Rock in a Hard Place: The Browning Automatic Rifle (HC)

Rock in a Hard Place: The Browning Automatic Rifle
Publisher SRP: $79.95

by James L Ballou
Deluxe First Edition, 2000

Hardcover  w/  DJ
500 pages, 751 illustrations

The legendary BAR began as a single, hand-made, closed-bolt-firing model with an open-top receiver, designed by John M. Browning and machined to the great inventor's specifications by his half-brother, Jonathan Edmund Browning, in their Ogden, Utah, shop.

Right from the outset, John Browning's "Automatic Machine Rifle" was an instant success. It was manufactured through both World Wars and Korea by a total of six contractors, and remained one of the most respected weapons in the U.S. military arsenal for over four decades, proving time and time again that, when the fighting got heavy, the BAR was truly a "Rock in a Hard Place".

This first-ever in-depth study of the popular BAR includes clear photos of all U.S.-made military and commercial models, experimental models from Britain and France, plus offshore copies and clones from Belgium, Poland and Sweden. In addition, contents include profusely-illustrated chapters titled "How the BAR Works", "A Treatise on BAR Parts", "Troubleshooting the BAR", and "Accessories and Ancillaries"; plus a Bibliography and a comprehensive index.