#Books

On today’s episode of TFB’s Behind The Gun Podcast, I’m speaking with Mike Detty, author of the book “Operation Wide Receiver” who details his experiences with the corruption and lies behind the infamous ATF gun walking scandal the book is titled after, as well as the subsequent “Operation Fast and Furious.” I recently met Mike at a Gunsite event in his home state of Arizona. Mike wasn’t very upfront about it at first but as soon as someone else mentioned his book, I immediately asked him about it and learned that he was actually involved in a precursor event to Operation Fast and Furious – Operation Wide Receiver. In today’s podcast, Mike details his experiences as he played his role as a legitimate FFL while moonlighting as an ATF informant during the operation. Mike also details why he eventually decided to do his part to expose this operation which eventually led to the far more infamous Operation Fast and Furious. Join us today as Mike gives us a few detailed explanations from his book, which quite honestly reads more like an action thriller than a retelling of actual events. If you’re interested in checking out his book, it can be found on Amazon for about $13. In the meantime, please sit back and enjoy the exciting first-hand accounts that Mike Detty has to share with us today on TFB’s Behind The Gun Podcast.

Those of you who follow the 3D printing and DIY antics of Jonathan Wild (AKA Wild Arms Research and Development) will no doubt have heard of his recent efforts to produce a replica M202 FLASH recoilless launcher. While we have heavily covered the test launches and adventures with the launcher here on the blog as well as on TFB’s Behind The Gun Podcast, I’m actually most excited today to share the announcement that Johnny Wild’s book Flame Assault Shoulder Weapon: M202A1 “FLASH” has just hit the online market. The book covers the history and purpose of the original M202 FLASH, as well as Jonathan’s build diary as he went through the process of learning about and replicating the system.

If you’re a revolver guy you’ll be interested in the latest book from Headstamp Publishing. They have launched their latest project ‘Clockwork Basilisk‘, an in-depth examination of the early revolvers developed by Elisha Collier and Artemas Wheeler. Written by Ben E. Nicholson, a Professor Emeritus at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the work spans two volumes and nearly 300 years of revolver design! Headstamp have launched a Kickstarter campaign for the book with stretch goals already being added.

The first volume of three books looking at the firearms of Heckler & Koch from Vickers Guide is now shipping. The new series of books was first announced six months ago and in a recent update the publisher confirmed that: “books have arrived at our warehouse and begin shipping on Monday! We appreciate everyone’s patience with this round of pre-orders, and we are excited to see that these books arrived a couple weeks before we expected them!” The Heckler & Koch Vickers Guide books are available in a number of configurations, with the following options available:  Standard Edition,  Signature Edition and  Slipcase Edition (unsigned) with MSRP starting at $98.

If you’re a gunsmith, armorer, historian, designer, or just a regular gun nerd that likes hi-res firearms photos, blueprints and schematics then you’ll be interested to hear that the digital version of the Firearms Guide 13th Edition is now available. Firearms Guide 13th Edition claims to be the world’s largest, and fastest computer searchable guns & ammunition reference guide featuring well over 65,000 high-res images and containing reference material for over 80,000 firearms spanning from antiques to more modern designs.

Those of you who keep close tabs here on TFB will know that in the past we’ve covered some of Jonathan Wilds’s books and projects. In fact, recently fellow writers Nick C and Lucas D had the opportunity to help Jonathan test out the subject of his latest book – the Fligerfaust. Although it has been a long and complex project, Jonathan is finally proud to announce the release of his book “Man Portable Air Defense System: Fliegerfaust” which covers in detail the history, development, and operating mechanisms of the obscure WWII-era man-portable air defense system – a first of its kind. Jonathan’s new book is available now through his website of through his dedicated Amazon page where you can also pick up his previous book “ Expedient Recoilless Launcher: Panzerfaust“.

Let’s just get this out of the way first – this is absolutely one of my most favorite forms of advertising and I really think this one could bring the family together for a good purpose. The Firearms Unknown YouTube channel released a catching ABC’s themed video detailing a great coloring book, F is for Firearms, that contains a lot of simple and pithy firearms phrases along with some nice illustrations going over each of the letters of the alphabet and some associated firearms or terminology. To see the full video you can check it out below.

Welcome to TFB Weekly Amazon Deals 6: National Book Lover’s Day! Gun enthusiasts are actually quite lucky when it comes to the amount of reference material we have available to us within the firearms world. Regardless of what your specific niche within the firearms world is, you’re more than likely to be able to find a book that covers that specific topic. Better yet, Amazon started its journey off decades ago by providing bookworms with direct access to books online rather than at their local Barnes & Noble or Books A Million. Amazon has continued that tradition well into today and there are a bunch of gun-related books to be found on the site. This week I’m happy and proud to feature a book that was written by our very own Miles V of TFBTV. Miles’ book,  Into Helmand With the Walking Dead: A Story of Combat in Afghanistan, is all about his and his friend’s experiences during the war in Afghanistan. The book is currently available on the Amazon book store for $17.46 for the hardcover version (normally $36.00). If you’re in the mood for tales of life and combat during the Afghanistan war, I can 100% recommend Miles’ book to you.

No matter if it is hunting, plinking, competition shooting, or just plain old fun, there is no doubt in my mind that .22LR is by far the most popular cartridge on the planet. The .22LR rimfire cartridges have been effectively used nearly everywhere on the planet for a variety of reasons and for many, the rimfire rifle is the centerpiece of the shooting community. Rimfire has more recently taken on a more prominent role in the firearms community both as a useful caliber as well as a training implement. Michael R. Shea in tandem with Gun Digest has just released their latest book  Rimfire Revolution: A Complete Guide to Modern .22 Rifles. I was given a review copy of the book and today on The Rimfire Report we’ll take a look at a few key items inside of this book that I thought stood out to my inner rimfire junkie.

Welcome to Amazon Deals 3. Today is July 19th, 2021 otherwise known as Flight Attendant Safety Professionals’ Day (what a mouthful). As a pilot myself, I have a lot of respect for what these men and women do to support the airline industry. A lot of time, dedication, and training goes into turning these people into more than just walking uniforms that deliver you drinks and snacks. Behind the scenes, flight attendants are a part of an entire flight crew that is incredibly capable of responding and reacting to emergency situations in the blink of an eye. Flight attendants even receive some medical emergency and first-aid training which could save lives at 36,000 feet. So today we’re starting off with an incredibly useful (but not TSA friendly) IFAK kit from MediTac which features a trauma pack, chest seals, and pretty much every essential needed for most medical emergencies. The MediTac kit is currently on sale for $20 off and comes in two different bag colors.

Having firearms books with high-quality photos and interesting factoids is a must for any self-respecting gun owner looking to decorate their coffee table. Even if you don’t read them they are always nice to have around for guests who come over. One such series of books I’ve seen gain a lot of popularity is the Vickers Guide series. Vickers Guide has just announced that their Vickers Guide 1911 Volume I and II books are now available for preorder.

Jonathan Ferguson’s new book on British bullpup rifles is one I’ve been waiting a long time for. Five years ago I wrote my Master’s thesis on the development of the early Cold War British bullpup rifle, the E.M.2, and the politics which engulfed it. It’s just over 40 years since Thomas Dugleby published his book on ‘EM-2 Concept & Design: A Rifle Ahead of Its Time’. For many years Dugelby’s book, published by Collector Grade Publications, represented the best published collection of information about Britain’s ill-fated bullpup.

Headstamp Publishing has announced Ian McCollum, of Forgotten Weapons fame, new book ‘Pistols of the Warlords – Chinese Domestic Handguns, 1911 – 1949‘. The new book comes hot on the heels of the shipping of their latest book Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms, 1901 – 2020, by Jonathan Ferguson – our full review of which is coming soon!

For military history buffs, there’s nothing better than a good book. For those interested in firearms history and specifically the use of machine guns during the First World War, there’s some good news. The Vickers MG Collection & Research Association, a not for profit research collection in the UK, has announced the reprinting of a long-lost book about the British Army’s use of the Vickers machine gun during the Great War.

While the late R. Blake Stevens‘ Black Rifle may still be considered the bible when it comes to the origins and history of the AR-15, the new second edition of ‘AR-15 (Volume 1)‘ from Vickers Guide is an accessible, aesthetically pleasing way into the history of one of the world’s most famous firearms.