Recommended Reading: A Couple of Great Books by Robert Campbell

 

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn

December 2nd, 2007

 

 

 

Coming up soon on its 100th birthday, the legendary Colt 1911 pistol is one of the most well known and most popular handguns in the world. After all this time, and all of the many great and not-so-great pistol designs since, the 1911 is still the choice of many professionals who carry a fighting pistol. Also, as a competition pistol, the 1911 has no equal. Inspired by God and designed by John Browning, the 1911 is one handgun that every shooter should own.

Modified to the extreme or left in its most basic form, the 1911 is king.  Many books have been written, along with countless magazine articles, about the grand old pistol, and dozens of manufacturers and custom builders produce a 1911 in one form or another.

One of the best books on the 1911 has been written by our friend and Gunblast contributing writer, Robert Campbell. Besides Gunblast, Mr. Campbell is well-known for his many articles and reviews published in the better paper gun magazines.

A couple of years ago, I reviewed an excellent book by Mr. Campbell titled "The Handgun in Personal Defense".  I again am privileged to review two more of his books here, one written entirely by him titled "Model 1911 Automatic Pistol" and another co-written by Mr. Campbell titled "The Gun Digest Book of Assault Weapons".

In his book on the 1911, Mr. Campbell covers the history of its inception and John Browning’s development of the gun. The book is filled with excellent color pictures to help illustrate and to compliment the text. Mr. Campbell details the modifications that are done to the 1911, disassembly, finishes, holsters, magazines, and every other detail of the 1911’s use and purpose. He describes Jeff Cooper’s involvement in popularizing the great pistol. He discusses basics and custom guns in detail.

"Model 1911 Automatic Pistol", while being an enjoyable and entertaining read, is also a great reference book to keep on the workbench or beside the bed for quick tips on using and customizing the 1911.

"The Gun Digest Book of Assault Weapons" is rife with good information on submachine guns, fighting shotguns, sniper rifles, automatic rifles, and other interesting fighting guns. Mr. Campbell, along with co-authors Jack Lewis and David Steele, created this book to be a comprehensive reference covering many well-known and almost unknown  types of professional fighting weapons. It is over 250 pages of information on weapons, tactics, and cartridges that is entertaining to read, and chocked full of knowledge from the minds of these three gentlemen, each drawing upon their years of experience in the combat weapons field.

While you can find these books for sale online, if you order directly from Bob Campbell, you can get a better price, and he will personally autograph copies to you or as gifts autographed to the recipient.

As of this writing, the 1911 book is available from Bob postage paid and autographed for only $25. If you order his Personal Defense book at the same time, he will autograph it also and ship it with the 1911 book for only $15 more.  The Assault Weapons book can be purchased for $28.95 postage paid. All of these are great reference books, and would make a wonderful gift for a shooter in your life.

You can order any or all three by writing to:

R.K. Campbell
3288 Reidville Road
Spartanburg, SC  29301

If you have any questions, email to: rkcampbell@gunblast.com.

Jeff Quinn

Got something to say about this article? Want to agree (or disagree) with it? Click the following link to go to the GUNBlast Feedback Page.

Click pictures for a larger version.