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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Excellent, and written so everyone can have an understanding of the English shotgun and how to properly shoot one.
Rating: 
Summary: Lock Stock & Barrel
Review: I found this book to be very disappointing. It is shallow, lacking in detain and full of unsubstantiated opinion. The book seems to jump around without direction and has little real explaination about "Making an English Shotgun". The authors on several occasions explain how they have simplified the work so as to avoid boring the reader with detail. Unfortunately, there is so little detail that the book in itself becomes boring. Further the authors make numerous broad statements with little if any detail or facts to support their opinions. I actually had to force my self to finish reading it. Although elementary in scope, the book contains some painfully difficult writing. For example, on page 41; "With advanced development of Damascus barrels, some British engravers stylized foliage (scroll) and made it fine, so that the flat surfaces that were compatible with the look of Damascus, which gave the gun a pleasing overall appearance . . . Huh? And from page 175; Moreover, timing distortions necessary to score well in competition can be inimical to field shooting. Inimical, now there's a word we all use everyday! Save your money on this one. If you are interested in the making of English Best Guns, get one of the books by Michael McIntosh or the excellent "Double Shotguns" by Steven Dodd Hughes.
Rating: 
Summary: A qualified best buy.
Review: The authors of this volume desire to introduce the reader to the ins-and-outs of the English shotgun. Believed by many to be the sin qua non of the gunmaker's art. A considerable volume of work already exists on this subject. For almost 200 years, aficionados have written about English shotguns, their makers, technical refinements in manufacture and use, proper handling and etiquette, and their care. From words to the adolescent sportsman, to compilations of the street addresses of any craftsperson involved in the trade in the slightest degree, and through limited edition folios of the engravers art dedicated to Lordly patrons of bespoke arms, the libraries are filled. So why should anyone wish to read yet another volume dedicated to this subject? Perhaps, it is because the authors admit in the first page of the introduction that the majority of publications written on the subject are, "... boring, devastatingly so." How refreshing. Enthusiast presses are famous for their unflinching stare into the deepest available navel of minutiae, yet here are two enthusiasts who can discern between information and lint. They follow this seminal observation with the raison d'etre of the present volume: "This presentation attempts to reduce volumes of available material to an overview of the English shotgun, ... The objective, then, is readability at the sacrifice of detailed coverage..." This is a worthy goal with a thoughtful caveat added for the reader. Do they fulfill their stated purpose? The answer is a qualified, yes. The volume is split into two parts. The first section covers the history, manufacture, and advances of the English shotgun. It even has a snippet of connoisseurship under the rubric of, "Why the English Shotgun?" For the most part this is well done. It is an excellent first introduction to a complex history. Unfortunately, the second section takes on the all too familiar identity of a manual of arms. Better done by the readily available Orvis guides, no! t to mention the classic statement by Churchill, this section rapidly approaches the doom the authors inflict upon their predecessors. Somewhat relieved by their eccentric, and laudable, championship of the external hammer London best, their light style becomes mired in the details of foot placements, chokes, and bores (no pun intended). Rather than amalgamate two separate books into a less than pleasing whole, the authors would have been better advised to expand their addenda. Perhaps to include additional photographs of the London bests they discussed in the text, or a schematic or two for the curious. Still, this volume does present the information in a straightforward and easily grasped style. It has some humor and tries to not take itself too seriously while educating. It provides a very nice annotated bibliography for each section. And, if one has never held an English shotgun it does impart a healthy respect for the art of the gunmaker's skill.
Rating:
Summary: One Perfect Book.
Review: This is the ONLY book I have given a perfect five stars.
Amazing book, full of information regarding the details of building a London Best gun, with pictures and description of various barrel types, action shapes, stocking methods, third fasteners etc. Some of these are of very rare systems I never known exist. Although I'm a very critical reader (check my other reviews), I still find this a perfect book.
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