There are only a few books which I would class as 'absolutely essential reading' for those interested in this history of firearms. This is one of them.
It's ALSO the funniest book I have ever read.
In the entire Interlibrary Loan System of Canada, there were exactly 3 copies of this one available, 30 years ago. Now, they can't locate a copy at all. Fortunately for the world, it is back in print, courtesy of some evil, money-grubbing capitalist who doesn't charge enough and really has some good taste.
The book is "MY LIFE" by Hiram S. Maxim.
Yes, the machine-gun guy.
The one who anticipated every John Browning development by 10 years or more.
The guy who (almost) flew an airplane the size of a Lancaster, 7 years before the Wrights.
The guy who was the toughest fist-fighter (and the most unconventional) in 1858 New Brunswick.
The teetotaling bartender who made more money, the less booze he sold.
It's all in here, and a ton more. This is, without doubt, the funniest, the most engaging, and possibly the most informative book I have ever read.
It's $25 at your bookstore, a precise photographic reprint of the original Methuen edition of 1915. The photos reproduce like recycled dog doo-doo, but that brilliant text is all there.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Ask your bookseller for ISBN 0548476055. It's MY LIFE by Hiram S. Maxim, available from Kessinger Publishing.
Likely, it's cheaper in the States! I tried to find a copy on the Internet 3 years ago and it was a hundred and sixty POUNDS. This one's cheaper!
And it's all there, too!
It's ALSO the funniest book I have ever read.
In the entire Interlibrary Loan System of Canada, there were exactly 3 copies of this one available, 30 years ago. Now, they can't locate a copy at all. Fortunately for the world, it is back in print, courtesy of some evil, money-grubbing capitalist who doesn't charge enough and really has some good taste.
The book is "MY LIFE" by Hiram S. Maxim.
Yes, the machine-gun guy.
The one who anticipated every John Browning development by 10 years or more.
The guy who (almost) flew an airplane the size of a Lancaster, 7 years before the Wrights.
The guy who was the toughest fist-fighter (and the most unconventional) in 1858 New Brunswick.
The teetotaling bartender who made more money, the less booze he sold.
It's all in here, and a ton more. This is, without doubt, the funniest, the most engaging, and possibly the most informative book I have ever read.
It's $25 at your bookstore, a precise photographic reprint of the original Methuen edition of 1915. The photos reproduce like recycled dog doo-doo, but that brilliant text is all there.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Ask your bookseller for ISBN 0548476055. It's MY LIFE by Hiram S. Maxim, available from Kessinger Publishing.
Likely, it's cheaper in the States! I tried to find a copy on the Internet 3 years ago and it was a hundred and sixty POUNDS. This one's cheaper!
And it's all there, too!
