The Cruise missile is one of the most deadly weapons deployed by Western powers, but this book reveals that the quest for unmanned flying bombs goes back to the beginning of the 20th century. This book tells the secret story of how nations raced with each other to produce effective unmanned guided missiles. As far back as WW1, the `aerial torpedo' was hailed as a game changer in warfare. In fact, the original concept of using an automatic pilot was developed by Sir Hiram Maxim, inventor of the machine gun!