Guns Books

Everything I've been looking for, all the originals and all the repros, described and compared. What's right and what's wrong and how to fix it, care for it and even how to make some of the parts! I have originals and repros, I shoot them and tune them as needed, and this book fills the bill. One of the most valuable books I own.

This is one GREAT BOOK on the Smith & Wesson Big caliber revolvers of the Old West,long needed in the fields of lovers of the Old West,Cowboy Action Shooters,Old West Historians, Smith & Wesson collectors, gunsmiths,and firearms collectors,it also offers a wonderful in depth coverage of the company itself and the times, much of it never presented before.

Dave Chicoines credentials to experience in this field are un-matched by any other, as firearms affectionado's well know.His writing style is clearcut so novice or long time buffs can both
get the most out of it,the photo and illustrations top notch,plus he covers the modern clones of these same famous revolvers.

Move over Colt, Daves book is going to be a "MUST HAVE" that will be the standard by which others will try to reach and put S&W revolvers in their proper place in Old West History, largely ignored until now.

A really great book !

As a collector of all 19th century Smith & Wesson firearms, one of the things that has always surprised me is the lack of available information relating to one of the most well known and most common of all of the so-called western guns, the Model Three. Predating the better known 1873 Colt SA by three years, built in far larger numbers and many more interesting variations, where are the Model Three books? Rattling around in the head of well-known gunsmith/author David Chicoine apparently.

Well it's finally here; the definitive tome of the Smith & Wesson Model Three. All those Americans, Russians, Scofields and New Models have finally been recognized for their importance in the most incredible volume imaginable. Was it worth the wait? It most certainly was.

Here in a single large volume is a very comprehensive history of the Model Three going back to the Robbins & Lawrence factory where we are reasonably certain Daniel Smith met Horace Wesson around 1850. It tracks their progress through their first company, where they invented what became the Winchester 13 years later, the development of the first practical cartridge firearms (the S&W Model One) through the Two's, One and a Half's, and finally the Model Threes. It's all here in a comprehensive entertaining manner accompanied by fabulous photographs and diagrams.

This book is also a gunsmith's dream with page after page of carefully written and illustrated information on how to diagnose and repair every Model Three AND every modern Model Three copy. In addition there are chapters on ammunition and, for the shooter, loading and reloading. Did I say comprehensive? Well written? Beautifully illustrated? Awesome? A long over due and welcomed volume. Thanks David.

If you are a gun collector, a gun enthusiast, a gunfighter history buff, or simply interested in the artifacts of the Old West then you need to own "Smith and Wesson: Sixguns of the Old West." If there were such a thing as a definitive work, then this volume is the ONE. The book covers the Schofields, the Americans, the Russians, the New Models No. 3 and much more. Even esoteric, but interesting subjects such as ammunition, gun tools, and the history of gun metal finishes are covered in this full scope book.
David R. Chicoine, the author, is a gunsmith and a recognized expert for restoration and repair of Smith and Wesson firearms. In this, his latest book, he has produced a beautiful,lavish tome full of useful photographs and illustrations, and it worth every penny that the publisher charges.

I really enjoyed this book. Dave writes in a straight-ahead, clear style derived from his many years as a gunsmith. Basically he writes with the same care and precision he uses in his repairs and restorations, which are works of art. The photos and drawings (many of the latter by his son) are all well done and to the point of the text. The volume itself is expertly printed and bound and is sure to last.

If you are researching, repairing or are just curious about one of the S&W six guns that Dave covers you will find all you need to know in this volume. His histories of the development of the various models are entertaining, as well as useful to the researcher. The repair text and illustrations are step-by-step. If you run into problems (like a stuck screw), he covers how to deal with that. If you just like a good read about some of the under-appreciated but significant firearm designs and the people who used them in the old west, then get this book.

My criteria for the importance of a tome like this is how greasy it gets as I consult it at my workbench while in the middle of a repair or maybe just exploring one of the antiques detailed in its pages. In Dave's case my copy of his first book (Gunsmithing Guns of the Old West) is well stained. I expect this equally useful second book will also grow very grimy in proportion to its usefulness.

The Way of the Gun Riders is an artistic masterpiece. From an artist's perspective, the stick figure drawings are beautifully rendered as to capture the mood and energy of the art of calling shotgun. Also, I was lucky enough to attend the authors' book signing and am happy to say Stefan and Tim did not let down the crowd. This accompanying film which debuted at the signing was stunning. They have amazing gifts and I hope they continue to share them with their eager public.

My family thinks that they now how calling shotgun works but they have no idea. After reading this book, I became an instant expert. Just yesterday, I was heading to the mall with my sister and mom. My sister and I always fight over the beloved shotgun seat, but fortunately, I read the section in The Way of the Gun Riders, excelling in calling shotgun and used technique #2. Use physical contact, by kicking my crippled sister in her weak right knee. Lucky for me, I was in the `know' and rode the shotgun seat. The Way of the Gun Riders is a book of woe and humor. I highly suggest experiencing this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. But I also wrote it. My cousin wrote some as well. I think he liked it too. My friends didn't laugh at it, but my brother did. My dog chewed on it. Overall it's the best thing I've ever published.

I helped write this book. But when I read it, it still changed my life. It's magnificent. Truly a gem.

If you want to buy one, and you see me, I'll autograph it for you. Free.

This fine piece of literature is truly a superb monument to the genius of the Johansson minds. No other publication can compare to the pure, heavenly delight extolled by these crisp, insightful pages. Ahh, the pleasure of this work extends beyond the senses. It is a further tribute to the tenacity, creativity, strength, and wit of humanity. Oh, that its pages do not continue for 200, 300, 400 more times! I, myself, have purchased over 200 copies.

Below is an edited version of a critical book review for a class on Buddhism.

Professor Buswell's book is an engaging and fascinating portrait of Buddhist life in a Korean Seon temple long before it became common for us to see books and dharma talks by foreign Seon monks. His tale is as rollicking an adventure story as a tale of quiet mediation and disciplined scholarship could be. Reading his words we imagine the idealistic young man Buswell must have been, urgently holding his professor back in the halls after class to answer his eager questions, with firm purpose boarding a plane for Thailand where with a serious expression and a quick beating heart his head was shaved and he donned the robes of a monk. Then finding something missing setting out for a remote tete-a-tete, sharing his monk mentor with only one other as he diligently studied tracts on Buddhist philosophy written in Classical Chinese, then by chance and good fortune finding the spiritual home of his heart, Song'gwangsa, the `Sangha Jewel Temple'.

This book, in brief, is the story of Buswell's experience of Korean Buddhism, written in a style that manages to be both conversational and easily readable and yet academic and possessed of face and content validity at the same time. Buswell explains Seon Buddhism in Korea by explaining what he saw and experienced over five years at Song'gwangsa, including chapters on the temple itself, the daily work of monks and the different positions monks filled beyond working on meditation. This book serves as a more closely focused and Korean telling of the world that you can read about in Welch's "Practice of Chinese Buddhism". The sorts of tasks, the ways the monks meditate, even the ascetic practices that we heard about from Welch reappear here in a clearly told and highly reliable illustration of the mid to late 70s practices of Korean Seon monks.

It is very curious to think of the amazing success that Seon Buddhism has had with foreigners. Though Buswell was one of the early ones, or even the first, there are many monks who many years ago put on their robes, and unlike Buswell, have kept them on many more than five (or seven) years. It was Seung-san a famous Buddhist teacher who became the most active face of Seon to the outside world. Through temples and centers he established in America and Europe many non-Koreans got to experience Buddhism, Seon style, first hand. It's unsurprising to me but perhaps quite surprising to most Koreans that many of those interested in Seon went so far as to attend retreats in Korea, and some even ordained.

I am not convinced that becoming a monk is any more or less difficult for a foreigner than a Korean. However there is one thing I must admit, if a westerner is lazy and shiftless and unskilled and they want to find an easy life, they would never consider moving to Korea and putting on a cheongsam. Buswell in his evaluation of those who ordained for the wrong reasons states "...continued involvement in the monastic life may remold that motivation into an entirely exemplary one. Indeed, there is no way of predicting from a monk's background his ultimate success in the religious life." (pg 76). I hold to the idea, personally, that fate leads us where we are supposed to go. So, though it would not occur to a foreigner to use a temple as a back-up way of life, and it would occur to a Korean, it doesn't mean that any foreigner will be a better monk than his compatriots. If a (Korean) man becomes a monk, even though he thinks he's doing it to use the monastery as a safe escape from lay life, there is a reason, and he will fulfill some task or mission as a monk that he could not otherwise have carried out. Though Korean and foreign monks may ordain for different reasons, they are living the same life, can each find their own path to understanding and may help people in different, but equally legitimate, ways.

In fact, I have only two complaints about this book. The first complaint is that occasionally Buswell included Romanized Korean terms that were not special Buddhist vocabulary (using his spelling, for example kabang, and haroboji) but in the context of the book, where all other Romanized terms were specific to Buddhism, this could be confusing to a non-Korean speaker. I kept imagining someone saying to their friend "Those gray bags for monks are called `kabang'. I learned this from this book I just read!" The only other complaint is that the information in the book is in some respects dated. Though many things about life in temples has not changed, nor is it likely to change, there are constant trends and fads that effect the practice of the monks, and new issues that arise. When reading the book I felt regret that I couldn't go and talk about some aspects of the book with my monk friends because most of them hadn't even become novices yet when Buswell was a resident at Song'gwangsa.

Don't misunderstand me, though, I truly enjoyed this book. The best part about it for me actually (not withstanding kabang) was the fact that I learned useful new Korean terms, what I want to use as soon as I can is to ask my friends where they are in the Samigwa, Sajipgwa, Sagyogwa, and Daegyogwa system. I'm also happy to see terms like Dono Jeomsu and Dono Donsu written side by side, because this is not vocabulary I can find in my own dictionary, even though I am familiar with the terms in English, I've never been able to have a satisfying talk in Korean by trying to only explain what I meant without having confidence in the terminology I was using. I think that in terms of improving my own understanding of Korean Seon Buddhism it was this chapter (A Monk's Early Career) with the clear descriptions of the process that will provide the most benefit.

I would certainly refer this book to anyone interested in Korean Buddhism.

Wow. Should have been a documentary as well. It took me into the existence of Korean Zen Monks. No pop psychology here. I was humbled at the notion of meditating for two weeks straight in one sitting and I respected more what it is to be a monk. It made me think of my childhood. When I was a little boy in Korea a renunciate came to my house to beg for rice to my mother's disdain. He wore a white tattered robe and I realize now what he was.

Living in this hectic modern world and having my illusions shattered over and over again made me realize how lucky I was to have seen a Buddha with my very eyes. I think I'll read this one again soon. Buddha Bless You. You know what I mean.

This book is not easy. You have to really want to know more about Korean Zen (Son) to get through this one. There is a lot of Korean words, and, as another reviewer aptly commented, 'no pop psychology' that seems so common in these types of books. However, the time you spend will be well repaid. The author writes well, and does not romanticize his topic. He speaks from experience- something that, in any field, let alone Asian Studies, seems quite rare.

This is a comprehensive and direct account of the structure of practice at a contemporary Korean Zen monastery. Robert Buswell is a Buddhist academic teaching at the University of California who also spent five years as a Zen monk in Korea. Here he ties into the book what daily life and religious ritualistic practice is truly like while staying in a Zen monastery. This book should absolutely be read by everyone. Buswell draws on personal experience in this intriguing account of day-to-day Zen monastic practice. His depiction of the life of contemporary Zen monks practicing in Korea gives an original and thought provoking look at Zen from an insiders perspective. He covers truly everything one needs to know about Zen practice in a matter of fact way which can help clear up a Westerners possible misconceptions.

If you like this work, you will also like "A Glimpse of Nothingness" by Janwillem van de Wettering; an account of experiences had in an American Zen community. Also I cannot recommend enough the teachings of Zen master Seung Sahn, ie. The Compass of Zen, Only Don't Know, and Dropping Ashes on the Buddha. This is a great accent to such works.

This is quite a good overview of the stucture and workings of a large Korean Buddhist monastery and the culture of Buddhist monks in Korea. I don't think that anyone has written a more detailed description of the monk's culture or of the jobs in big monasteries. Parts of it are somewhat dated and there are differences between temples (and people) but for the most part it's pretty accurate. The author's stories about his experiences are also interesting. I didn't give it five stars because the book might seem a bit dry at times for some people.

I passed this book up the first time I glanced at it, but then I read a review online, and am very glad I decided to purchase it. It covers hundreds of mini-subjects on gun collecting, and is especially helpful with photographic tips for the gun collector. The book features excellent photography throughout, and each page seems to have a helpful picture and caption that improves a broad range of collector knowledge. Some of the information will be very basic to an established collector, but it has something for each level of firearm collector, so it is relevant to anyone in the hobby. It is full of excellent advice and personal experiences that will probably pay a collector back for the cost of the book and more in avoided mistakes.

The book 331 Essential Tips and Tricks for the Gun Collector by Stuart C Mowbray was absolutely brilliant in its presentation and format.
I found some most valuable information about how to look after,what to look for and how to care for the items that had been purchased.
The only drawback I saw was that it tended to focus around the flint lock/black powder firearms and not much to do with more modern centre fire types eg M1 Carbine, M1 Garand, Thompson SMG etc which where my interests lie.However the book is a must for the collector and hopefully Mr Mowbray will do a book on modern firearms in the future. If he does I will be the first to buy it

OK, first off this isn't the definitive word on any single aspect of gun collecting. However, it is chuck full of all kinds of tidbits of information ranging from buying, maintaining, storing, displaying, etc. your gun collection. If you're a novice, it is a great starting point. If you've been around for a while, you'll still find more than enough useful information to cover the issue price. Your lessons are expensive in gun collecting, and this book is a cheap investment to avoid costly mistakes. The pages are nice and glossy, the soft cover being quite thick. The photography is fantastic, sharp and clear. It's like holding a piece in your hand. All the photographs are in color, and they abound! I would definitely add this to my gun library if I were starting out, or even if I just had one or two family guns that I wanted to take care of properly.

331+ Essential Tips & Tricks: A How-To Guide for the Gun Collector provides a practical approach to guying, maintaining, displaying and collecting firearms, going beyond most gun titles which focus on collection alone to show how the gun may be maintained under working or non-working conditions alike. Color photos of firearms pack tips on how to work on them, with large headers and bulleted points covering major tips such as being patient, looking for key points in an original condition gun, and fitting and refinishing. A 'must' for any gun collector needing a comprehensive reference.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Bob Forker has done a unbelievable amount of work to put this book together. Very helpful to me as a reloader. Gives me many ideas about how a particular load can be expected to perform at various ranges. Author's Notes in the front are FULL of Basic answers to questions we all have as reloaders. Highly recommended!

This book is the best available on the various ballistics of almost every caliber that is made.It is laid out where you can find and use the info in the book.Recommended to anyone who needs to know what their ammo is supposed to do from 0 to 500 yards.

This book gives you insight into your cartridges ballistics that will help if you hand load, or just want to know.

Nice book if you are not shooting some of the old military weapons such as the 303 British,30-40 Kreg, 6.5-55 Swedish round,or any MM type round.

A reviewer, curator of AfroAmericanHeritage.com, 03/13/2007
Highly recommended!
Brief though the period of the Wild West was, the exploits of its villains and lawmen have fascinated people around the world, and been disproportionately represented in pop culture. But the multicultural nature of the Wild West has rarely been evidenced in the plethora of films, books and television shows. Which probably explains why the arrival of Sheriff Black Bart in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974) elicited such a stunned response from the townspeople, and a riot of laughter from the audience. Imagine: a black lawman in the Old West! Imagine no more. Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves, a former slave, served for nearly 30 years in the Oklahoma and Indian Territories, the most deadly location for U.S. marshals. And according to glowing accounts of his bravery, skill and steadfast devotion to duty (found in white newspapers of the time, mind you) nobody was laughing when he rode into to town, especially not the bad guys. As this book amply illustrates, Reeves is remarkable not merely for being a black marshal (there were others) but for being one of the greatest U.S. Marshals, period. But Reeves' story - with the exception of references published here and there - has been largely ignored by western historians. Though widely known and respected during his lifetime, he was illiterate and left behind no diaries or letters, so what little has come down has been in the form of oral history and legends. Art T. Burton has spent the better part of 20 years reclaiming the heritage of African Americans in the American West, and has scoured through a wide range of primary sources - including Reeves' federal criminal court cases available in the National Archives, and account books at Fort Smith Historic Site - to separate legend from fact and painstakingly piece together the story of this American hero. The book is not a biography in the traditional sense, but as the subtitle states, a reader. It reproduces many of the court documents and contemporary newspaper articles with just enough narrative to put them into context. Not being a Wild West buff myself, I felt the author did an excellent job providing background to help me make sense of it all. As the author recounts, one of the first responses he received from a local town historical society in Oklahoma when inquiring about Reeves was "I am sorry, we didn't keep black people's history." This book is the perfect example of the wealth of information which can be gleaned by a creative, dedicated historian who looks beyond the usual sources in order to root out the hidden history of multicultural America. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Western history and culture, law enforcement, American or African American Studies. And I hope this book inspires someone to finally bring the life and times of Bass Reeves to the big screen.

This is a very intereting book about a black marshal that rode for Judge Parker. I was amazed at the amount of money he made as a "non-paid" marshal. His influence on the court and the city of Fort Smith at the time was also interesting. An interesting twist to see a marshal on trial, and obviously, motivated by hatred.

Brief though the period of the Wild West was, the exploits of its villains and lawmen have fascinated people around the world, and been disproportionately represented in pop culture. But the multicultural nature of the Wild West has rarely been evidenced in the plethora of films, books and television shows. Which probably explains why the arrival of Sheriff Black Bart in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974) elicited such a stunned response from the townspeople, and a riot of laughter from the audience. Imagine: a black lawman in the Old West!

Imagine no more. Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves, a former slave, served for nearly 30 years in the Oklahoma and Indian Territories, the most deadly location for U.S. marshals. And according to glowing accounts of his bravery, skill and steadfast devotion to duty (found in white newspapers of the time, mind you) nobody was laughing when he rode into to town, especially not the bad guys. As this book amply illustrates, Reeves is remarkable not merely for being a black marshal (there were others) but for being one of the greatest U.S. Marshals, period.

But Reeves' story - with the exception of references published here and there - has been largely ignored by western historians. Though widely known and respected during his lifetime, he was illiterate and left behind no diaries or letters, so what little has come down has been in the form of oral history and legends. Art T. Burton has spent the better part of 20 years reclaiming the heritage of African Americans in the American West, and has scoured through a wide range of primary sources - including Reeves' federal criminal court cases available in the National Archives, and account books at Fort Smith Historic Site - to separate legend from fact and painstakingly piece together the story of this American hero.

The book is not a biography in the traditional sense, but as the subtitle states, a reader. It reproduces many of the court documents and contemporary newspaper articles with just enough narrative to put them into context. Not being a Wild West buff myself, I felt the author did an excellent job providing background to help me make sense of it all.

As the author recounts, one of the first responses he received from a local town historical society in Oklahoma when inquiring about Reeves was "I am sorry, we didn't keep black people's history." This book is the perfect example of the wealth of information which can be gleaned by a creative, dedicated historian who looks beyond the usual sources in order to root out the hidden history of multicultural America. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Western history and culture, law enforcement, American or African American Studies.

And I hope this book inspires someone to finally bring the life and times of Bass Reeves to the big screen.

Professor Burton's book about Bass Reeves combines thorough, meticulous scholarship on the details of Reeves' long career as a lawman with a most impressive general knowledge of the times in which he lived. The result is a biography unlikely to be surpassed.

A question that has long interested me, and is asked by this book, concerns the criteria of historical remembrance. Why, for example, is Wyatt Earp (to pick just one example) remembered and even celebrated to this day, when--at the very least--equally deserving historical figures, such as Reeves, languish in relative obscurity? Were history fair (and of course it is not) the reverse should be the case, as by any objective measure Reeves was the superior lawman. One is cynically tempted to conclude that too often subsequent historical recognition is far more a result of puffery than of merit.

Burton does an admirable job of reconstructing what can now be known about Reeves' remarkable life, and adeptly separates myth from fact along the way. This was a difficult task, as Reeves was illiterate, meaning that the record of his life is only indirectly available primarily through court transcripts, oral histories by others, and sketchy accounts in contemporary newspapers not often disposed to celebrate the accomplishment of a black man.

In addition, Burton is able to present new and significant information. I, for one, had not known that, toward the end of his career, Reeves was prominently involved in a spectacular shootout (every bit as dramatic as the OK Corral) in Muskogee with a deadly gang of religious fanatics. Until now, lawman Bud Ledbetter (the "Fourth Guardsman") got most of the credit for confronting these dangerous criminals.

Professor Burton notes that he's been working on this project, intermittently, for some twenty years--the result is worth the wait.

this is the complete airguns book i have read, before i read it i never know that there is so much brand and models of the airguns ever made in this world, thanks to DR.Beeman and thanks to amazone.com.

Read about the history of airguns and learn everything you ever wanted to know about various brands and models of airguns made worldwide.

The Blue Book of Airguns is a must have for any airgun collector. It has great history of airguns that are very uncommon in the US. I dont always agree with the estimated values but the background, history and pictures of the airguns are great.
Doug Law
Nebraska Airgun Addict
dlaw1940@yahoo.com

I originally thought that the book was MORE on airgun operation, types, problems, etc. Of course it it a history of many airguns and their parent companies; to that end, it was very readable.

American Crime Writers League member Richard J. Shmelter presents Chicago Assassin: The Life and Legend of "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn and the Chicago Beer Wars of the Roaring Twenties, a fascinating biography set amidst the gangland violence that wracked Chicago during the Prohibition era. Chronicling the life of Vincenzo Gibaldi, who took the name "Jack McGurn" along with the sport of boxing, Chicago Assassin tells how McGurn's father and stepfather were murdered by mobsters, and how his revenge attracted the attention of the notorious Al Capone, who invited McGurn to join the organization. McGurn built a terrible reputation as Chicago's most feared gangster assassin, and may even have helped plan the infamous St. Valentine's Day massacre. He killed more than twenty people during Chicago's Beer Wars, yet was eventually spurned by the Organization he worked for, and murdered Capone's orders. A striking true crime saga, meticulously researched and providing a singularly vibrant picture of the seedy underworld that sprang up to seize advantage of the Prohibition era.

In Chicago, the roar in the Roaring Twenties was often the sound of Thompson machine guns firing. The advent of prohibition and the continuing demand for alcoholic beverages meant that enormous profits could be made. This led to the rise of the criminal gangs that took advantage of the situation. In Chicago, the largest such criminal enterprise was headed by Alphonse Capone and "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn was one of his soldiers.
McGurn's journey to becoming one of the best assassins is a story of great tragedy. Born Vincenzo Gibaldi in Sicily, McGurn's natural father was gunned down in a case of mistaken identity in a gang war in New York. After his mother remarried and the family moved to Chicago, his stepfather was also gunned down in a gang hit. Forever altering McGurn's attitude, he vowed revenge and the only way he could do that was to become a killer himself. He was ruthless in his methods, killing many men, either directly or indirectly. However, after Capone was jailed, he fell out of favor and in a short time was unemployed and broke. In an attempt to get back on his feet, he threatened to become an informant. Shortly after that threat was made, he was gunned down in gangland style, a victim of his own methods.
Paid killers are rarely the subjects of biographies as they are generally psychopaths with little to offer other than a list of their kills. McGurn is different in that he was an intelligent man and was very close to Al Capone. Shmelter makes him come alive with literary descriptions of his actions that keep your attention and on occasion you have a bit of sympathy for McGurn. No person could have their two male parents so brutally and suddenly killed without having their psyche permanently disabled.
The Chicago gang wars was an amazing time in the history of the United States, the enormous profit and power that came with bootlegging almost brought down conventional government. Members of the rival gangs killed each other with legal impunity, although nearly all eventually met with a violent death. This book provides one side of this story, from the perspective of one of the greatest of the killers. If the history of the Chicago gangsters of the Roaring Twenties interests you, then this is a book you must read.

Vincenzo Gibaldi was born in Licata, Sicily to loving parents who wanted a better life for him, and brought him to the United States. However, after first his father and then his loving step-father were killed in gangland hits, something in Vincenzo snapped. Taking on his boxing name of Jack McGurn as his nom de guerre, he became an assassin par excellence, and rose to be one of Al Capone's lieutenants. However, after rising to dizzying heights of fame and wealth, Jack McGurn fell far and fell fast, until he too became just another victim of Chicago violence. This is the story of the brutal rise and brutal fall of one of America's top gunmen - "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn.

Overall, I did not know what to expect when I picked this book up. Having grown up in Chicago, I had heard about "Scarface" Al Capone, "Bugs" Moran, "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn, "Hymie" Weiss, and all of the other famous mobsters. But, I must say that this book surprised me with its excellence. The author does a great job of bringing that era to life, and really letting you get a good understanding of the people involved and what they did.

There's never a dull moment in this book, as the author eschewed the temptation to pad out the narrative, making a great medium-sized book into a tedious big book. Plus, I liked the many black-and-white pictures included, and the final chapter that answers the question, "Whatever became of...?" This is a great book on Jack McGurn, and Chicago in the Roaring Twenties. If you want to read the best book on this subject, then take it from this Chicagoan, and get Chicago Assassin by Richard J. Shmelter.

How quickly we forget the reality of the "good old days"... That thought kept going through my mind as I read Chicago Assassin: The Life and Legend of "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn and the Chicago Beer Wars of the Roaring Twenties by Richard J. Shmelter. This is an excellent biography of a major crime figure during the days of Prohibition, and Shmelter captures both the personalities and sentiments of that period in American history.

Contents:
Innocence Interrupted; Innocence Lost; "Noble Experiment, " Life-changing Decision; Chicago's Underworld Rises; Terrific Timing - Terrible Tool; Gunning for Gennas, Amutuna Gets the Hook; "Joe Batters" and "Momo"; Vengeance, Conflict, Exodus; Capone vs. Weiss - Round One; Capone vs. Weiss - Knockout Blow; On Top of the World; Aiello Threatens the Empire; The Joker; McGurn Has the Last Laugh; Close Calls; Jack Meets Louise - Frankie Meets His Maker; Return to Chicago, Unrest in the Unione; Violent Valentine; Aftermath of Carnage; The "Blonde Alibi"; The Walls Begin to Crumble; The Empire Descends; Wedding Bells, Al Goes Away; Vindication, Alienation; The Comet Vanishes; Whatever Became of ... ?; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Shmelter starts McGurn's story back in Italy, when his parents met and decided to emigrate to America. Vincenzo Gibaldi, aka Jack McGurn, was a typical kid raised in Brooklyn by immigrant parents, but his life was forever altered at the age of five when his father was gunned down by two men who mistook him for a rival gang leader. McGurn's mother remarried and Jack appeared to be a model son, but he was plotting his revenge for the death of his father. McGurn tracked down the killers and assassinated them in cold blood, starting him on a path defined by the ability and willingness to kill anyone as a hired assassin. This path was cast in stone when his second father was also gunned down by gang members over the sale of sugar to other gangs for the production of bootleg liquor. He started to work for Al Capone's organization, and quickly rose up the ranks to become Capone's most trusted bodyguard and triggerman.

As Prohibition continued and the Chicago Beer Wars grew more heated, shootouts among rival gangs became commonplace. The Thompson submachine gun, or Tommy gun as it was nicknamed, was the weapon of choice for gangsters, and McGurn could handle one with the best of them. Capone used McGurn both as a planner and as a triggerman, and soon McGurn was living the life of a high-profile gangster, complete with fancy clothes, loads of money, and beautiful women. But through all of this, he had to be aware of the fact that he was a constant target of rival gangs, and his life could be snuffed out at any time. The downhill slide for both Capone and McGurn started with the Valentines Day Massacre. That slaughter changed the public's perception about organized crime, and government officials started to crack down hard on those groups. Although it was never proven that McGurn actually took part in the killing, the general feeling was that he and Capone had orchestrated the whole thing. When Capone was convicted of tax evasion and sent to prison, McGurn no longer had the protection he was used to, and the new leader, Frank Nitti, took his revenge on McGurn and tossed him out of the organization. The Depression, constant police harassment, and failed business ventures took their toll, and McGurn was reduced to a shadow of his former glory. And even that shadow came to an end when three unknown assassins tracked him down to a bowling alley and ended his life in a hail of bullets. A fitting end to a person who lived his life gunning down others.

Apart from the fact that Shmelter writes a compelling narrative, he also captures the harsh reality of the Roaring Twenties. I kept thinking that we tend to look back at those times as the "good old days" and think our level of criminal activity and corruption is unprecedented. In reality, things were as bad if not worse back then, and all we're doing is repeating history over and over. I would recommend this book on a number of levels, ranging from a fascinating read to a sobering look at our past. In terms of "recreational reading", this is one of the best books I've read this year.

This is one of the best books I have read. It could also be named "Death by Government." I believe the educational value in this book is such that every adult American ought to read it. The authors repeatedly make the point: "A good government will never try to render its citizens defenseless - an evil government always will." And they provide the facts to back up their assertion.

This book is mainly a detailed historical presentation of the disarming of citizens in various countries, followed by their extermination.

But some general issues are discussed first. One useful point is that "gun control" is a slogan and is nonsensical. One does not control a "gun." One controls human beings. Another useful discussion is the efforts of the government to suppress gun ownership by schooling children into hating guns and by doing everything possible to embarrass people who want to purchase a gun. Gun registration and the like have always been preludes to gun confiscation. And gun confiscation has always been a prelude to the oppression of some group of citizens.

The case studies are Cambodia, China, Germany, Rwanda, Turkey, Uganda, The Soviet Union, and Zimbabwe. There is also a chapter on the Catholic Church's opposition to gun ownership. And a chapter on the soaring crime rate since Britain banned guns.

The overwhelming question, of course, is why the United States, which has guaranteed gun ownership in the Constitution, is now moving toward banning guns. This is especially puzzling at a time when Americans are facing the greatest threats in our history. If you don't know this, read While America Sleeps: How Islam, Immigration and Indoctrination Are Destroying America From Within. Americans are going to need those guns because the government is not defending them.

Before you raise your voice against gun ownership, get the full picture of what happens when citizens in a country are disarmed, and denied the right to defend themselves. I also highly recommend the short movie, entitled "Innocents Betrayed". It is a real eye-opener!!

The author is the founder of JPFO, Jews for the Preservation of Firearm Ownership. Jews, of all people, should know and understand the value of private gun ownership. Jews have been the victims not only of the holocaust, but of slavery in Egypt and later, pogroms and persecution from at least 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple and set about trying to re-enslave the Jews. Jews would figure this out, one would think, from current anti-semitism in Europe and the near worldwide neurotic blaming of Israel for the evil perpetrated upon it by the Palestinians. Apparently, the world considers good Jews to be the ones who allow themselves to be herded into gas chambers like sheep, but despises the ones who have the temerity to defend themselves.

Strangely, many if not most Jews hate guns and are against private gun ownership. They need to read this book. There are only 13 million Jews in the entire world. If so many had not been murdered as a result of lacking the means and the will to defend themselves, it has been estimated there would be at least 200 million.

I am not Jewish. But I think Jews are good for the world. I want there to be more of them. And if more of them would read this book and take Mr. Zelman's wisdom into their hearts, then not only their attitudes would be changed but also others. After all, Jews are intellectually influential.

If attitudes were thus changed there would be more guns in the private hands of law-abiding citizens. And that would be good for Jews, and everybody else.

I really enjoyed this book. It provides an interesting outcome to a possible event - the discovery of the original copy of the Declaration of Independence. The book draws you in, from the first pages, until you are so engrossed that you NEED to know and understand the ending ASAP! I'd recommend it to those interested in history, and those interested in mystery, alike!

Wonderfully thought provoking, exciting, stimulating, witty, and artfully written, The Declaration is a MUST READ for any thinking citizen, American or otherwise.

Finally, a book about freedom that does not wince away from saying it like it is!

In this book you will find no mealy mouthed, repressed, and insidious puritanical political correctness.

You will be challenged by the "what if's." You will be challenged to think out of the well established box in which we now find ourselves. You will not find advocations of violence, hatred, amorality, or senseless idiocy in this book. But, you will find timely thought provoking fodder.

Whether you live in the city, suburbs, eat meat or dine exclusively on organic vegetables, you will thoroughly enjoy this book and wish it were all true!

The Nappen's have penned an easy read that is filled with historical facts and current headlines about the state of the American people and our political system as we know it to be.

The Nappen's have written an original as well as thought provoking novel that, proves that we as American's are being denied the freedoms our forefathers set for us when Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence.

This novel is a must read for those who are disenchanted with the way our political system is being run today. If you believe there is an urgent need for a third party then this book is for you.

The author's have approached the idea of our country's need for a third party system creatively. They help the reader to understand why our country should embrace the idea of implementing a third party through the ideas and beliefs of the three strong and well written main characters who, truly grasp and want to utilize the rights of freedom we, as Americans, are entitled to according to our forefathers.

From the moment the original document is found to the surprising ending, the author's have the reader anxiously awaiting their sequel.

An incredible novel that the reader will enjoy from cover to cover and not want to put down!!!

Nappen and Nappen have succeeded in writing an exceptional fictional account of the accidental finding of the original copy of the Declaration of Independence. With each turn of the page, the suspense of the story mounts as the colorful characters become more alive. The reader is drawn into the book through emotional ties to these characters. In addition, this well-written account makes the reader contemplate the reality of society today! The DECLARATION leaves room for the reader's imagination to take over when the story ends! Still above all, it leaves its readers with the lingering question, "Could this actually happen?"