BOWIE: The Man, The Blade, The Method

In a nation that has designed and created many of the world's scientific and sophisticated mechanisms of war, the Bowie knife will always be regarded as the quintessential American weapon. Despite the home-grown provenance of such modern engines of destruction as the H-Bomb, ICBMs, and unmanned drones, the centuries-old Bowie knife typifies America's warrior ethic. In the fierce and formidable blade of the Bowie knife is captured the merging of civilized society with the wild frontier, and of the westward march of history that drew many of us here in the first place. The Bowie knife represented the way early 19th century Americans thought of themselves: simple and uncomplicated, yet rugged, hard working, self-sufficient, and capable of overcoming any obstacles that stood to hinder or hamper their essential individualism. And while it may at times seem that some 21st century Americans have lost those attributes, this modest work was written with the rest in mind.