The author salts almost every chapter with anti-gun control rants that distract from the ostensible subject of the book.

I like this book, especially the first few chapters that go into why someone might want to own an M1 Garand. It doesn't get too bogged down in stuff about serial numbers either.

These books are way better than Canfield's, and
have way less errors. And they include the Italian
rifles and the ones a guy is likely to actually GET,
too, and in MUCH MORE detail.

These books are way better than Canfield's, and
have way less errors. And they include the Italian
rifles and the ones a guy is likely to actually GET,
too, and in MUCH MORE detail.

These are the best of the M1 books, the easiest to read and
understand, with the detail laid out in a way that anybody can
understand. And the guns he shows look like the real thing.

The notes on the gun confiscation movement and local politics bring this World War II veteran rifle into modern context, and make it very obvious what the motiviations of the antigunners really are.

Scholarly without being pretentious, I found myself absorbing techniques and information without even noticing it.
And I did most of his maintenance stuff, and it all worked. With the trouble shooting information in Thompson's other book, THE COMPLETE M1 GARAND, the books have saved me thousands of dollars and lots of hours.

He goes beyond other researchers, who seem to dig up all their stuff at the armories, the factories, and from dry delivery records, and who pay no attention to the reports of veterans and actual units in the field. This makes his work very practical. He also puts holes in some of the "stand operating b.s." and lies of the past, which someone out there is surely going to find troubling, but what he says, I found out, works, makes sense, and is the truth. He has spent a lot of time getting this stuff from gunsmiths and armorers, and a lot of it I had heard previously but discarded because it wasn't in the dry books of other authors. It seems he is right on virtually every score, and much of the "official" stuff is smokescreen. My gunsmith (who built M1's during World War II, and wound up carrying one in Korea) loves the M1, and says Thompson obviously listened to "the right guys"... He also affirms Thompson's data and analysis of the gas traps and their performance, and that everything else in the book is obviously the way it really was.

While the M1 Garand is certainly a classic american rifle this book hardly rates in the same catagory.

As a new M1 owner I was looking for a book full of technical information on operation and maintenance along with some history. This book is short on all of the above but very long on attitude. Mr. Thompson makes his opinions clear on everything from his local police department to the general state of world affairs. I do not dispute the validity, or factuality, of Mr. Thompsons statements. I would be more than willing to sit down and discuss them. I do not, however, enjoy spending my hard earned money on a book entitled "The Classic M1 Garand" which is overly rife with page upon page of geo-political posturing.

The book is actually pretty scant on technical data and most of the photos are too dark and unfocused to be of any real value. This book is simply too full of useless information. I had intended to purchase Mr. Thompsons previous book, The Complete M1 Garand. Since I don't believe in throwing good money after bad I think I'll pass.

I suggest that you do the same.

Between the covers of "The Classic M1 Garand" by Jim Thompson, lies the intertwined stories of many whose lives have been touched by the legacy of this beautiful rifle. The opening pages tell the sensitive, true story of two men touched by time and linked by family, who had lived through two different wars. They grew to discover another thing which they had in common was their respect for the M1 Garand, a weapon that for each of them served to retain the memories of a time and place too horrible to remember...... and too much a part of what they were as men, to forget.
I am not a gun collector or a shooter. I am merely a woman who has had the incredible luck to browse through this excellently composed book which is full of history. The descriptions of the birth and re birth of the M1 are perfect in their detail and interesting in that the author weaves anecdotes and personal stories into the factual data. This is a wonderful way to keep the reader's attention riveted. It is apparant that this weapon has been around the world in it's various incarnations, each of them given ample space for photographs and exacting descriptions. And , speaking of photographs, this book is full of them. Many more so than I would have thought to find. There are photos of the various parts, markings and accessories to the gun and many pictures dedicated to the beauty of the rifle itself. Believe me, it is a wonderful machine with it's clean lines and spare design. Gorgeous wood and shining metal. This M1 Garand is a beautiful piece of art. It is no wonder that the M1 Garand is sought after by collectors the world over! The author, Jim Thompson, is credited with several of the photographs and appears in some as well. He is as capable an artist with the camera as he is with the pen. I enjoyed reading and looking through "The Classic M1 Garand", and will keep it visible to all who come to my home. It has become my newest and most treasured coffee table book. Thank you Mr. Thompson. Please write more books......for a long time to come.