Since we looked at a couple French revolvers yesterday, it seems only appropriate to have a resource on them (and later French automatic pistols) today. Specifically, Military Handguns of France by Eugene Medlin and Jean Huon. You might recognize Jean Huon's name from a previous review we did on his excellent work on French autoloading rifles, Proud Promise. But I digress - today is about pistols:

Medlin and Huon's book is an excellent primer on an under-appreciated subject (I, for one, have a bit of a crush on the MAS 1935A and it's Sig 210 look and feel). Unfortunately, it appears to be out of print and is only available used on Amazon for crazy prices. I believe it was basically replaced by a later expanded edition covering 1858 to 2004 (instead of ending at 1958 like this one). I haven't read through a copy of the newer version, but I expect it will also be excellent judging from the original work. That new edition is actually available for sale, which is certainly an advantage