Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. John Browning most definitely was the most influential gun inventor in America. He was responible for bring about the Browning Automatic Rifle, the BAR, and the Browning Hi-Power 9mm semi-automatic pistol. All of that does not mean his life was all that interesting. He most certainly was a genius and quite possible a savant in his way of imagining how a mechanism could and should work. His story is interesting as it describes how a gun is brought to the public but the telling of that story can get a bit dry.

I enjoyed learning about John Moses Browning, I think it was a fascinating story and I enjoyed reading about it. The author was able to keep me invested and I enjoyed going on this journey.

My thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for an advanced copy of this new biography.

The Guns of John Moses Browning: The Remarkable Story of the Inventor Whose Firearms Changed the World by Nathan Gorenstein is a new biography about the gunsmith and inventor whose creations have influenced history and politics for most of this century.

The book is extremely well written and researched with many facts and stories being published here for the first time. Starting as a young man working on repairing weapons for settlers in his father's foundry, to becoming one of the preeminent weapon designers of his day, feted by those in now, but who remained out of the spotlight, even as his weapons were changing borders and history.

What Mr. Gorenstein captures so well is not just the creativity, that Mr. Browning had, but the ability to look at something go hmm I can do better and work until he could make something more efficient.

Also this is a history of the weapons industry, explaining the various companies not just in the United States but in Europe where Mr. Browning made some his most well known weapons, and a few enemies. Mr. Gorenstein explains patent laws and court battles as well as he explains the workings and intricacies of a Browning Automatic Rifle.

An absorbing history, well researched and again well written, about a man that remained private, even as he was changing the world. I can't wait for Mr. Gorenstein's next book.

A succinct and well-written history. I enjoyed the author's writing style as he told the history of the life of Browning. Engaging historica.l details. I highly recommend this non fiction book to historical buffs.

Wow! This is not my usual genre of books, but I have to say this was an interesting, well written, biography of a man who was brilliant.
He learned at a very early age how to create, fix and revamp rifles.
The Browning rife is his invention and one that is still used today.
In fact, my husband has this rifle and he uses it for hunting and loves it!
I learned a lot about this amazing man and time when he lived and how he survived!
This novel is told in amazing detail and very easy to follow even for people like myself who had no idea about guns in general!

Remarkable Biography Of One Of The Most Influential Men Of The 20th Century. In this, the first biography of John Moses Browning ever written by anyone other than a descendant (and only the second ever written, period), Gorenstein does a truly remarkable job of showing the life, times, and inventions of a man who could arguably be said to be more actually influential on the 20th century than even Thomas Edison or Henry Ford. Yes, Edison revolutionized how we are able to see and gave us the truly 24/7 world, and Ford revolutionized both transportation and manufacturing more generally, but Browning revolutionized how we *kill things* - animal or human - and that alone has driven many of the most important issues of the 20th century. It was Browning's early rifles that may not have won the West - but certainly made it even easier to live there. It was Browning's (then-Colt) 1911 that is *to this day* one of the most popular types of pistol in the world, over a century after Browning won the competition for the US Army's new service pistol (a contract it would keep for over 70 years and through both World Wars, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam War). Indeed, that very model - the Colt 1911 - played a legendary part of the lore of one Lieutenant George S Patton and the first motorized military raid in the 1916-17 Punitive Expedition. In WWII, many infantry units - very likely including both of my grandfathers' own units - carried up to four different Browning guns into battle, between his 1911, his Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), and his "Ma Deuce" Browing M2 .50 caliber machine gun.

And Gorenstein does a phenomenal job of showing the development and importance of each, including Browning designing the gas-piston system of modern automatic and semi-automatic rifles *in a single day*. Gorenstein shows how Browning, of truly humble beginnings, designed his first gun from scraps laying around his dad's engineering and repair shop - just to hunt small game to help feed the family. Gorenstein shows how these humble beginnings played such a role in Browning not even really beginning to invent until at or beyond the age when others in more academic professions say genius decays - and how this "lost decade" played such a role in Browning's later drive and inventiveness.

It doesn't matter what you think of how Browning's designs and their derivatives over the last 100+ years have been used. You know about Edison, or can. You know about Ford, or can. You deserve to educate yourself about this genius as well, if only to learn the lessons of his genius. And this book is the very first time you really can. Very much recommended.

Absolutely fascinating, non-fiction book about John Moses Browning and his inventions. Written so that someone not familiar with guns would enjoy this book.

John Moses Browning built his first gun at the age of 13 using miscellaneous scrap pieces from his fathers gun shop; he and his brother brought home three birds for supper with the first shot. He wanted to go to school to become an inventor. :) John Moses Browning was able to engineer and design in 3D in his brain; so incredible.

Colt, Winchester, FN, many gun manufacturers made guns designed by Browning. His mind was constantly creating and inventing.

Over two dozens of patents have been issued in his name and/or his brothers name (his partner). Guns that he had designed were manufactured for decades after his death.

So very glad that I had the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher (Scribner) and the author Nathan Gorenstein for the opportunity to read and review the advance read copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is scheduled for May 25, 2021.

It makes me a little sad that many people won't bother with this fabulous book because it is about guns. It would surprise most that at one time Browning took his guns to Washington DC and 300 people including Congress and Senators fired them and were praising him. If you take the time to read the book, you will find the story of a man that was a prolific inventor. Browning rivaled Tesla in the number of patents he held. This is a well researched biography citing all sources for the information. The explanations of his inventions are simply written for "gun people" but for those who aren't, you will find explanations and descriptions that are easily understandable. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to voluntarily give my honest review of #TheGunsofJohnMosesBrowning.

I am grateful to Scribner for providing me with an ARC of "The Guns of John Moses Browning," written by Nathan Gorenstein. It was a truly delightful read. It is well documented, well written, and provides an excellent introduction to the world of modern armaments. John Browning is easily the most significant and prolific genius of firearms design of the last two centuries. Coming from a modest background in antebellum America and with very little formal education, John Browning became the leading light of modern firearms design. Most people have heard of Samuel Colt and his famous revolvers rooted in clever marketing against the backdrop of American expansionism during the nineteenth century, but how many realize the significance of the many weapons designed by John Browning? Before reading (and enjoying) this book. I thought I had a pretty good background on the history of twentieth century firearms; I was wrong. Whether you are looking at assault rifles, shotguns, automatic pistols or machine guns, Browning's genius provided a starting point for many, if not most, of the significant developments in weapons design in the modern epoch. Much more than a biography, this text is a carefully contextualized study of Browning's contributions to the science of firearm design and gunmaking. I was amazed at how much I didn't know before reading this book, particularly about the social, cultural and political consequences of Browning's genius for firearms design. The author is at pains to point out how Browning's accomplishments and influence are easily a match for such luminaries (no pun intended) as Henry Ford or Thomas Edison. All this may sound rather technical and tedious; in the deft hands of this writer, it becomes fascinating and enlightening. Anyone trying to understand the origins of modern culture, both American and international, would do well to read this book. My congratulations to the author on his achievement!