[Exotic-Toys]

Ok, I've received two PM's from members about the top AK reference book(s) on the market. I'm not sure what I would choose?

So, I want to hear from the members: Give me your top 2 (why would be nice too)


ta

 

[Templar]

Without a doubt, Ezell and Blake's "Kalashnikov, the Arms and the Man", from Collector Grade publications.

That's #1.


Number 2, would be Toloi's picture book for reference but it's getting kind of dated and very hard to find now.

Val Shilin and Charlie Cutshaw's "Legends and Reality of the AK" is a must have also.

 

[Shooter521]

"Legends and Reality of the AK" is an interesting read from an historical standpoint, and because it shows all the cool/interesting/odd prototypes and one-offs throughout the type's development, as well as some recent non-AK weapons from Izhmash.

I've also gotten a lot out of "AK-47 and AK-74 Kalashnikov Rifles and Their Variations" by Joe Poyer. If you're a detail freak, this is a great reference to have, as it discusses the development and differences in the various parts (receivers, grips, FSBs, stocks, mags, etc), across the AK family and over time.

 

[Kuiper]

#1 Ezell's book....Kalashnikov, the man and the weapon a revised version of the AK47 story

#2 AK-47 and AK-74 Kalashnikov Rifles and Their Variations

#3 Shilin's book

The top3 imho

 

[Chinook]

I love my gun books MORE than my guns! There is jsut something about educating myself! Any way, here goes:

1)Ezell's book

2)Poyers book is actually a good read and I prefer it over Shilin/Cutshaw's book.

3) the Tokoi book is a must have for the collector! Photography is unmatched to date!

4)Kalashnikov Arms is a must have for the collector as well. It is compiled by Alexei Nedelin. It is a hardcover book written in Cyrillic with the English translation on opposing pages. Some text in the beginning and mostly photos afterwards. I haven't seen one for sale in a long time!!

 

[Stottman]

Tokoi's book is the best (besides maybe some Russian museum exhibit programs) for IDing items, and learning all the major types (even though he left some out).

Ezell's book is pretty good, but I feel its overrated.. Over course, there is not much alternative.


Poyers book, have just flipped through it but I was not impressed. Have heard from others more knowledgable then myself that there are many errors... And if its typical of his other books, its allot of fluff and no new information that is not presented in every book, magazine article or decent website on the subject.

 

[SturmGrenadier]

Without getting into a heated debate with anyone about facts....The Poyer book is layed out well and had great promise but the huge ammount of misinformation in that book is staggering.

Even the Tokoi book has some goofs but Poyer's book is a poor choice for the beginning AK enthusiast because they will use it verbatten as a reference.

Just keep a very open mind if you do have the Poyer book.

 

[Dawg180]

Without getting into a heated debate with anyone about facts....The Poyer book is layed out well and had great promise but the huge ammount of misinformation in that book is staggering.

Even the Tokoi book has some goofs but Poyer's book is a poor choice for the beginning AK enthusiast because they will use it verbatten as a reference.

Just keep a very open mind if you do have the Poyer book.

My g/f checked the Legends and Reality book out from the library to learn about AK's (of her own accord!) and I found it on her nightstand last night. I flipped through it and offered to loan her some of my books if I could read through it.

Legends and Reality is alright, but I was actually a bit disappointed by the lack of techincal information. Great photos, but a total lack of engineering diagrams (I am an Architect by trade) meant that their explanations of some of the more advanced recoil reducing systems and the AN-94 were, well, lacking in my opinion. I also really disliked the fact that they constantly pointed out they were the first ones to put some odd fact in print. On the upside, they have photos and info on all sorts of neat variants and prototypes. I think my favorite was the R&D program in the 1960's to improve the AK, which was based on their observations of the M16. The prototype (which was not adopted) had full length tapered wood handguards, a fire selector on the left side for thumb manipulation, and went to a smaller 5.6mm caliber, i.e. it was an AK in M16 clothing!

I have seen the Tokoi book, and it was pretty neat for type identification by external features...kind of like one of those "aircraft paitn scheme" books.

I have not seen the Ezell book, but based on the many, many other bokos I have by him I would hazard a guess it is a very good read.

 

[SturmGrenadier]

If you ever get a chance to buy a copy, don't hesitate.

 

[Kuiper]

Sturm,

Do you have a translated title and author for that Russian book?

 

[Stottman]

History Russian assault rifles

 

[Kuiper]

Thanks Stott

 

[jmaurer]

Can anyone who is lucky enough to have a copy of the Tokoi book tell me what the ISBN number is?

 

[arashi]

Can anyone who is lucky enough to have a copy of the Tokoi book tell me what the ISBN number is?

ISBN4-499-20582-4

I got mine from Japan. I emailed the author's assistant and he said that no reprints or new editions are planned...

 

[Kuiper]

Got Tokoi's book w/ translation inbound via Greentimber, but haven't seen any copies on the internet for some time now..

Now to find a copy of the book Sturm has in Russian.

Bas

 

[Stottman]

I spoke to Tokoi in person about a year ago, and was able to get him to autograph my AK book. He said that theere was a new updated version planed.

It is out of print, and now sells for super high prices on ebay and the boards. Hundreds of dollars.

However, there is a Chinese version of the book. Exactly the same, just in Chinese that is still in print.. It is sold in Taiwan.

 

[jmaurer]

Arashi:

Thanks for the number. I had hoped to find a copy of the Tokoi book through interlibrary loan, but after supplying the ISBN to the library, I was told that "it appears that there is not a copy held in any library anywhere in the States." Amazing.

What I had hoped to see were the selector markings on the following: mid-70s Romanian "G" series, Romanian MD-63 circa 1970, and those present on the Hungarian AMD 65. I've seen the Sticky with photos, but I was hoping that the reported quality of photography in this book would allow me to accurately scale these marks and duplicate them myself on some builds. As well, I was interested in the rest of the data and obscure material in the remainder of the book.

Anyway, thanks!

 

[arashi]

My copy doesn't have the english translation.

Anyone willing to copy/scan the translation for me? I'd be willing to pay.

 

[vcpk9]

I just picked up a copy of Ezell's "Kalashnikov, the Arms and the Man" at a gun show yesterday for 40 bucks. It is a great read.

 

[ATC]

This on is available at Amazon for about $22. I think it's a very nice reference.