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Rating: 
Summary: Research without method
Review: Serious gun collecting, which involves knowledge of the objects in addition to mere possession of them, often involves some research on the identity of guns, unknown to the collector, or of a known type, but in details differing from standard. This research quite often comes to interpreting the different marks and stamps found on most guns. A reference work on gun marks is, therefore, of great use to collectors, provided that it is correct in details, easy to use and fairly well updated. When purchasing "The Official Guide to Gunmarks (3rd. ed.)", this is what I expected to find, but I must admit that I have been, at least in part, disappointed. This work is divided into many different chapters, listing trade names, trade marks etc. I believe that most buyers are mainly interested in the "Gun Marks" sector, with illustrations of various gun marks, the understanding and interpretation of which are essential to establish the identity of an unknown gun or the attribution of guns to a certain period, a country, an army etc. Unfortunately, less than half of the book's 367 pages are dedicated to this subject, while the rest of the space is used for listing brand names (useful, as these are often found on the guns), Nazi production codes, (not so useful, as many of the codes listed have very little or nothing to do with gun marks. As comprehensive litterature on this subject already exists elsewhere, I consider this section as merely waste of space.) As many of the illustrations are very coarsely made, and in quite a few cases are actually inaccurate, I should consider the job of completing (many very wellknown marks, which collectors see every day, are missing), updating and refining the illustrations, as a much more urgent task for the author, than filling the pages with irrelevant information on e.g. "Curios or Relics"-listings, which are readily available from the B.ATF, or "Assault Weapons"-legislation text, which actually should not fall within the scope of this book at all, judging strictly from the title. The sub-division of different kinds of marks, like "crowns" or "birds", also appears to be rather haphazard, which makes it quite difficult to find the mark you try to identify, without having to glance through the complete section, as many marks are not listed under the section where you should expect to find them. Some attention to this (and my other comments above) could make the next edition of this book truly valuable to collectors, as (to my knowledge) no complete and comprehensive work on this interesting subject exists today. Unfortunately, the current edition strikes me as more confusing than informative.
Rating: 
Summary: Guide to Gunmarks is right on target
Review: The Official Guide to Gunmarks is a most valuable reference for identifying all of those (often strange) marks stamped into various parts of firearms. This tome may not include EVERY mark that one might run across, but it is certainly very comprehensive. This book is a "must have" for any serious firearms collector.
Rating:
Summary: Guide to Gunmarks is right on target
Review: The Official Guide to Gunmarks is a most valuable reference for identifying all of those (often strange) marks stamped into various parts of firearms. This tome may not include EVERY mark that one might run across, but it is certainly very comprehensive. This book is a "must have" for any serious firearms collector.
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