Revolver: Sam Colt and the Six-Shooter That Changed America

Entertaining read if you are interested in Colt.

Reading this book turns out to be an absolute treat. Who would have thought that I would find the history surrounding the development of the Colt Revolver of such dynamic relevance to my world today?Yes, I knew about the wagon trip West, the privation, and occasional attacks by Indians. What I had little idea about was the environment of America which produced these chance takers who risked everything to go west to the valleys of Oregon, Washington, and California. This book quite finely draws the reader into the milieu of the America of the 1840's and 50’s and does it with near perfect finesse.How I am pulled back, again and again, into this world of the America of the 1840’s and 50’s still astounds me. So much I didn’t know. So much utterly floored me, as much as anything, from this writer’s sense of touch. By the end of each chapter, I felt I had been there, a time when many Americans felt exuberant and jumped at any chance for expansionist opportunity.Superimposed on all this is the quintessential history of “the gun which made America,” the Colt Revolver.OMG, What a history!

I was anticipating this book on Sam Colt. After plodding through the snail's pace prose loaded with the smallest detail of the life of Sam Colt, including the weather on certain days, I could not wait to end the read. As was stated by other reviews, many of Colt's guns were minimized. Being a collector and dealer in antique arms I was left with a big hole in the design and history of some of his guns, especially the model 1849, a favorite of the gold miners and folk in the gold rush. The book is in small print, which I am used to, after 40 years reading medical texts as a physician. As a reader of history though, the book could have been shorter, with larger print to facilitate the read. I can appreciate the enormous background and research that was done. The works of O'reilly on, for example, "Killing Crazy Horse", was a great book, a lot of history, and a lot of meat on the bone in the terms of character development, yet being a quick read, and did not devolve into intense minutiae. If this was to be a reference book on the smallest details of Samuel Colt's life it succeeds. To be an entertaining delve into the man and his firearms, it fails in the length and neglect of certain important firearms. I wanted to know more about the guns, which fell short, but I learned a great deal of the period in America 1819 to 1860, which was a hard struggle, but could have been less stressed. In short, too much gristle and not enough meat.

I have read everyone of Rasenberger's books, and I ordered "Revolver:Samuel Colt....' as soon as I learned of its publication date. I was not disappointed. The author is an excellent writer and has succeeded in placing Colt among the luminaries of the industrial revolution in America. Clever, preserving, flamboyant, almost doomed to failure but determined to make his mark, Colt's legacy is that of a giant in the design of a firearm that changed the history of conflict in our country. Not only a brilliant inventor, Colt was also a successful promoter whose gold-plated examples of the 45 caliber repeater he presented to potentates such as the Czar of Russia. Rasenberger's book will find its way into every university library and will be read by history buffs, collectors and those of us who cherish American history.

The book is a historians dream. It's not specifically about the Revolver, it's about Colt the man and the time he lived in. The research the author did is sublime. It's like hanging out with Colt in the times he lived... It's a must read to experience a powerful time in American history.The times Colt lived in - are a huge part of what the Revolver is. The times and revolver come to life in this book.The audible version is GREAT.

This book is a great read! The story of Sam Colt and the history of the revolver was fascinating on any number of levels: Sam Colt a brilliant and driven man, the remarkable and detailed history of the United States during his life time, and the role that the revolver played in the development of American culture. Rasenberger's exhaustive research and level of detail is impressive and it shed new light on this period of American history. Highly recommend!

very informative and interesting. lots of history of our country during his life. it's a must read!

Who knew what an amazing man Sam Colt was? You will come away from this book with an extraordinary appreciation for what a wild life Colt lived, and what a strange and stirring time it was in America. The book is filled with new scholarship but reads like a novel, at times. I've ordered several copies--my friends and family will be pleased!

This was to be a gift but the first pages were crumpled and folded and the cover was folded wrong. Sure not "gift-giving" quality. First let-down in over a thousand purchases!!!

Excellent value book and very informative

As described, arrived on time