We've all seen the books of compiled articles at gun shows, printed by Gun Digest or other sundry magazines. I usually don't give them a second glance, at least until now. I had a friend point out this one in particular, International Arms Review 1. Printed in the late 1970s, it is a lot more interesting than I would have expected, as its editor focused on unusual topics for its articles. The majority are about early breechloading systems, but it does also get into some medieval arms & armor areas and a few more modern guns.

The complete table of contents consists of:

Giant Siege Guns of Paris
History of the Pellet Gun
The Gewehr 88 and its Variants
Block-Operated Target and Gallery Rifles
The Lugers
The Dreyse Needle Gun
Shotgun Slugs
The Gun Collection in Erbach Castle, Odenwald
The Bavarian Werder Rifle, Model 1869
The Zig-Zag Mauser
From Hallmark to Proof-Mark
The Lefaucheux Pin-Fire System
Broomhandle Mauser (C96)
The Austrian Breech Loader M67
The Halberds
The Heerenbuchse
Ferlach - Ancient Home of the Austrian Gunmaker
The FG-42 Paratroop Rifle
Schwarzlose Pistol
Evolution of the Assault Rifle Since WWII
Can Pistols Stop Cars?
7.63 Astra vs C96 Mauser
The Mysterious Chamber of Nazidom
Zanotti
Belt-Buckle Pistol
A Wheel-Lock Curiosity
Collette's Gravity Loaders
The Crossbow as Sporting Weapon
The Introduction of Firearms to Europe
The 1911 Swiss Service Rifle
Firing the Needle Gun
The Age of Armor
The Portuguese Guedes Rifle, Model 1885
Evolution of the Machine Gun in the German Army
The Norwegian Rifle With the Tip-Up Chamber
The Rheinmetall Automatic Shotgun No. 4
Granddad's Rifle is not Dead
The Old Prussian Hussar Sabre
Nagant Gas-Check Revolver 7.62mm Model 1895
The Russian Simonov Carbine (SKS)

Few people will be interested in everything there, but I expect many folks will find a lot of the articles worthwhile.