"Vietnam, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Somalia ... More soldiers and civilians have died from land mines and other 'conventional' antipersonnel weapons than from any other type of modern armament. Yet outside defence circles little is known about them. This book is the unique story of the development and widespread proliferation of antipersonnel weapons since World War II. As the author persuasively argues, there is no hope of mitigating the sufferings of war so long as the world refuses to face the moral and practical problems posed by these weapons."--Jacket.