The ‘Broomhandle’ Mauser (Weapon, 58)

I admit I have been fascinated by this handgun since reading Winston Churchill's account of his use of a Mauser pistol during the battle of Omdurman. This Osprey Weapon book #58 is an excellent and surprisingly thorough treatment of this influential handgun.Jonathan Ferguson begins the story of this weapon with the impetus for its design during the early days of self-loading pistols with the Borchardt pistol preceding it and the Bergmann and Luger adding later competition. Really, there were a number of designs attracting attention of militaries from all over Europe and the US.The Mauser just never caught on with militaries, partly because of the inherent conservatism of militaries and the officer classes. One can read between the lines of some of the military officers disparaging the Mauser, though there were men who used them and swore by them such as Churchill.The author covers the militaries, outlaws and revolutionaries who did adopt the weapon, usually at the edges relevance such as the various factions in China which was a big buyer of both authentic Mausers and unauthorized clones and outright fakes. The author covers the Spanish companies that made illegal copies of the Mauser and a couple that introduced select-fire versions, prodding Mauser to do the same thing with the Schnellfeuer 712.In addition to the select-fire version, the author covers the "carbine", "bolo" and all the other versions Mauser introduced as well as the different modifications to the basic pistol (safeties, hammer spurs, frame milling differences). The author ends the story with the influence this fine pistol had on pistols far beyond its own time. And, yes, he does mention its use in film including by "Han Solo" in "Star Wars"!This Osprey book has all the excellent color plates, vintage black and white pics Osprey is known for as well as wonderful full-color pics of the wonderful products of the gunmaker's art, the fine machining and polishing, the rust-blueing, the quality wood grips and stocks. This is an excellent addition to the Osprey Weapons series.

This was an interesting read covering the design and history of the “Broomhandle” Mauser pistol including many of it’s variants. Some nice photographs and illustrations are included. It however is not really a reference work for collectors; to be fair it does not claim to be. I enjoyed the book and think it worth the money if you have a strong interest in this first commercially successful self-loading pistol.

The Broomhandle Mauser is one of those iconic weapons that seems to live on in legend far past its period of actual usage. It was unique for its period in offering a ten shot magazine, later with select fire. Although it was only formally adopted by a few militaries, it seems to have shown up regularly in conflicts from the Boer War in South Africa to civil war in China to the First World War and the "troubles" in Ireland, among others.Author Jonathan Ferguson offers a concise and highly readable history in this Osprey Weapon Series book, with illustrations by Peter Dennis. The narrative covers the development and use of the weapon, bolstered by lots of first person accounts, including by the author in probing claims of unreliability. This reviewer was especially interested in the insights by Winston Churchill, who carried a broomhandle mauser in the famous British cavalry charge at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, and who swore by the mauser as a sidearm. Highly recommended as a knowledgeable introduction to an iconic sidearm.

A good, basic reference. It covers the history and variations but not to the depth of detail I would like to see. The rich photos and stories of both its use and the niche it filled make it a valuable addition to my library.

Great book with wonderful illustrations. Plates resolution is very good, details like serial numbers, logos and even scratches are sharp on zoomed Royal Armouries photographs. Story is also great with lots of details and interesting twists.However, Kindle version does not show all pictures if the font size is increased. They are downloaded but to view some of them text should be zoomed out which is quite annoying sometimes. Issue appears both on Android and PC.

This is a short, but informative, overview on the Mauser C96 broomhandle. The photographs are great. The is coverage of both the original Mauser pistols and the clones. All and all, it is not a bad guide.

Another winner. Loads of detail about the weapon itself, but the information surrounding the mystique surrounding the broom handle was far more interesting. A great addition to any collection, and especially to fans of this iconic firearm.

Good book, but the service was a little slow.

Great history and photos

Well presented with good illustrations. Enjoyable read.

After the first read through I wasn't very impressed but I wasn't unhappy either. However after reading through the webley volume of this series I was quite disappointed in this book. Not very much information in terms of specific characteristics of certain models, what changed, approximate serial numbers exc. However if you're looking for a broad overview this would be a great book for the price, though maybe being a 15-20$ book would better suit this particular volume of the series. Otherwise I would recommend forking out the money and getting one of the 2 well known books on the subject. I am waiting for one of those two as we speak, and I wish I hadn't of spend this money on a book that didn't suit my needs.

The five stars is purely for the author and illustrator s work.What on earth has happened to the enhanced typesetting for osprey books on kindle ,mostly the effect on the Fire's format.Please return enhanced to its rightful place on these or I'll never purchase another Ospre y book!NOT A THREAT BUT A PROMISE!!

Excellent history and details.. Essential collectors' manual. Sadly ,lacks instructions on stripping, cleaning and reassembly.