The Blue Book of Gun Values - 23rd Edition by S.P. Fjestad is a softcover firearms pricing book published annually. The current 23rd Edition contains 1,680 pages, and includes pricing and detailed technical information on domestic, foreign and military guns (both new and discontinued), major trademark antiques, commemoratives/special editions, and 2002 models. Featuring publishing mogul and philanthropist Robert E. Petersen (Petersen Publishing, Petersen Automotive Museum), the 23rd Edition Blue Book of Gun Values is also available in a special NRA Edition, with all proceeds going to the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, VA. Included is a revised, 48 page digital color Photo Percentage Grading System (the industry standard) showing rifles, shotguns and handguns in various percentages of condition from 0%-100%. The Blue Book of Gun Values is now being used by the NRA, most major insurance companies, thousands of gun/pawn shops, domestic and international collectors, and other firearms industry professionals to accurately determine gun values and other related data. With over 50,000 prices covering more than 600 manufacturers, and 1/2 million words of text, the 23rd Edition is the most complete and up-to-date publication of its type in use.
Best-selling author S.P. Fjestad's involvement with firearms started early since he grew up on a dairy farm in west central Minnesota and started duck hunting at age 10. While working in the IRI (Investment Rarities) Firearms Division during the 1980s, he became the author and publisher of the Blue Book of Gun Values, now with over 1.4 million copies in print. It remains the best-selling gun book worldwide.
During the late 1980s, the author/publisher, a musician with international credits, discovered through experience that there wasn't a good reference book on guitars. After three years of research, the 1st Edition Blue Book of Guitars was published in 1993, and then expanded to the Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars, Blue Book of Electric Guitars, the Blue Book of Guitar Amplifiers, and other guitar-related titles. In 1998, the 4th Edition Blue Book of Guitars won the "IPPY" (Independent Publisher Small Press Book Award) for Best Reference Book.
Blue Book Publications has gone on to win several IPPYs in the Best Reference category with author Dennis Adler's trio of black powder titles, including Colt Blackpowder Reproductions & Replicas, Black Powder Revolvers - Reproductions & Replicas, and Black Powder Long Arms & Pistols - Reproductions & Replicas.
Over the past three decades, S.P. Fjestad has edited and published over 160 books on a wide variety of subjects, including firearms, airguns, black powder reproductions and replicas, automobiles, guitars, engraving, billiards and pool cues, ammunition, and others. One of Blue Book Publication's most recent achievements has been its mobile website, which allows the customer to get his/her information from a mobile device - any time, anywhere.
Additionally, S.P. Fjestad has written and edited hundreds of articles for various trade publications, and the Blue Book of Gun Values may be the only gun book ever pictured in Time magazine and listed as a reference source in the Wall Street Journal. He has also testified as an authority in many professional and legal situations. Fjestad has also been a guest on such TV programs as American Rifleman, American Guns, Guns & Ammo, and Gun Talk TV. Additionally, he posts the weekly Gun of the Week article on bluebookinc.com, in addition to blogging under the heading "S.P. Fjestad's Lethal Blogging." A seasoned veteran of hundreds of trade shows in many countries, the author is now proceeding with caution to determine his next hobby since most of the previous ones have turned into jobs!
