From publisher description: Although little used during the American Civil War--the time in which it was invented--the Gatling gun soon changed the nature of warfare and the course of history. Discharging 200 shots per minute with alarming accuracy, the world's first machine gun became vitally important to protecting and expanding America's overseas interests. Its inventor, Richard Gatling, was famous in his own time for creating and improving many industrial designs, from bicycles and steamship propellers to flush toilets. Gatling actually proposed his gun as a way of saving lives, thinking it would decrease the size of armies. Cultural critic Julia Keller's account of the invention, its misunderstood creator, and its tremendous impact on world events also shows how its combination of ingenuity, idealism, and destructive power, perfectly exemplified the paradox of America's rise as a world superpower.