The modern machine-gun has had as dramatic an impact on the battlefield as did the initial introduction of gunpowder into the world of clubs and spears.  In short, the development and introduction on the modern battlefield of automatic weapons has transformed warfare.  The book, The Complete Machine-Gun: 1885 to the Present, is a comprehensive and fully illustrated account of the development of the modern machine-gun.  It reviews the various principles on which the guns operate and evaluates the qualities of the individual weapons.  This story begins with the early mechanical guns, follows through the Maxim and the subsequent automatic guns right up to the mighty Vulcan cannon of the 1960s that applied the older principles of the Gatling gun to a modern cannon.  "The Complete Machine-Gun: 1885 to the Present" expertly covers the complete history of these vital weapons and the ingenuity of their design.  The major sections of this book are as follows: 1) Automatic Machine-Guns: For Maximum Killing Power; 2) The First World War: The Lighter Machine-Gun; 3) Between the Wars: Ready for a New Round with the following sections - a) Czech machine-guns - arming the world, b) Britain - the immortal Bren, c) Germany - the general purpose machine-gun, d) Russia - replacements for the Maxim, e) Japan - sticking with the Hotchkiss and f) The United States - Brownings all the way; 4) Aircraft Machine-Guns; 5) The second World War - Quantity not Quality; 6) Post-War Developments - Back to Basics; 7) Machine-Gun Data Table; 8) Delivering a Hail of Fire; 9) Trench-Brooms and Bullet-Squirters; 10) 'The Rattle of a Thompson Gun'; 11) The Shooting Starts with sections including a) The Sten - Crude But Deadly and c) Australia's own firepower for jungle fighting; 12) Looking for a War to Fight & The end of the Submachine-Gun? Enter the Assault Riffle; 13) Sub-Machine Data Table and 14) Artwork Index.  In addition to an informative narrative, this book features the following: 1) Approximately 76 black and white vintage photographs; 2) 6 color photographs; 3) About 68 black and white illustrations and 4) Approximately 139 color illustrations.  This book is 128 pages and is in excellent condition.  the author is Ian V. Hogg with John Batchelor (illustrations).  Edition published in 1979.