any recommendations for books for a newbie?

[Ron Wood]

"Lugers at Random" by Charles Kenyon -easy to find copies. Gives a good overview of most Luger types, but the photography is 40 years old and not as good quality as more recent publications. Not a bad reference for the beginner as it provides large photo details and pretty comprehensive information on each type of Luger.

A series of 4 volumes by Jan Still - excellent references and great photos, but some are out of print and difficult to find.

There are older references by Fred Datig and Harry Jones that are also good. Datig provides some neat history, and Jones has a fairly good photo selection. These were some of the very early references, and while they are pioneering efforts and a valuable resource, they do have some data that have been shown to be incorrect in light of more recent information.

The "Luger Story" by John Walter is also good reading and has quite a bit of valuable information and history.