good luger book?
 

Hi People, new to the forum...what is a good alaround book for newbys? I just puchased a shooter a 1939 42 code VOPO with matching numbers for $740 out the door, I guess I did ok...like the pistol verymuch and is acurate at 50 feet. Has black grips. thanks for any info...Slowfinger:)

I bought 4 last week to try and get myself educated:

-The Luger Story (by John Walter)
-The P-08 Parabellum Luger Automatic Pistol (by David McFarland)
-The Luger Handbook (by Aaron Davis)
-Luger Tips Revised Edition (by Michael Reese II)

They're all somewhat different, but I found "The Luger Handbook" indespensible in terms of helping one ascertain what you type/kind/value of Luger you are looking at. The 2nd book in the list is a good general info book about operation and such, while the first listed book is by far the most comprehensive at 253 pages.

I got them all at a local gun show out here in San Francisco, but think Amazon might have at least one or two of them. If you want to know the publisher info or other details that would help you track them down at a local bookstore or order them, let me know.

Good Luck!

This has been discussed on the forum, I am sure there are 3 or 8 threads on this subject.

Take with very much grains of salt type/kind of Davis's book, it has lots of errors, plus it is old now, so value would be waaaay off.

Luger story is good for information.

Kenyon is okay for general information.

Jan Still's books have the most real information and good pictures.

Ed

I would second - third - and forth Ed's comment. Please BUY Jan's books before ANY of the other books mentioned. And, don't buy them for the pictures alone - but read them....

While there are some good Luger books around - Jan Still's are the cornerstone to a collection. The rest are interesting reading and will supplement Jan's - but for fact, the most accurate information and the pinnacle of current information - Jan's are unsurpassed.

A close second to Jan's books would be Mr. Gibson's book about the KRIEGHOFF - but then again, I am baised regarding Kriegs.. ;)

John D.
(AND BTW - Welcome to the LugerForum!!! ;) )

Gerard Henrotin's e-books also contain useful information

See the discussion at this link http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...ighlight=books

--Dwight

I suppose the question that most new Luger collectors have is about prices. It is difficult to know how much to pay for a Luger.

Most of us collectors, new or not to Lugers, know how to judge a firearm for condition, but knowing what to pay is a different story.

Value is subjective.

For my part, I have been observing selling prices in the internet auctions and other sources of Lugers. Gunshows don't seem to provide very much as Luger prices there are usually very very high.

Welcome to the LugerForum.

As a new collector some years ago, I found Gerard Henrotin's e-books particularly helpful. They are a quick read, inexpensive, and readily available for download. They are especially useful in providing the new collector with a good overview. And, the Henrotin Luger Mechanicals book provides excellent disassembly instructions with great pictures.

Having said that, I have all of Jan Still's books, and I consider them the most useful and informative of all those in a fairly comprehensive library I have assembled. Contact Jan directly for those that may be available. Some of them might not currently be available but can occasionally be found on eBay. Also, you might open a thread on this and Jan's forum to seek those of Jan's books not readily available.

Good reading, good hunting, and good luck.

Jan Still's hands down

I agree that Jan's 3 Volumes on Lugers are the most up to date and comprehensive currently available, but for the new collector may be difficult to use. Charlie Kenyon's "Lugers at Random" has been the luger collector's most refenced books since the 1970s. Being chronological, it is easy to identify which model you have, without going into too much detail. It will be interesting to see what his revised edition looks like, if he ever finishs it. TH

I have a used copy of Kenyon's Lugers at Random available in the For Sale forum if anyone is interested.