Customer Reviews

The Complete Encyclopedia of Pistols & Revolvers

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Found this book by accident and it is absolutely the best book I've seen on a large variety of handguns. Not only are most photographs in color, but the cover a HUGE variety of handguns including various models from each manufacturer. All of your favorites are here, Glocks, HKs, Walthers, S&Ws, Colts, etc. are found in this book. Also another great addition left out by so many other books of its type is the glossary in the back that defines parts and terminology used by gun makers and users. Simple anwers to terms such as "Blued", "Extractor", "Flame-Hardened", "Muzzle Energy", etc. This is a must have book for the expert and novice alike in who owns or is considering owning a handgun. I highly recommend this book.

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Greetings,

Nice book but there are tons of pistols and revolvers missing. The title is VERY misleading. It does not cover, as a reviewer stated the pistols and revolvers up to 2002. There are a lot missing.

For example, the CZ section doesn't cover the C&R that are currently available for a very low price through military surplus. The Taurus section doesn't cover the Millenium, rosies or the 24/7 selection. The Steyr section doesn't cover the M1A and on and on and on...

If you think you can find the specs of that rare pistol or revolver in that book, you will not.

Thank you

By contrast to a lot of other encyclopedia,directories, guides, etc. this is a realy valuable source of information for pistols and revolvers. It also includes non-american handguns. The graphic quality is excellent. Almost every item has its picture, in colour and of very good quality. My only sugestion is to specify more clearly the type of the handgun (military, service, self-defence, sport, hunting, competition, etc.)

An absolute Most of the information is either incomplete, incorrect or isout of date. Many of the pictures and articles are copied and pasted straight from manufacturers brochures. I bet that author has not even handled halve the weapons he talks about. Even if you are just get started in the wonderful world of handguns: buy another book!

This book contains pretty much everything you'd want to know about pistols. The glossary of different terms regarding handguns is very helpful. Models of different manufacturers are listed in alphabetical order, but I really wish the top of every page would say what manufacturer the chosen page tells the reader about. This would have made searching a lot easier. But overall, a very good book.

By contrast to a lot of other encyclopedia,directories, guides, etc. this is a realy valuable source of information for pistols and revolvers. It also includes non-american handguns. The graphic quality is excellent. Almost every item has its picture, in colour and of very good quality. My only sugestion is to specify more clearly the type of the handgun (military, service, self-defence, sport, hunting, competition, etc.)

Extremely well done piece of work. Provides a short history of each handgun manufacturer, then covers most of each manufacturers major models, with photos, and a short "bio" on each model. Finally, and this is the good part, shows what changes were made thru the years to some of the more important models. I've been an avid handgunner for 45 years, and I learned a lot from this book. It is well worth twice whatever you have to pay for a copy. When United Airlines lost my original copy, I immediately went out and bought another. One of the most valuable books on handguns I have owned, along with "Classic Handguns of the 20th Century", and Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 2nd edition".