Book review - Forgotten Weapons

Book Review: Amateur’s Guide to the Colt’s Thompson SMG

August 4, 2019 Ian McCollum 5

Tom Davis Jr, having previously written on the history of the Thompson SMG in British WWII use, has recently released a buyer’s guide to the Colt’s Thompson SMG. This is not intended to be a […]

Book Review: The Winchester Model 1895: Last of the Classic Lever Actions

July 28, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

Rob Kassab and Brad Dunbar have just published an excellent new book on the Winchester Model 1895 rifle – the Last of the Classic Lever Actions, as their subtitle describes. It is a very nice […]

Book Review: Arming the West

July 21, 2019 Ian McCollum 4

Published in 2008, “Arming the West” is, as it self-describes, “a fresh new look at the guns that were actually carried on the frontier.” Herbert Houze used the sales records of the Shuyler, Hartley, and Graham […]

Book Review: History of the Mauser Rifle in Chile, by David Nielsen

July 14, 2019 Ian McCollum 3

David Nielsen’s newly released book on Chilean Mauser rifles is a tremendous piece of academic work – which is both good and bad. It is 192 pages dedicated to the testing and procurement of the […]

Book Review: Vickers Guide – WWII Germany, Volume 2

July 7, 2019 Ian McCollum 7

The latest Vickers Guide book is now available: WWII Germany, Volume 2. Where the first volume focused on bolt action rifles and submachine guns, this second volume has the really cool stuff: semiauto and select-fire […]

Book Review: Echoes of an African War

June 30, 2019 Ian McCollum 21

Chas Lotter was 22 when, in 1971, he enlisted as a field medic in the Rhodesian Army. He served until 1980, leaving as a Sergeant and emigrating to South Africa. His book, “Echoes of an […]

Book Review Double Feature: Webley Solid Frame Revolvers

June 23, 2019 Ian McCollum 4

Joel Black partnered with several coauthors (Joseph L. Davis and Roger G. Michaud for the first and Homer Ficken and Frank Michaels for the second) to produce two volumes cataloging an immense variety of Webley […]

Book Review: German Military Rifles and Machine Pistols 1871-1945

June 16, 2019 Ian McCollum 10

I have had several people ask if I might write a book on the development of German military rifles in the same format as my book on French rifles. I do not plan to, in […]

Book Review: P38 Pistol – Spreewerk Production

June 9, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

I initially put off getting a copy of Jan Balcar and Ron Clarin’s book on the Spreewerk P38 because, well, I assumed it was just about Spreewerk. Upon finally reading it, I discovered that it […]

Book Review: Machine Gun Accessories & Support Equipment

June 2, 2019 Ian McCollum 2

Robert G. Segel, long-time editor of Small Arms Review magazine, has just published a book on machine gun accessories and equipment, and it’s a very valuable new piece of reference material for the community. Mr. […]