5 comments about Classic M1 Garand: An Ongoing Legacy For Shooters And Collectors.

1. These books are way better than Canfield's, and
   have way less errors. And they include the Italian
   rifles and the ones a guy is likely to actually GET,
   too, and in MUCH MORE detail.



2. These are the best of the M1 books, the easiest to read and
   understand, with the detail laid out in a way that anybody can
   understand. And the guns he shows look like the real thing.

   The notes on the gun confiscation movement and local politics bring this World War II veteran rifle into modern context, and make it very obvious what the motiviations of the antigunners really are.

   Scholarly without being pretentious, I found myself absorbing techniques and information without even noticing it.
   And I did most of his maintenance stuff, and it all worked. With the trouble shooting information in Thompson's other book, THE COMPLETE M1 GARAND, the books have saved me thousands of dollars and lots of hours.

   He goes beyond other researchers, who seem to dig up all their stuff at the armories, the factories, and from dry delivery records, and who pay no attention to the reports of veterans and actual units in the field. This makes his work very practical. He also puts holes in some of the "stand operating b.s." and lies of the past, which someone out there is surely going to find troubling, but what he says, I found out, works, makes sense, and is the truth. He has spent a lot of time getting this stuff from gunsmiths and armorers, and a lot of it I had heard previously but discarded because it wasn't in the dry books of other authors. It seems he is right on virtually every score, and much of the "official" stuff is smokescreen. My gunsmith (who built M1's during World War II, and wound up carrying one in Korea) loves the M1, and says Thompson obviously listened to "the right guys"... He also affirms Thompson's data and analysis of the gas traps and their performance, and that everything else in the book is obviously the way it really was.




3. The COMPLETE M1 GARAND and THE CLASSIC M1 GARAND are a pair of the most practical and straightforward firearms books I have ever read or seen. Most important, they saved me money, trouble, and thumbs. This writer does not fool around! Rather than elaborate charts of which 99% are useless to the typical gunnie, this guy gets to the meat, and in a hurry. And yet, the material is easy to handle.

   He even covers and shows fake and real and rare and common parts, the way they ACTUALLY look, instead of all fancified and restored. I had lots of trouble with other books, where the parts arrays were new or better-than-new, and didn't seem even similar to mine.

   I invested, I think, %45.00 in these books. Dollarwise, I have saved maybe $2000 or more, and a lot of problems. This guy knows the gun, knows the market, knows the parts, and tells you what you need to know, in practical, plain English, not mumbo-jumbo garbage.

   I got all the M1 books. This one is the easiest to use, and makes more sense than all the others together.




4. While the M1 Garand is certainly a classic american rifle this book hardly rates in the same catagory.

   As a new M1 owner I was looking for a book full of technical information on operation and maintenance along with some history. This book is short on all of the above but very long on attitude. Mr. Thompson makes his opinions clear on everything from his local police department to the general state of world affairs. I do not dispute the validity, or factuality, of Mr. Thompsons statements. I would be more than willing to sit down and discuss them. I do not, however, enjoy spending my hard earned money on a book entitled "The Classic M1 Garand" which is overly rife with page upon page of geo-political posturing.

   The book is actually pretty scant on technical data and most of the photos are too dark and unfocused to be of any real value. This book is simply too full of useless information. I had intended to purchase Mr. Thompsons previous book, The Complete M1 Garand. Since I don't believe in throwing good money after bad I think I'll pass.

   I suggest that you do the same.




5. Between the covers of "The Classic M1 Garand" by Jim Thompson, lies the intertwined stories of many whose lives have been touched by the legacy of this beautiful rifle. The opening pages tell the sensitive, true story of two men touched by time and linked by family, who had lived through two different wars. They grew to discover another thing which they had in common was their respect for the M1 Garand, a weapon that for each of them served to retain the memories of a time and place too horrible to remember...... and too much a part of what they were as men, to forget.
   I am not a gun collector or a shooter. I am merely a woman who has had the incredible luck to browse through this excellently composed book which is full of history. The descriptions of the birth and re birth of the M1 are perfect in their detail and interesting in that the author weaves anecdotes and personal stories into the factual data. This is a wonderful way to keep the reader's attention riveted. It is apparant that this weapon has been around the world in it's various incarnations, each of them given ample space for photographs and exacting descriptions. And , speaking of photographs, this book is full of them. Many more so than I would have thought to find. There are photos of the various parts, markings and accessories to the gun and many pictures dedicated to the beauty of the rifle itself. Believe me, it is a wonderful machine with it's clean lines and spare design. Gorgeous wood and shining metal. This M1 Garand is a beautiful piece of art. It is no wonder that the M1 Garand is sought after by collectors the world over! The author, Jim Thompson, is credited with several of the photographs and appears in some as well. He is as capable an artist with the camera as he is with the pen. I enjoyed reading and looking through "The Classic M1 Garand", and will keep it visible to all who come to my home. It has become my newest and most treasured coffee table book. Thank you Mr. Thompson. Please write more books......for a long time to come.

2 comments about Jim Carmichel's Book of the Rifle.

1. I like the author's writing style and his ability to tell storys. This makes this book a very enjoyable reading.
   
   This book covers a wide selection of topics that I find to be very useful. It tends to be quite heavy on varimint rifles though; this is fine with me.
   
   Some area of this book are kind of overlapping with his another (older) book called "Modern Rifles". If you have to choose between these two books, you may want to choose this book.



2. Chapters: Those twisting grooves called rifling, Building today's sporting rifle, Today's rifles-how good?, Rifle stock-more than a handle, Custom rifle stock, Triggering a revolution, Rifle ammo(past & present), Understanding ballistics, Lessons in trajectory, Wind-the shooter's challenge, Bullet performance on game, Varmint rifles-the super accurate hunters, Rifles for Africa's dangerous game, All-purpose rifle-hits & myths, Rifle sight-past & present, Telescopic sight, How to sight-in a rifle & have in stay that way, Teaching yourself to be a crackshot, The accuracy game, Is handloading for you?, and The ageless .22 rimfire.

4 comments about The New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths.

1. This is an excellent book for the novice and high-end collector alike. If you own, study or are interested in the Japanese Sword, then you must add this volume to your library. This is about the lives and work of 20 top swordsmiths of Japan, their craft, methods,insights and open discussions about shinsakuto, the modern day Japanese Sword, forged only in the rigid standards of the old school smiths.



2. This book interviews twenty blade smiths and also has interviews with polishers, too!
   
   The reader will be enriched by the thoughts and experiences of these craftsmen and gain a greater appreciation for their craft.
   
   This is a great reference book for anyone studying or even remotely interested in modern Nihon-to and classical Nihon-to.



3. This book is going to be one of those books that will become legendary in the nihonto world. A very facinating look into todays up and coming smiths, their work, and where they see the future of the sword is going. An absolute must for the library, and an excellent resource for nihonto collectors!



4. An excellant companion book to any study of mondern Nihon-to and classical Nihon-to. Detailed descriptions of swords, and great biographical material on the smiths. The son of Yoshihara Yohindo, who wrote "The Craft of the Japanese Sword", is among those interviewed. He has become a respected & licensed smith since his father's book was published in 1985.

   I own this book. One of the 1st bought when i started my studies of Nihon-to.

No comments about The World Encyclopedia of Pistols, Revolvers & Submachine Guns: An Illustrated Historical Reference To Over 500 Military, Law Enforcement And Antique Firearms ... From Around The World (World Encyclopedia).

4 comments about Action Shooting: Cowboy Style : An In-Depth Look at America's Hottest New Shooting Game.

1. While this book may not address the exact how-to's of CAS (cowboy action shooting) as much as some other titles, that in no way takes away from the value of the book. This book is a goldmine of information about single action pistols of all kinds. It also reviews the roots of CAS as well as clothing, gear, leather, loads and reloading components. This has become one of my very favorite books, and I find myself re-reading it about once a year. Taffin writes in an honest, straightforward style that makes the reader feel that they are having an informal conversation with a trusted friend. Even if you only have an interest in old west guns, and don't even shoot CAS, this book will be an excellent addition to your library. I consider this Taffin's masterwork, and it will be very difficult for any writer to ever top it.



2. ...then this is the book for you. If you actually want to learn anything about cowboy shooting beyond shooting tests of some of the guns, then it's not. If you're looking for info on how to actually do the sport, then I'd strongly suggest trying Scotty Anderson's book instead. Shucks, Mike Venturino's article in "Popular Mechanics" about 5 years ago was more informative on the actual sport than this book...



3. Taffin does an excellent job of covering the various revolvers and calipers used in Cowboy Action shooting. While his coverage of the lever actions is not as extensive, it is still good and provides a great deal of useful information. He also covers shotguns, but not in great detail. This book is a good companion for Taffin's book on 'Bigbore Sixguns".



4. I believe authors John Taffin and Craig Boddington share a common trait; both have found a method and style of writing that conveys a great deal of detailed information, educates and holds the reader's attention. "Action Shooting Cowboy Style" is an excellent book for any firearms enthusiast.

   I am not active in action shooting, but in a Hamilton Bowen / John Linebaugh frame of reference, I am a fan of single action sixguns. Like Taffin's 1997 book, "Big Bore Sixguns", "Action Shooting Cowboy Style" offers a good deal of insight into these types of handguns, making this information alone worth the price of admission. However, the new book goes much further in covering what is an incredibly popular sport, a sport perhaps more appropriately defined as a philosophy or life style.

   I enjoyed the book very much.

5 comments about Shotguns and Shooting.

1. I got the book and had to keep reading it. I would stop just so I would have more the read the next night. I love classic shotguns, their workmanship, engineering, and art. This book gives great opinions, some heretic opinions, but all based on an intelligent insight to the double shotgun. I love the chapter on chokes, because the author argues against choking the gun. He is not afraid to fly in the face of common knowledge, and even throws our knowledge in our face. I can't recommend this book enough, especially to someone that loves the side by side "gun."



2. Michael is a great writer with a sharp wit -- makes for easy enjoyable read. Takes the reader through the history and basics of shotguns and shooting and tells some great tales along the way. If you want an introduction to why some people cannot get enough of "best" shotguns -- and you want to understand why they are really works of art -- get this book.



3. This is a very good book to read on shotguns and shooting. Mr. McIntosh is an excellent writer. His style of mixing technique with short stories and antidotes made for a pleasant, educational and entertaining read. Add this book to your library.



4. Combination of magazine articles for lovers of fine shotguns.

   Basic information about guns, loads, and especially good section on shooting techniques. Jack O'Conner wrote a lot about rifles, but McIntosh's speciality is the sxs shotgun. However, he has taken over the position that O'Conner once held.

   You are what you read, and for the last several years I have been reading Michael's work in "Sporting Classics". I have been mainly a rifle guy for the past 25 years, but have now started back with shotguns. I blame Michael for this.

   Not really anything new in this book; just more McIntosh. But in his case, more is better. I especially like his lead-ins to the chapters. Classy!! Classy guy !!




5. I have never had a book, which I keep by my bed and read ever night, it keeps giving me more and more information. This is a wonderful book full of good common-sense gun knowledge.

1 comments about Uniforms, Equipment And Weapons of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I.

1. I got this massive work at a used book store. I traded practically an SUV full of books for credit and this is what I got. Why should you care about that fact? The reason I explain this is because this is pretty much the only way I ever would have wound up with a copy. The book is like a lot of Schiffer books; ongodly expensive.
   Now, that being said, there is next to nothing on the US Army in WW1. There was a small collector's guide in the 80s, and now this. I don't think anyone's even tried a book like this before, and for that alone, I highly praise the author for taking it on.
   I do, however, have issues with it. The author makes some pretty poor statements, showing some very bad research (such as the modern Army only issuing dress blue uniforms to "specialty" troops. It will soon be the ONLY dress uniform the Army has, for everyone). Once he gets into his topic, though, I found very few errors.
   He does an admirable job of going through other people's collections to get photos of surviving items. Good job, there. But the quality of photography is extremely poor in many cases, and I'd guess he took some of the photos with his "point and click" camera. The flash photography is THAT bad in some places.
   And I find it very odd that many of the "re-enacting" shots (and there are a great deal of these) aren't marked as such. But I'd guess anyone buying this book would know those photos aren't original. I must ask one thing of anyone thinking of writing such a book of their own:
   PLEASE, for the love of all that is holy, don't put yourself in photos in your own book!
   There are a curious number of lapses in some items. Not an original "trench" shotgun is shown in the book? C'mon, he can find over a dozen original boots, but not an original WW1 trench shotgun? I know several collectors (myself included) who have them in their gun safes!
   I must give the author credit also for leaving out the exceptions for the most part. Far too often, people want to include the "cool" stuff that ha sno bearing on the topic. The author here pretty much avoids that trap.
   In the end, I want it known that I did not feel cheated by getting this work. The author did a fine (yet mildly self-serving) job. For me the bottom line is this; Can I find a better work than this? NO, I can't. For that reason, and that reason chiefly, I now have it in my bookshelf.
   If you're really into WW1 American stuff, you should have this right beside Canfield's book on WW1 weapons.

3 comments about Medieval Arms and Armor: A Pictorial Archive (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1. It is full of detailed drawings of armor and weapons so in case you wish to know what something looks like without having to search all over the place for it, this book is worth it. It does not have a large amount of text explaining the weapons and armor though.



2. I bought this for my 10 year old grandson for Christmas. He is really interested in medieval history. He was so excited that he kept going back to this book between opening other presents.



3. Reproducedfrom a book originally published in Germany in 1903, this book contains more than a hundred pages of drawings of weapons, and particularily of armor from about 780 to the mid 1600's. The descriptions that go along with the illustrations are very well done and describe points that should be noted about the illustrations. These have been taken from the original German and specially translated for this edition.
   
   Covering such a long period of time, the development of styles of armor and the details of construction. I found the discussion on points like gauntlets, elbow protectors and the like to be more complete than anywhere else I've seen. They are based on drawings of the earliest equipment, burial monuments, and from the fifteenth century through the Thirty Years War on extant examples of plate armor.
   
   Very well done.

2 comments about British and Commonwealth Military Knives.

1. Very good review of all military knives of the British empire 1800-today.
   Cover F-S Fighting knives in a good way.
   Plenty of pictures.
   It is something you must buy!



2. This is a highly impressive work. Every individual item discussed is keyed to an individual text and is often accompanied by multi-views and enlargements. In many cases, there is documentation, many of which are letters from manufacturers and government procurement agencies. There is very little referencing to previous works. This is not an omnium-gatherum nor a synthesis of existing works. It is a new beginning.
   The only thing remotely as detailed or as useful is Robert Baeurlein's thorough work "Allied Fighting Knives" which is mainly about fighting knives and gives short schrift to working blades, plus most of it is about U.S. patterns and includes much more textual descriptions plus many first hand accounts.
   This work divides many types of blades and edged tools up by the major Commonwealth nations wherein they were produced, beginning in the 1880s and continuing up till the present decade.
   The major countries and nations covered are Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India. The amount of items covered lessens the further one gets from Britain, but that is understandable. Everything including commercial knives sold to officers and explorers is covered.
   There is no coverage of items produced in other Far Eastern areas for Empire and Commonwealth Forces nor anything produced in Africa, thus omitting those formerly white-ruled countries of the former Rhodesia (now Zimbablwe) and South Africa, though both are known to have local cutlery industries.
   This may have been due to the lack of contacts consequent to the former political situation of sanctions, whixh precluded both commercial and social contact between Britain and those lands. Or perhapa they just did not make anything there for their forces.
   As in any work of this monumentality, it is not perfect. No matter how long one works, there will always be something omitted. It is the nature of the endeavour. The author has added a chapter of last minute discoveries in his attempt to be as encyclopedic as possible. I learned much from this book and I will refer to it again in my own writings.
   But, a few minor quibbles. The author fails to distinguish between the use of the two synonyms--matchet and machete. The latter being the original Spanish term and used in North America also, and the former, the official British term. Both are pronounced identically except for the e on the end--the t being silent. Because of his use of the American spelling throughout, he missed the significance of the derivation of the term for a famoous short bladed fighting instrument of WW II, the smatchet, usually pronounced to rhyme with hatchet, but again the t is silent. Smatchet is a contraction of small + matchet just as Bren is a contraction.
   He also fails to recognize the tool-weapon issued to native troops of northern Burma by its true name of dah and lumps it in with machetes. He has found a few more patterns of dahs than I have. Of course, these crudely finished implements are so badly marked that moat are unreadable. And he may have included some similar tools made in southern China for local use. These are much better finished than British or Indian issued patterns.
   And finally he missed a rather unusual and strange machete made in Australia in WW II. But, with those few exceptions, one with any interest in this material should buy this book. I will just give it an A not an A+. You can throw away that old copy of Stephens now.

2 comments about Gun Digest Book of Ruger Pistols and Revolvers.

1. I really anticipated buying this book to add to my ever-growing firearm book collection. Too bad it falls short of all I expected. No color photos, DOZENS of grammatical errors, misspelled words, an overall sloppy editing job. I respect Sweeney, I have his G.D. books on the glock and the AR-15, and they're decent, but this book just overall sucks.



2. As the title says, this is a decent enough book, but it does have some inaccuracies. Right off the bat, the author states that Rugers first gun was the MK1. Not so, it was the Standard Auto, or Standard Model. Now granted, the MK 1 was just the same gun with adjustable sights and longer barrel, but this is a pet peeve of mine. In another place he states that a bobbed hammer on a SP101 will keep dirt out of the action! Now, an enclosed hammer will keep dirt out of the action, but a bobbed hammer will keep no more dirt out of the action than a regular hammer model will. On page 28 there is a picture of what is obviously regular Blackhawk revolvers, but the caption states they are Bisley-gripped Super Blackhawks. No, they are not! They have the regular grip frame and hammer, not Bisley grip frame or Super grip frame and not their hammers either. The author also states that there were no Old Model Convertable Blackhawks, which is not true, and he states the .45 Colt/ACP Convertable was the first, which is not true either, as the .357/9mm was the first. Then, on the very last page he states that the serial #s for the Single Six are on the butt of the gun! No, if the serial #s were on the butt of the gun it would be a simple matter to swap the grip frame, which I am sure the ATF would frown upon. The #s are on the side of the grip frame, just like the Blackhawk. Now, some of you may think I am nitpicking, but if you are going to write a book about a subject, it would be good if you were sure of your facts! Now, that being said, most of the book is pretty enjoyable, the pictures of the Ruger factory being the highlight of the book, in my opinion.