Spanish Best: The Fine Shotguns of Spain Paperback – October 7, 2014

The generally rave reviews are accurate, this is a first class book, and Wieland is a good writer, not just a good gun writer. There are facts and technical descriptions aplenty (more on those later), but his descriptions of the Basque people, the countryside, and the food put you in the middle of Basque culture. Of course this isn't meant as in depth study of all things Basque, but it does reflect what you will find if you visit this region of Spain.As to the technical details, and the descriptions of the guns and the gun makers, it does assume some familiarity with double guns. If you are familiar with details like third bites, sideclips, self openers, and you are at a level where you understand the difference between a lightweight game gun for example, and a pigeon gun, it's an easier read. If you aren't there yet, buy the book anyway and do some quick research on what you don't understand. You'll come away with a wealth of knowledge of guns in general, and Spanish guns in particular.I just wanted to add that the 2nd Edition is a notable upgrade over the 1st Edition. The newer edition contains more information with more photos than the 1st Edition. Even the quality of the paper used is better. I bought the 1st Edition early on, and was hesitant to spring for the 2nd Edition, but it's well worth the price. Of course, if you haven't bought the book at all, what are you waiting for? A classic among gun books.

Recently purchased a Spanish made Grulla SxS shotgun and wanted to learn more about the history of the company and the other Spanish gun makers and this book doesn't disappoint. Full of great detail on the history of each of the major gunmakers as well as lots of excellent photo's of the arms they make. The only negative is that this second edition isn't available in a hard cover as the first edition hard covers have gotten a little pricey and wouldn't have the updated information.

It's hard to imagine a better book over this subject. Very well written, lots of good information and a pleasure to read. In fact the only downside is the paperback... This book deserves a hard cover! But still it deserves 5 stars

This is an excellent book for learning and studying the various Spanish shotguns. Interesting to read, pictures are very good, and even tells you where he recommends eating and going in the area. Very pleas d. He is always a very good author.

Excellent book and very informative. However, the first thirty pages (of the copy I received) were falling out; I re -glued them, but the serious flaw surprised me.

Excellent resource for learning about Spanish side by side shotguns.Good information about the brands, traditions and proof marks

This book, although used, was as the sellers described, in excellent condition, it arrived promptly and I devoured it in a few days. For anyone interested in the history of fine gun making in the Basque area of Spain, this is a superb primer.

This book is a very nice resource on craftsmanship/ history that is not very well known in the US.