Guns of the American West Review

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(More customer reviews)I ordered this book expecting the ultimte story on the fascinating subject of Old West firearms. Indeed, the photographs of the guns discussed are absolutely stunning. No reader will be disappointed there. But just a quick scan at some of the photo captions revealed some frustrating annoyances: 1) in many multi-gun pictures, the exact location of each gun within the photo is not clearly called out in its caption; this is confusing, especially to those readers unfamiliar with the guns shown. It would have been much easier to find each pictured gun if the author had numbered each one, then included these numbers in his captions so the reader would know exactly where in the layout a particular gun is located. 2) Most of the gun photos include interesing period accouterments such as holsters, badges, documents, photos, etc. Sometimes the accompanying caption identifies these intriguing items, but at other times the caption ignores them. This, too, is frustrating, since in most cases these historic paraphernalia are as interesting as the pictured guns themselves. 3) A few captions contain factual errors. One, for example, states that a small medal shown with one pistol is the Medal of Honor, which it is not. In another, it is stated that Lt Col George A. Custer lost his entire regiment (the 7th Cavalry) at the Little Big Horn battle. In fact, only the five companies under Custer's immediate command were wiped out. Hundreds of troopers from the other companies survived the fight. Bottom line: from this first quick look at the book's photos and captions, I must reluctantly conclude that there are probably many more mistakes and frustrations in the captions that I didn't have time to find. As far as the main text of the book, I offer no opinion, since this initial scan encompassed only a brief look at the photos and their captions. All things considered, I would certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in viewing a treasure trove of beautiful photos of some of the most famous guns in American history. If only more time had been spent on making the captions as enjoyable as the pictures....

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This is a sprawling history of a nation built on the sweat and ambition of inventors, adventurers, and people searching for a new beginning in the mid-19th century. As readers see America change over the decades, they witness the role of the gun in preserving life, defending families and upholding law and order at a time when nothing in life was simple. With the turn of the century we follow this tale of adventure and innovation into the early 1900s, and the end of a way of life, the end of the Wild West and the American Cowboy of a bygone era.

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