The Complete Encyclopedia of Pistols and Revolvers [Hardcover]

A. E. Hartink (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Book Sales/Chartwell Books (August 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785815198
• ISBN-13: 978-0785815198
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 8.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #495,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for people interested in historic firearms, July 31, 2005

By 

Roger L. Papke (Gainesville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Encyclopedia of Pistols and Revolvers (Hardcover)

Imagine an encyclopedia of American presidents that does not have an entry on George Washington and you will start to appreciate the biased perspective of this book. For the most part, historic manufacturers are just ignored unless there is some modern company still manufacturing under the same trade name. Even in those cases, you should expect no more than 5% of the content to address the important historic models. The book claims to cover guns of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, but it fact is nearly devoid of useful information regarding handguns produced prior to 1970! For example, there is no entry at all under Luger or DMW! Ironically, although there are a few late model Lugers in the Mauser entry, don't expect any useful information about broomhandle Mausers. While there are a few old colt revolvers mentioned, there are no entries on the pre-1911, auto-loading Colt pistols. Did Savage ever make a handgun? Must be they never did, there is no such entry in this "comprehensive encyclopedia". Likewise, there is no entry on Webleys and nothing at all on Steyr or FEG pistols pre World-war 2. To anyone interesting in the history of handguns this book will be a huge disappointment.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, gives you some ideas of what to look for., April 1, 2005

By 

Erik Weikum "EAW" (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Encyclopedia of Pistols and Revolvers (Hardcover)

First of all let me say this is a beautiful book. Its coffee table quality, if a bit small for that.

The book gives a small history of firearms, handguns and then gives a small review of safty issues and how to care for your firearm.

It also has serveral nice exploded diagrams of pistols & revolvers and then goes into list of the makers of pistols and revolvers and gives pictures and technical readouts for those shown. Over 400 photos in the book, nice glossy pages and clear photos.

A great review of pistols from 2002 and before. But at 8 dollars I couldn't let it go. Very useful for giving a general feel of what each complany makes.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Coffee Table Book, January 30, 2005

By 

Lodge2 (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Complete Encyclopedia of Pistols and Revolvers (Hardcover)

A great overview of firearms manufacturing companies and the weapons they make. Numerous international brands are listed, many that I have never heard of before; Feinwerkbau, Gaucher, Gamba, Moravia, Sarsilmaz, etc... All the common name companies are listed as well; Colt, S&W, SIG, GLOCK, etc...

The pictures are fantastic, the pages are glossy heavy stock and the descriptions are mostly error free. Each company listing starts with a short history that includes their location, company logo and a summary of the types of equipment they make.

This is a quality coffee table book that is worth it's cover price. It's not a detailed book for experts, but a great overview of what's available in the market.