurate and well documented manner.

The book is thick, but not at all boring. For a history enthusiast, it's nothing short of a gold mine and for the average reader, a nice slide into the different eras of time, with very interesting and real life based captivating stories.

However much of a challenge it might seem to finish it in the beginning, do not be discouraged. The book is fascinating and unravels unknown facts as well as a lot of trivia about the history of guns in Europe as well as all the wars Germany (or better said, what we nowadays call Germany) was a part of.

The style of writing is good from the perspective of a very well done critical analysis. Although sometimes written in a humorous manner, one should not expect at all just a nice story, but rather a complete, fact based and detailed view of the historical happenings of more than five centuries.

The author always gives an opinion on the presented facts and encourages a certain course of thought but the reality is not at all distorted and the reader does not feel at all as though led by the hand to a certain conclusion.