The Dum-Dum Bullet

Maartje Abbenhuis is Professor in Modern History in the School of Humanities at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland. She is the author of several critically acclaimed books and co-author of Global War, Global Catastrophe, which won the 2022 Tomlinson Prize.

• Acknowledgements; 1. The dum-dum bullet in history; 2. Angels of death: the violence of Minié bullets in the 1850s and 1860s; 3. A question of life itself: exploding projectiles and the St Petersburg Declaration of 1868; 4. Unseen death: 'Man-stopping' bullets and everyday violence before 1890; 5. Bullets that do not kill: Explaining the dum-dum 'hysteria' of the 1890s; 6. For every atrocity, a dum-dum, 1900–1950; Epilogue: the dum-dum bullet's enduring fascination; Bibliography; Index.

'This is a fascinating story of transgression and technology. Recounting the social processes through which weapons shift from the mundane to the taboo, Abbenhuis offers a comprehensive history of the dum-dum bullet. This is a sophisticated cultural analysis of a simple and mundane socio-technical system. With so little academic attention paid to the evolution of ammunition, it is a reminder to scholars that what is overlooked often has a rich and world-changing story. Heartily recommended.' Matthew Ford, author of Weapon of Choice