McAulay, John D. <u>Rifles of the US Army 1861-1906</u>, Andrew Mowbray Publishers, 2003.
Alright, now this is a book that lives up to its hype and the info on the back cover. At $47.95 it isn't a cheap book. That said I believe it is worth every cent. It is well written, informative and interesting. If you are interested in the rifles carried by the US Army through this period and the evolution of them this is an absolute must read. There are none of the dry ballistics reports or accuracy ratings. What is there instead is the opinion of the men who carried and used them and basic information on their issue and their use on the sharp end.
For those interested in the Civil War portion of this time period you will be disapointed if you expect info on avery longarm in use as it does not cover the Rifle Musket at all or the smoothbores. As in the title the concentration is upon the Rifles of the US Army but the first two chapters, roughly 100 pages, are dedicated to the rifles of the Civil War. The Hall, M1841, M1855, Sharps, Colt revolving rifle, Spencer and pretty much any of the other rifles in use by the US Army are covered in detail.
What fascinates me as well as the Civil War weapons mentioned is the coverage given to the weapons that came after the Civil War, being an ardent fan of the single shot military rifles of the latter half of the 19th century I am quite pleased with this purchase and would suggest it for anyone interested in the firearms of the time.
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Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour | 
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