From the invention of gunpowder more than 1,000 years ago in China to the latest Metal Storm firing system with electronic ignition, The Great Book of Guns presents a historical approach to the development of firearms and their place in world events. In chapters on Pistols and Revolvers, Rifles and Shotguns, Submachine Guns, and Heavy Machine Guns, individual weapons are featured in chronological order. Each entry is superbly illustrated with color photography and has detailed specifications and individual descriptions of the gun and its historical context. With an extensive index, up-to-date glossary of technical terms, and historical timeline of firearms, it's easy to chart the history and development of firearms with this superb treatment of more than 1,000 internationally produced weapons.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Historical Review but lacking modern details,
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This review is from: The Great Book of Guns: An Illustrated History of Military, Sporting, and Antique Firearms (Hardcover)
If you are looking for a book that covers the history of guns, how their operation has evolved, and an overview of the types of guns in existence, this book is an excellent resource for you. The photos are clear and very detailed, perfect for a historical review of functionality. "The Great Book of guns" features photos of the older flint-lock pistols, pepperbox revolvers, and guns of the Old-West. It even includes the oddities including the Japanese sword-gun (not a bayonet, but a full-size sword with a handle that was a gun). There is a photo of the WWII Liberator, made by GM to be cheap, easy to build, and to dropped in mass on Germany for partisans to get.
This praise aside, the book is lacking in a few key areas. I understand that the author can't possibly include every in existence. But he seems to spend a lot of space covering one-off home-made guns, but neglects major commercial introductions (such as the Glock)? Consider the revolutionary nature of the Glock. Gaston Glock with no gunmaking experience making a gun for the Austrian army that bucked much conventional thinking regarding guns. Who would think a plastic frame would make a reliable gun? Almost every gun today is a copy of a Glock (Springfield XD, Steyr, S&W SW, etc), and yet the only mention of the Glock in this book is in a side-panel about SWAT teams, where it mentions that SWAT teams use Glocks among other weapons. This book was an interesting read, but I wonder what criteria the author picked for each gun he included. I would have also liked more diagrams, showing how each gun works and the progression of various styles of gun. I give the book 4 stars since it was fun to flip through, and makes a good coffee table book, but for serious study of firearm history, you might need to go elsewhere.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Pics,
By Keep It Private "sci grl" (michigan) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Great Book of Guns: An Illustrated History of Military, Sporting, and Antique Firearms (Hardcover)
This book was for my son. He really enjoys the pictures and the text. He received several "gun"
books for Christmas and this is one of his favorites.
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful photos, but not much else,
By
This review is from: The Great Book of Guns: An Illustrated History of Military, Sporting, and Antique Firearms (Hardcover)
The photos are great! There was little information to really tell about each gun pictured.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Handguns have several distinct disadvantages. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
blowback magazine, square notch backsight, square post foresight, square ramp foresight, milled catch, right butt plate, standing breech, simple blowback design, star extractor, snaphance lock, none barrel, blowback weapon, cyclic rate, rimless round, blowback type, folding butt, pinfire revolver, magazine housing, recoiled briefly, hammer nose, blade foresight, forward handgrip, blowback system, blowback principle, chambered cylinder Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
World War, British Army, Civil War, Fabrique Nationale, Single-Action Army, South African, American West, Smith Wesson, Soviet Union, Winchester Model, Free Rifle, New York, Samuel Colt, Brown Bess, Free Pistol, Hiram Maxim, Long Colt, Short Magazine Lee-Enfield, Cold War, Japanese Army, Mauser Model, Vietnam War, Wild West, Browning Automatic Rifle, Eastern Front New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Handguns have several distinct disadvantages. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
blowback magazine, square notch backsight, square post foresight, square ramp foresight, milled catch, right butt plate, standing breech, simple blowback design, star extractor, snaphance lock, none barrel, blowback weapon, cyclic rate, rimless round, blowback type, folding butt, pinfire revolver, magazine housing, recoiled briefly, hammer nose, blade foresight, forward handgrip, blowback system, blowback principle, chambered cylinder Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
World War, British Army, Civil War, Fabrique Nationale, Single-Action Army, South African, American West, Smith Wesson, Soviet Union, Winchester Model, Free Rifle, New York, Samuel Colt, Brown Bess, Free Pistol, Hiram Maxim, Long Colt, Short Magazine Lee-Enfield, Cold War, Japanese Army, Mauser Model, Vietnam War, Wild West, Browning Automatic Rifle, Eastern Front New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 3
books:
- American Civil War (Praeger Illustrated Military History) by Angus Konstam on page 18, page 49, and page 106
- A United Kingdom by David Owen on page 98
- The American West by Dee Brown on page 221
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