Part one: The industrial life of guns. The state and the gun industry, part I: 1688-1756 ; Who made guns? ; The state and the gun industry, part II: 1756-1815 ; The state, war, and industrial revolution
Part two: The social life of guns. Interlude: A brief lesson from African history ; Guns and money ; Guns in arms, part I: Home ; Guns in arms, part II: Abroad
Part three: The moral life of guns. Interlude: A brief account of the Society of Friends ; Galton's disownment ; The gun trade after 1815 ; Opposition to the gun trade after 1815.