Guns of the American West

by Dennis Adler

Dennis Adler, award-winning author and photographer, and contributing editor to Guns of the Old West magazine, has woven together enthralling tales of the guns and gunmen who made the Wild West wild. Beginning with the early western expansion and the California Gold Rush, Guns of the American West takes you through the development of America's most legendary handguns, rifles, and shotguns and the roles they played in our nation's history. As the Civil War erupts, the author follows the politics of a country divided and how North and South chose to arm their soldiers. In the aftermath of this great conflagration, Adler takes you step-by-step through the evolution of loose powder cap-and-ball revolvers, rifles, and shotguns to the conversion to self-contained metallic cartridges and the sweeping changes that resulted in firearms design. With a nation intent on its belief in Manifest Destiny, the author follows legendary lawmen, soldiers, and outlaws as America moves west in the 1870s and 1880s.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Westerns

324 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Dennis Adler is the editor in chief of Car Collector magazine and consultant/historian/author for four publishers and organizations, including senior contributing editor of The Star -- the official publication of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America. He serves on the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance Selection Committee and as a chief class judge at the Meadow Brook and Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. He is a noted portraitist of automotive collectors and their collections and is the author of twenty automotive books, including The Art of the Sports Car and The Art of the Automobile.

In addition to his works on automobiles Award-winning author Dennis Adler is one of America’s most published historians on western guns and collectible firearms. Author and photographer for more than three dozen books and thousands of magazine articles, Dennis has published work in such publications as American Rifleman, Guns of the Old West, and The Robb Report.


He lives in western Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Julie Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story orgainization and images

I enjoyed the history of the weapons, people and places in this book. Beautiful images for the enthusiast and collector alike.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a superb book that should spend more time being looked at than on a table! Adler manages to encompass the breadth of coverage on such a vast topic with accuracy and panache. It is primarily a pictorial history with the exquisite images leaving you wanting the firearms for your own collection. The lighting and composition of the sets that feature historic firearms posed with period accessories truly enhances the subjects photographed and discussed. The text draws on the authors own experience, his extensive research, and personal communication with many experts and collectors. Mr. Adler has actually fired many of the guns represented as well, adding the flavor of personal experience to the other features of the book.

The publisher has done a superb job of printing the photos, preserving detail and subtle colors as well. This is really an incredible bargain for anyone enjoying the history and mechanical development of firearms from the colorful era of US History known as the Old West.

[Checkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice coffee table book loaded with beautiful photographs. The book can be looked at all day long and then some. At times it can be difficult to tell what caption goes to what firearm - especially if you are not well versed on the older firearms and can't identify them without the assistance of the text. But that's a problem on just a couple of pages. Overall this is a gorgeous book and I believe a must for any gunowner's library.