''The 'Broomhandle' Mauser'' is a 2017 non-fiction book about the history and design of the

Mauser C96 The Mauser C96 (''Construktion 96'') is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 2 ...

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...

. Written by

Jonathan Ferguson Jonathan Steven Ferguson (born January 3, 1979) is a British firearm historian and author who is currently the Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, England. He is also a technical specialist with Armament Rese ...

, it is the 58th book in the 'Weapon' series by

Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British, Oxford-based, publishing company specializing in military history. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company produces ov ...

Content

''The 'Broomhandle' Mauser'' details the development, usage, and impact of the Mauser C96, in Germany, its country of origin, and later via unlicensed foreign copies. The book is heavily illustrated, as Ferguson, who works at the

Royal Armouries Museum The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a national museum which displays the National Collection of Arms and Armour. It is part of the Royal Armouries family of museums, with other sites at the Royal Armouries' traditio ...

, was able to photograph C96s from the museum.

Reception

''Cybermodeler Online'' called the book a "riveting little read", and said the part on foreign copies was "among the book's most fascinating sections." ''Gun Mart'' also praised the book, stating that "the text and photographs are excellent and the diagrams will really please the firearm collector and historian." ''The Firearm Blog'' noted an error – the book mentions that Turkish C96s used

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

markings, when they were actually in Arabic. Furthermore, they lamented the absence of a section on the collector's market for the pistol, but nonetheless concluded their review by saying "if you are a student of the First World War or early 20th Century small arms, want to get a gift for someone who is, or are simply more curious about this German

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...

handgun, then I would absolutely recommend this Osprey Weapons Series book for you."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broomhandle Mauser, The 2017 non-fiction books Firearm books