The Hand Gun Story

A firearms expert “traces the history of the ‘one hand gun’ from its 14th century origins . . . surveying changing technology, techniques, and design” (Midwest Book Review). Ideally suited for both attack and self-defense, handguns have gotten smaller and deadlier. But the earliest pistols had a tendency to misfire. This was cured by the cap-lock, which proved a massive success in the American Civil War, with hundreds of thousands of cap-lock revolvers used on each side. Self-contained metal-case cartridges were to bring a fundamental change to handgun design: not only by allowing the introduction of revolvers that ejected automatically or were easily reloaded, but also by paving the way for the automatic pistol. World War I provided the handgun with a proving ground. At the end of the hostilities, with so much surplus weaponry, work on the handgun could have ceased; instead, a new developmental phase was begun by the nations that had emerged from the crumbling Imperial empires. During World War II, the efficiency of well-established designs was confirmed and new designs, such as the Walther P. 38, showed their potential. The emergence of the submachine-gun in 1945 reduced the status of the handgun—but only temporarily. The need for efficient self-defense shows no signs of lessening; and the rise in shooting for sport, particularly with the revolver, has sharpened the quest for efficiency. The never ending search for advanced production techniques shows that the handgun has as much a future in the twenty-first century as it had in the heyday of the Wild West, or in the trenches of Passchendaele.

The distinctive look of the Luger and its role in German military history make it the world’s most famous handgun. In Luger, renowned gun expert John Walter traces the history of this semiautomatic pistol from an early design by Hugo Borchardt in the 1890s through its use in the trenches of the First World War to the final days of the Third Reich in WWII. Other books on the Parabellum-Pistole, as the Luger was also known, focus strictly on narrow subjects like manufacturing details or accessories. While still offering the technical details to satisfy the collector, Walter provides a comprehensive narrative history. Readers will learn of the initial collaboration between Borchardt and Georg J. Luger, who patented the design in 1898. Following initial adoption by the Swiss Army, design refinements convinced the Imperial German Navy to order the sidearm, while the US Army passed on it following field trials in favor of the Colt. Production ramped up for World War I and the gun became a prized trophy for Allied soldiers in both that conflict and World War II. (German soldiers, aware of their desirability, even used them as bait for booby traps.) Today, it is still desired by collectors both for its unique design and for its connection to the history of Nazi Germany, and Luger: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Handgun tells how it came to be.

When it comes to writing weapons, most authors shoot from the hip--and miss. The Writer's Guide to Weapons will help you hit your target every time. Firearms and knives have starring roles in a wide range of genres--crime, thriller, war, mystery, Western, and more. Unfortunately, many depictions of weapons in novels and film are pure fiction. Knowing the difference between a shotshell and a slug, a pistol and a revolver, or a switchblade and a butterfly knife is essential for imbuing your story with authenticity--and gaining popularity with discerning readers. Inside you'll find: • An in-depth look at the basics of firearms and knives: how they work, why they work, what they look like, and how to depict them accurately in your stories. • The biggest weapons myths in fiction, TV, and film. • A surefire guide for choosing the correct weapon for your characters, no matter their skill level, strength, or background. • A review of major gun and knife laws, weapons safety tips,and common police tactics. • "The Hit List," showcasing the most popular weapons for spies, detectives, gunslingers, gangsters, military characters, and more. • Examples highlighting inaccurate vs. accurate weapons depictions. • An insightful foreword by David Morrell, the award-winning creator of Rambo. Equal parts accessible, humorous, and practical, The Writer's Guide to Weapons is the one resource you need to incorporate firearms and knives into your fiction like a seasoned professional.

"'The Story of Frontier Religion' could have been told in a great many ways, many of them dull. Here, however, inter-pretative matter has been kept to a minimum and source material selected with an unerring sense of humor. . . . There are chapters on the styles of preaching and of praying, the phenomena of revivalism, the church as a disciplinary force, frauds and 'bad men' who preached, scoffers and trouble-makers, the fiercely jocular competition among the various sects, and the hard lot of circuit ministers."--Virginia Kirkus' Bulletin "This is an admirable piece of research, unpedantic but authentic, packed with entertaining anecdotes (some of them hilarious) based on obscure pastoral autobiographies, the diaries of early missionaries, the minutes of church court trials, and other curious source materials. . . . A unique book."--Chicago Sunday Tribune Ross Phares has written widely for magazines and is the author of several books.

This devastating book illuminates America's gun culture -- its manufacturers, dealers, buffs, and propagandists -- but also offers concrete solutions to our national epidemic of death by firearm. It begins with an account of a crime that is by now almost commonplace: on December 16, 1988, sixteen-year-old Nicholas Elliot walked into his Virginia high school with a Cobray M-11/9 and several hundred rounds of ammunition tucked in his backpack. By day's end, he had killed one teacher and severely wounded another. In Lethal Passage Erik Larson shows us how a disturbed teenager was able to buy a weapon advertised as "the gun that made the eighties roar." The result is a book that can -- and should -- save lives, and that has already become an essential text in the gun-control debate. With a new afterword. "Touches on all aspects of the gun issue in this country. Gives great voice to that feeling...that something real must be done." --San Diego Union-Tribune "One of the most readable anti-gun treatises in years." --Washington Post Book World

Handguns is a comprehensive visual directory of over 350 guns. Divided into five chapters, with each covering a category of pistol or revolver, the book begins with an introduction to the history of handguns and then examines the different types of firearm in chronological order. Each selected weapon features an authoritative description of the gun and its history, accompanied by a list of key technical data. 'Classic' handguns - including models by Smith & Wesson, Walther, Luger and Beretta - are allocated a double- page spread and illustrated by a near actual-size photograph, specially taken by the Royal Armouries. Compiled by a world-renowned arms expert and illustrated with rich, colour images, this is an essential book for anyone fascinated by weaponry.

The Glock pistol is America’s Gun. It has been rhapsodized by hip-hop artists and coveted by cops and crooks alike. Created in 1982 by Gaston Glock, the pistol arrived in America at a fortuitous time. Law enforcement agencies had concluded that their agents and officers, armed with standard six-round revolvers, were getting "outgunned" by drug dealers with semi-automatic pistols; they needed a new gun. With its lightweight plastic frame and large-capacity spring-action magazine, the Glock was the gun of the future. You could drop it underwater, toss it from a helicopter, or leave it out in the snow, and it would still fire. It was reliable, accurate, lightweight, and cheaper to produce than Smith and Wesson’s revolver. Filled with corporate intrigue, political maneuvering, Hollywood glitz, bloody shoot-outs—and an attempt on Gaston Glock’s life by a former lieutenant—Glock is not only the inside account of how Glock the company went about marketing its pistol to police agencies and later the public, but also a compelling chronicle of the evolution of gun culture in America.

Dramatic first-hand accounts of the results of handgun rounds fired into criminals by cops, storeowners, cabbies and others are the heart and soul of this long-awaited book. This is the definitive methodology for predicting the stopping power of handgun loads, the first to take into account what really happens when a bullet meets a man.