Matt Schroeder is the Manager of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). Since joining FAS in February 2002, he has researched and written on U.S. arms transfers, arms export policies, and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. Col Dan Smith (ret.) retired from the US army in 1992 and is currently Senior Fellow, Military and Peaceful Prevention Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Visit his blog at http://quakerscolonel.blogspot.com. Rachel Stohl is Senior Analyst at the Center for Defense Information in Washington, DC, and is chairperson of the Small Arms Working Group. Richard Aspel is a talented narrator of children's and adult audiobooks. He trained and worked in London, before returning to Australia where he has worked extensively in television, theatre and radio. His television credits include Neighbours and Carson's Law, and he provided various voices for The Silver Brumby animated series. Richard was nominated for the prestigious Audie Award (US) for his narration of The Mark of the Angel by Nancy Huston.
A Beginner's Guide is much too modest a title. This uniquely valuable book combines historical depth, contemporary insights, scholarly analysis and prudent advocacy to make it far more than a primer for the untutored. -- Joe Smaldone - Former Chief, Weapons and Technology Control Division, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, U.S. State Department; and Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University Schroeder, Smith and Stohl have produced what will surely become an indispensable reference for any reader interested in the nature and consequences of the trade in small arms and the policies needed to effectively deal with the lethal consequences of such trade. -- Moises Naim - Editor of Foreign Policy magazine and author of Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers and copycats are hijacking the global economy. As an introductory text, this book certainly makes an admirable effort, as it is engaging, accessible and almost exclusively empirical in its approach. -- Journal of Peace Research