BOOK REVIEW: THE GUNS THAT WON THE WEST.

My daughter Laura found this book at a National Trust second hand bookshop up north somewhere. Knowing of my interest in Old West guns as evidenced by my purchases earlier this year of air gun replicas of both the  Winchester 73 rifle and Colt 45 pistol, she bought me the book. Thank you Laura.

The subtitle of the book is "Firearms on the American Frontier, 1848 - 1898" and it details all the guns available in the West during that period. It gives great details on the origins of the big manufacturers like Colt, Winchester and Smith And Wesson as well as intricate details of all the weapons. There is even a good general history of the Old West with items on some of the well known characters of the time. Appendix to the main narrative discuss the development of ammunition and the myths and realities of actual gun performance.

Overall this is a serious text book on the subject and will appeal to anyone interested in guns of the American west including the Civil War period. It also serves as a quite good outline history of the half century when the Wild West actually existed. A good book, thank you Laura.