Reddit reviews Kalashnikov: The Arms and the Man

Let's pick this apart (And mods, please forgive me, I don't have access to my AK books right now, but I'll give solid online sources where called for and reference several good print sources) claim by claim.

Hugo Schmeisser was a German small arms designer who among other things, designed the StG 44 which is where things start getting weird.

Without a doubt, the StG 44 was the first successful "assault rifle" ever fielded by a military. In the original term, assault rifle meant a rifle of intermediate power (more powerful than a handgun such as 9mm or .45ACP, but less powerful than the military rifle rounds of the day like .30-06 or 8mm Mauser) and select fire (capable of both full and semi automatic fire). The StG has several features that the AK 47 has, including being operated by a gas piston, and a forward pistol grip.

It is well established that Mikhail Kalashnikov was at first a self taught engineer, and then later received training in the Soviet railroad shops. He is the sort of man with a natural mechanical bent, and was fortunate enough to receive formal training.

As a trained mechanic, Kalashnikov was assigned to a tank squadron when drafted in 1938. His small size and mechanical skill made him well suited for the job. He was no uneducated peasant commanding a T-34. He was a state trained mechanic and soldier. The story of his stay in a hospital after being wounded in combat, and hearing other soldiers complain of Soviet small arms of the time (Mosin Nagant rifle, SVT 40 rifle, PPSH submachine gun, TT-33 and Nagant revolvers being the most common) and his inspiration to develop a better rifle is fairly well known, and does not bear much need for repeating at this point.

Kalashnikov's initial idea for a submachine gun, while not accepted was good enough to get him assigned to the Central Scientific-developmental Firing Range for Rifle Firearms of the Chief Artillery Directorate of the Red Army. There, he designed a rifle around the 7.62x39mm cartridge which evolved from Suadev's 7.62x41, which in turn was inspired by German work along the same lines. Simonov's semi automatic SKS rifle was adopted in 1944. Several other designers, including Kalashnikov, Sudayev, and Tokarev were all developing assault rifles which took heavy inspiration from the StG 44.

Kalashnikov's design ultimately drew from several successful firearms designs. The rotating bolt is similar to the M1 Garand, the overall form factor of the weapon derives from the StG 44, the safety lever/selector switch is very similar to that of the Remington Model 8 (which was also marketed in Europe by Browning), and the removable magazines are ribbed much like the StG magazines.

In short, the AK 47 was perhaps the ultimate refinement of a lot of ideas bouncing around a world riddled by warfare. The genius of Kalashnikov was not so much in any of the ideas of the weapon, but rather in how he put it all together, and strived to simplify the device. Since 1947, the weapon has undergone several other refinements, such as a switch from a milled steel receiver to a stamped steel one in the 1950's.

So the claim that Kalashnikov designing the AK 47 being propaganda? Hogwash. There are tons of records from the Soviet archives, and countless numbers of various weapons of the era in private hands and museums, and the good General Kalashnikov is fortunately still alive to give his story. (he is a fascinating man, and has a very interesting philosophy, it's worth reading some of his interviews)

I hope this helps, I've sourced some links and information that will help you better understand the history of the AK 47 if you wish. For personal experience, I've got an entire Romanian AK 47 kit sitting near me, made from a destroyed Romanian Civil Guard rifle, which I plan to rebuild soon as a legal rifle. Formerly I've owned other AK pattern rifles, and have had the pleasure of handling many others.

In no particular order...
AK 47's and prototypes

The dreaded wikipedia on Kalashnikov It's actually very well written, having read several primary sources on Kalashnikov and his work, I can attest to this being a good quick way to get a feel for the work he did.

Interview with General Kalashnikov

The AK-47 and AK74 Kalashnikov Rifles and Their Variations

The Gun that Changed the World by Mikhail Kalashnikov with Andrew Brown and Elana Joly

Kalashnikov: The Arms and the Man

Legends and Reality of the AK I had a copy of this until water damage destroyed it. The other books I have read myself and they all agree on the major points of development and history of the AK 47

EDIT: Words and links

Apart from the coffee-table part, could anyone compare this to Ezell's "Kalashnikov: The Arms and the Man" (and for that matter, Ezell's original and the expanded collector's edition published after he passed away)?


Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Kalashnikov-Arms-Edward-Clinton-Ezell/dp/0889352674
https://www.amazon.com/AK47-Story-Evolution-Kalashnikov-Weapons/dp/0811722473/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1540313532&sr=1-9