5 comments about Jane's Guns Recognition Guide 4e (Jane's Guns Recognition Guide).

1. I have a very consistent library on weapons.
   This book is a useful quick reference source.



2. FIRST THOUGHTS:
   
   I decided to read this volume to distract myself while chaperoning my spouse and youngster during a sultry day at Six Flags theme park. After about 30 minutes I realized that the book had to be put away as I found people passing by me either gave me a thumbs-up or a head shaking frown. Can I be sure it was the book? ANSWER AFTER THE REVIEW!
   
   ABOUT THE BOOK: LOOKS LIKE A J.C. PENNEY CATALOG FOR GUNS WITH EDITING ERRORS
   
   ORGANIZATION OF "JANE'S GUNS RECOGNITION GUIDE:
   
   GUN TYPES - PISTOLS, REVOLVERS, SUBMACHINE GUNS,BOLT ACTION RIFLES, AUTOMATIC RIFLES, SHOTGUNS, MACHINE GUNS;
   
   -* MFG. INDEX, BRAND NAME INDEX - Pages 419-464
   
   Within each gun-type, aphabetical organization by country is used. Essentially, 1 gun gets 1 page with a color photo and also includes a short blurb about the piece and a blue-outlined section at the bottom titled, "SPECIFICATIONS & OPERATIONS".
   
   WHAT IT IS: A BASIC COMPREHENSIVE IDENTIFICATION GUIDE
   
   There are a lot of guns in this neatly organized reference, but it provides minimal info per gun. Essentially, one can quickly and reliably identify most any piece that may be encountered in the world today or during most of the twentieth century. Having said that, if you are looking for ballistic information you will have to look elsewhere.
   
   SO WAS IT THE BOOK OR MY DEODORANT?
   
   Having moved away from the foot traffic to sit in the shade, after becoming a little self-conscious of the unwanted attention I seemed to be getting, a woman, about 30 or so, who had been waiting in line to get a tattoo-like rub-on, was staring at me and moving toward me. "You must be a gun dealer?" She stated rather proudly. I replied, "No -- actually I am an anti-gun activist." She looked me over, now, as if expecting to see what was wrong with me that she had missed the first time and walked away without speaking again.



3. Very imformative and up to date, with relevant facts and a summary for each weapon. On the negative side though, there are WAY to many grammatical errors, it was as if the author could'nt speak English. But since grammar is not important in this type of book it is negligible. In terms of selection of firearms virtually every mass-produced firearm after 1940 is included; the only I can recall thats not in the book is the Walther P99.



4. This addition of Jane's Guns Recognition guide deserves both praise and criticism. It covers a magnificent spectum of weapons from all over the world, but stops short of including new weapons, has inaccurate details (the caliber of several weapons is completely wrong).

   If you have a working knowledge of firearms already, don't waste your time. If you are just getting started, it might be worth you while.




5. I got the first edition and was very disapointed. Didnt even come close to what would expected from a Janes Book.

4 comments about Handloader's Digest: The World's Greatest Handloading Book (Handloader's Digest).

1. As with any book, it depends on what you're looking for as to whether it is relevant to you. This one has a catalog of parts and suppliers in the back. It also contains useful tables of data such as cartridge case capacities and the like. In the front, there are several good articles, my favorite of which is an investigation of which handloading techniques bear the most fruit in accuracy. This article and the data tables alone made the purchase worthwhile to me. This book won't teach you how to handload although you will learn some useful knowledge about handloading from it and of course it contains some reference data (not load data though).
   
   If you are looking for a book to teach you handloading, I would recommend two books: The ABC's of Reloading and Lyman's 48th Edition Reloading Handbook. Lyman's has load data, The ABC's does not.



2. This is a very thorough, well-written book. Full of worthwhile information.



3. The book is more of a sales catalog then a handloading digest. A lot of the information is from the product sheets you would receive if you purchased the products. Little is provided on actual reloading technique. It would be better to borrow a copy or find one at a library. After you peruse it once you will not need it again.



4. This is a good introduction to the world of reloading. Being new, I can't tell what other important facts it's missing yet, but it is a good introduction to the basic concepts. I can't picture myself referring back to this book very often, so it might be better to look to your local library or find a friend that has one lying around. The authors gives a lot of historical data of how reloading progressed, which is unnecessary, but could be interesting to some.

3 comments about Arrowheads and Spear Points in the Prehistoric Southeast: A Guide to Understanding Cultural Aritifacts.

1. This is a very helpful reference book to Indian Points. This is a detailed work on how the points were made, what designs were from what region, and dating. This book is recomended for beginners and the experienced collector and a good companion book to "Overstreets Indian Projectile Point Price Guide".



2. People who only want to collect artifacts might not like this book since it is not a complete identification guide and does not put monetary values on projectile points. However, if you wish to learn the basic information about what scientific archaeologists have discovered this is a well-written introduction.



3. This is a very short read. Not including the preface, introduction and appendices in the back (most of which is a list of museums in various states with collections or information you can look at), the content of the book barely takes up 59 pages. And the information is very, very general. She describes the major periods of North American Indian occupation from Paleo to Archaic, Mississipian, Woodland, etc. Each description takes up about 5-8 pages and includes hand-drawn images of a few projectile points, pottery styles, drills, or axe heads associated with that time frame. Frankly, I found the information to be at the level of a freshman 100 level Archaeology research paper. It's good information for a beginner level but hardly worth paying full book price for. It could benefit from maps showing locations of known archaeological sites representative of the times discussed, sketches of dig sites that might show how burial sites were arranged, housing styles and locations and discuss one or two major archaelogical digs for each time period. As it is, I found the information too general and would suggest that someone interested check out your local library for a book that provides more information (and is free). Or continue your search on Amazon!

3 comments about Silent But Deadly: More Homemade Silencers From Hayduke The Master.

1. I purchased this book along with the other title (The Hayduke Silencer book), but I was very disappointed because both book did not offer any information more than what ordinary people already know about silencers. Half of the book talks about BATF forms. However, ATF website actually provides much better information than this book. From the quality perspective, the pictures are not clear, very premitive, and to some extent irrelevant. In my mind, internet has proved to be rich in content than this book. Silent But Deadly: More Homemade Silencers From Hayduke The Master



2. This book just passes as average or an OK guide.
   If you are after exact dimensions & quality drawings dont buy this book.The author will have you trying to fit a 1/4 inch dowel into a .22cal bore to align washers, wipes etc.(page 61)
   The bulk of the designs in this book are for small bore cans that wont last more than a full clip from a .22cal pistol.
   The book is written with a 50:50 signal to noise ratio , it does have some good ideas,constrction material & general info on how to build your own disposable or quality reusable suppressors ,unfortunately you have to wade through a lot of carp to get it.
   If you listened at school or have any sort of technical or practicle experience with firearms & basic engineering practices you could probably do better with another book on cans.
   Basic design & construction of cans is freely available on the net , in text's .pdf's or at the US patent office , the latter is a place even the author suggests you check out for information.



3. It's hard to find a good resource book these days. If you want to learn how to make silencers for hunting and just for fun, read this book. It has instructions on how to make from the simplest to the most complex silencer. I give it 5 stars, and it well deserves it.

5 comments about The World of Beretta: An International Legend.

1. I bought the book hoping it would allow me to learn more about several older Beretta shotguns I own. Other than a table on dates of manufacture in the index, that used to be avilable on line for free, there was very little usable detailed information.



2. R.L. Wilson has assembled a handsome, well-researched volume on the world's oldest and most respected maker of firearms, Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta. Beretta stands out for its superb Italian craftsmanship, durable quality and design. Beretta's reputation has earned it respect and Beretta supplies the standard sidearm of the U.S. Armed Forces, which is the 9mm M9. Too me there are few things that surpass the exquisite aesthetic appeal of the Beretta pistol, except maybe a beautiful blue-eyed blonde. I'm a Beretta owner, and it's often to be expected that a man claims his possession to be best, but when I'm in the market for another gun, I'm not getting a Smith & Wesson or a Ruger, I'm getting another Beretta. These guns are tried and true. So, whether you're a collector of these fine firearms or just an admirer, I wholeheartedly recommend this informative, illustrated and history-filled volume on Beretta firearms. Some other reviewer scoffed that this is book is merely an effort to create "a mystique and romance" about Beretta, but Beretta has earned this after nearly 500 years. Wilson just captures the essence of the "mystique." Sure this book is a coffee table tome, but it is beautifully illustrated and fun to read and skim through! I give it 4.5/5.0 stars.



3. If you love all things Beretta, then you will appreciate this superb book. Wilson magically transports you through 475 years of history to Gardone, Val Trompia, Northern Italy, by way of some of the most delightful examples of the perfect blending of walnut, metal and handcrafted artistry.



4. I had hoped this book would provide some useful information on older SO shotguns. The book devotes lots of pages to the subject, but it seems that almost all of the information is available through the old catalogs that are downloadable from Beretta.com. There seemed to be an effort by Wilson and Beard to build more romance and mystique into the Beretta brand, hey guys that's what Beretta has a marketing department for!

   This is a beautiful book for the coffee table but if your looking for a book with useful data then keep searching.




5. It's beautifully illustrated and he relates many interesting and deliteful anocdotes about the Beretta family. Less attention is paid to the technical side, I do agree that Beretta firearms are uniformly of a high quality but Wilson's appaissels are uniformly glowing, fail to acknowledge some shortcomings (as gangarosa did) and are technically no more informative than the catalogs (which he excerpts from often). I read this book after reading Gene Gangarosa's Modern Beretta Firearms (which I also reviewed) and it compliments many of the shortcomings of the Gangarosa book. There is much more focus on their shotguns and sporting rifles. Unlike Gangarosa's book where Berettas are often talked about in relation to other inovations in firearms. Wilson's book is narrowly focused in talking only about Beretta products.

   The worst part about this book is when he talks about James Bond. It sounds like such a sales pitch because while he mentions that James Bond originally had a Beretta .25ACP pocket pistol he doesn't tell us what model (Model 418 which is out of production, perhaps the company wanted us to buy one of their fine current production pocket pistols?) and remarks that in the first movie Dr. No he had to replace it with "a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol." Like he couldn't possibly say another companies name (he even gets it wrong, Bond had a Walther PPK in .32ACP). There are other technical innacuracies. Your best option as a fan is to buy both Wilson's (the human side and colourful history) and Gangarosa's (the more technical and firearms hobbiest oriented) book. This one is well written and might have been the definitive beretta book if Wilson had Gangarosa's in depth knowledge.

   Why is this book the more sales pitch and coffee table-like book? It would seem that that would more likely describe the Gangarosa book because it was published by Stoeger (which is owned under Beretta holdings). I would read another Gangarosa book because he writes more generally of firearms history, hobby, and innovation but Wilson's book is of interest only to the fan.

5 comments about Military Small Arms of the 20th Century.

1. There must be millions of readers out there who don't really care about guns, per se, but run into various types of weaponry when reading historical or crime fiction.
   I know a little about guns -- grew up in a southern family, first .22 rifle when I was 13 years old, etc. -- but when I'm reading a World War I novel and the hero pulls out a huge Austro-Hungarian Empire military revolver, I may be a little lost.
   Hogg's book fulfills a useful function for those who want to doublecheck and see what some weapon in a story actually looks like.
   (Oh, so that's how a Webley Fosberry automatic revolver worked, huh?)
   (A DeLisle carbine is a silenced Enfield rifle in .45 caliber? What the heck would that look like?)
   Gun nuts (like me) can get a little picky about details in far-ranging reference books. But if you're starting from scratch, books like this are invaluable.



2. I have had this book for a number of years and, although the research is excellent, it does indeed have substantial typo's and reference errors as if the material was compiled by a staff editor who knows nothing about firearms and has not taken the trouble to make simple corrections. Many firearms are omitted and some included, however revolutionary and ground-breaking they are not always representative of the whole. Furthermore, the entire category of combat shotguns has not even been addressed but anti-materiel rifles have, which are undeniably interesting but only a small part of the whole. The organization is good as are the photographs but I would have made a number of editing corrections as a previous reviewer has noted (I have written in the corrections in my own volume). I rely upon this volume for information but often double check the facts through other sources as the glaring errors reduces my confidence in this as a comprehensive reference. As a reference book writer myself, I have written to the publisher offering to edit an 8th edition should such a thing be in the works but of course there is no profit margin for a slightly corrected version of a popular volume. My edition is so heavily thumbed and used that I will likely acquire another and not balk at the price but would gladly pay more for an accurate reference.



3. Actually I was being lenient with 3 stars... It is an incomplete work with HUGE gaps on vital basics, leaving out prominent manufacturers and models manufactured, and above all, grossly wrong on stats on some items. Mr Hogg needs to do a lot of further work before he can claim it to be a quality reference work of note.



4. This book lives up to its name. It provides an overview of the 20th Century. Lots of photos for reference. Exactly what I thought it would be.



5. This is truly the first and last book when it comes to 20th century small arms. Ian Hogg does it again as he categorizes weapons by type then country. Every gun is included from WWI to 1990.

   This book is black and white but the photos are good, and he has some for some very rare guns.

   Each gun is accompanied by a photo and a chart laying out the facts. Each gun also contains a few paragraphs of history and review as to how it should be placed in history. For example the MG42 is rightfully hailed as the best machine gun of WWII, while the M16 is ridiculed as reason we lost Vietnam.

   I'm read a lot of gun books and this one is the best because of Hogg's writing, and the fact that it is the most comprehensive I've ever seen. He doesn't just include his favorite guns but every gun ever used in 20th century combat.

   The HK G11 cover is also impressive.

4 comments about Official Soviet Mosin-Nagant Rifle Manual: Operating Instructions for the Model 1891/30 Rifle and Model 1938 and Model 1944 Carbines Originally Issued by the Ministry of Defense of the U.S.S.R..

1. This book is essential for anyone who owns a M44 type, Mosin Nagant rifle.
   It is easy to read and has some very detailed schematics. There is also some information that was supplied to Russian soldiers that show how to fight with the bayonet, etc. There is even a section showing how to shoot down enemy aircraft. Overall, it was well worth the money.



2. This is a must have book for every one that owns a Mosin Nagant rifle.
   This is a fantastic manual that includes instructions for every aspect of the Mosin Nagant. Take down & assembly, maintenance, cleaning, inspection, troubleshooting and even shooting & sniper tactics.



3. Major James F. Gebhardt has done a great service for all of us who own samples of the Soviet Mosin-Nagant Infantry Rifle. He's translated a Soviet manual published in Russian in 1961.
   
   This manual concentrates on the operation and maintence of the three most commonly encountered versions of the Mosin-Nagant rifle, the M 91-30, the M-38 and the M-44. These remained in reserve for the Red Army and Warsaw Pact armies until the fall of the Soviet Union.
   
   The original Mosin Nagant was adopted by Imperial Russia in 1891. The Soviets improved the sights and shortened the barrel in 1930 (hence M 91-30) and this is the rifle so prominently featured in the movie ENEMY AT THE GATES (in a scoped sniper version, that is.) The 91-30 is a real piece of history and this manual is very helpful for any shooter or collector.
   
   The M-38 is a short, carbine length version of the M 91-30. It is interesting that the M-38 was not equipped to mount a bayonet despite the Red Army's long association with bayonets. The M-38 was designed primarily for cavalry (horse cavalry) and Red Army cavalrymen all carried sabers eliminating the need for a bayonet.
   
   The M 44 is an M-38 equipped with a folding bayonet permanently attached to barrel. This was developed to meet frontline demands for something that was handier (shorter) for soldiers who increasingly rode on tanks and trucks instead of horses. The longer 91-30s, which were usually carried with the antique looking angular bayonets fixed, were too long for soldiers who spent most of their time riding on tanks or Lend-Lease Studebaker 2.5 ton trucks. The M-44 had the reliability of the familiar M 91-30 and the 44's bayonet could be pivoted so that it rode out of the way next to the barrel.
   
   The old 91-30 bayonets could be difficult to dismount and the Red Army never issued scabbards for them. To keep the soldiers from losing them, or throwing them away, a lot of officers insisted that they be mounted all the time which is not much of a problem if you're marching on foot through open country.
   
   It can be a real headache if you're getting in and out of trucks, or off the rear decks of tanks, however. And, by 1944, most Red Army soldiers rode on some sort of motorized transport. This was a rude suprise to the Wehrmacht and a justification for the M-44 which served during the Red Army's advance into Germany during 1944-45.
   
   This manual would be a great companion to Terence W. Lapin's excellent book, THE MOSIN-NAGANT RIFLE. I gave it five stars.
   
   It is interesting that Lapin translated a 1955 edition of this same Soviet manual and published his version in 1999. The material is the same except that Lapin adds some useful comments of his own.



4. 
   For those of you who have bought a Mosin and want to learn more about maintainence and troubleshooting.

5 comments about Hayduke Silencer Book.

1. The book was written in 1989 and has about 70 pages. I read each page and unfortunately, this book does not offer any information more that you can find on the internet. In fact, I found more data, figures, pictures, and relevant information on the internet than this book. The pictures are very crude, badly printed, has no clarity, and no science behind it at all. It was a bit disappointing for me.Hayduke Silencer Book



2. I bought this book for fun. i wondered how silencers and and if the ones in the movies would work. After looking through this book i had a better understanding. this book is more of how to build one and not big on explaining how they work.



3. It's hard to imagine how this book got in to print: poorly written, poorly researched, poorly presented. It fails to provide any insight in to the principles behind suppressor design and manufacture, contains no information about gunsmith practices for mounting a silencer, and has just enough print to escape classification as a picture book.
   
   Save your money and time. Buy anything but a Hayduke book.



4. Hayduke rides again!
   The Edward Abbey frictional character has a number of books under this guise, This is one of those little gems of his. However, all the plans are simplistic. And most are for the .22 rifle or pistol. I wanted to see plans with washers and welding, but alas, they where not here. If you sat down and wrote 5 ways to suppress the sound of a gun, it would be in this small book.

   A fun book to read, and educational. Please do remember that even the assembly of the parts in preparation to build a suppressor is a federal offense, don't do it without ATF permission (and paying the...tax of course!).




5. Practical designs and advice on silencers. The pop bottle model works like a champ and can be built in 15 min..

No comments about Jane's Guns Recognition Guide 5e (Jane's Guns Recognition Guide).

No comments about Firearms: The Life Story of a Technology.