Tommy Gun : How General Thompson's Submachine Gun Wrote History

by Yenne, Bill

• ISBN13: 9780312383268
• ISBN10: 0312383266
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-10-13
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Summary

The Trench Broom. The Annihilator. The Persuader. The Chopper. The Chicago Typewriter. The Tommy Gun. The Thompson submachine gun has gone by many names, and for nearly a century the gun's image has been indelibly marked on the popular consciousness. In this broad-reaching cultural and military history, Bill Yenne charts the tommy gun's unpredictable and one-of-a-kind career, from its infamy in the hands of Al Capone and the Chicago mobsters, to its shady days with the IRA, to its indelible place in the arsenal of World War II, and its truly immortal and ongoing role in Hollywood. The tommy gun is without a doubt the most famous, and the most infamous, American firearm of the twentieth century. Since its birth in the aftermath of World War I, the tommy gun has enjoyed a varied career on both sides of the law. Though General John T. Thompson invented it for the American military, it first found notoriety thanks to its part in events such at St. Valentine's Day Massacre. But when the United States entered World War II, the gun's true power as an essential, life-saving weapon made it an iconic weapon of the American GI. Full of incredible stories from the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific, America's gangland, and Hollywood studio back lots, Bill Yenne's Tommy Gun is the definitive story of this unique American icon.

Author Biography

BILL YENNE is the author of more than two dozen books on military and historical topics, including Superfortress: The B-29 and American Airpower in World War II written with the legendary Air Force commander, General Curtis E. LeMay. He lives in San Francisco, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction: An American Icon	p. 1
Men and Arms
Necessity	p. 11
Inventors	p. 15
Invention	p. 25
War and Prototypes	p. 37
Marketers	p. 45
Bandits and Criminals
In the Shadows	p. 57
In the Headlines	p. 65
Valentine's Day	p. 74
Send In the Marines	p. 79
Send Them In with the M1928	p. 83
Public Enemies	p. 88
Wheelers and Dealers
Deaths in the Family	p. 105
The More Things Changed	p. 109
In the Movies	p. 117
Dark Angel	p. 122
Roller Coaster from Hell	p. 127
Cash and Carry	p. 132
Serious Business	p. 138
Guns and Glory
I Could Do with Some Machine Guns, Too	p. 143
Guns for Armies	p. 147
Americans at War	p. 153
Send Them In with an M1A1	p. 157
Britain Stands Alone	p. 165
Digging In Their Heels	p. 170
Giving Il Duce His Due	p. 180
The Setting Sun	p. 199
Burp Guns, Stens, and Other People's Submachine Guns	p. 206
A Chronometer to a Dollar Watch	p. 212
Kicking Down the Doors of the Reich	p. 217
War Movies	p. 236
Blood, Sweat, Tears, and Steel	p. 240
Living Legend
Swords into Consumer Products	p. 245
A Million Tommy Guns	p. 250
Where's My Tommy Gun?	p. 254
The Idea That Would Not Die	p. 259
No Room for Thompsons?	p. 268
Where's My Company?	p. 274
Not Fade Away	p. 279
Thunder on the Back Lot	p. 288
Epilogue: Still Kicking	p. 303
Acknowledgments	p. 317
Thompson Submachine Guns Produced Before World War II	p. 319
Thompson Submachine Guns Produced During World War II	p. 320
Basic Specifications	p. 322
Bibliography	p. 325
Index	p. 329
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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