'A fascinating study of the centrality of militarism in 18th-century British life, and how imperial expansion and arms went hand in hand...This book is a triumph.' * The Guardian * 'A fascinating and important glimpse into how violence fueled the industrial revolution, Priya Satia's book stuns with deep scholarship and sparkling prose.' -- Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies Satia's detailed retelling of the Industrial Revolution and Britain's relentless empire expansion notably contradicts simple free market narratives. . . . She argues convincingly that the expansion of the armaments industry and the government's role in it is inseparable from the rise of innumerable associated industries from finance to mining. . . . Fascinating. * The New York Times * Satia marshals an overwhelming amount of evidence to show, comprehensively, that guns had a place at the center of every conventional tale historians have so far told about the origins of the modern, industrialized world. . . . Spanning four continents and three centuries, tackling the fundamental nature of industrialization and capitalism, Empire of Guns belongs to the last decade's resurgence in so-called 'big history'. . . . Though not presented as a political book, the implications of Satia's work are difficult to ignore. . . . This book leaves us with the disquieting notion that guns--whether the slow and inaccurate weapons of the eighteenth century or today's models--do more than alternately cloak or explore human inclination towards violence. They also shape it--not just at the individual level, as we are accustomed to debating, but at the societal, even civilizational or global, level as well. 'As we make objects, they make us. * The New Republic * 'A richly researched and probing historical narrative that challenges our understanding of the engines that drove Britain's industrial revolution. With this book, Priya Satia... affirms her place as a deeply captivating and thought-provoking historian.' -- Caroline Elkins, Pulitzer Prize winner for Imperial Reckoning 'An important revisionist account of the industrial revolution... a revelatory book.' -- Sven Beckert, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Empire of Cotton