I rate this book as exceptional. It provides an excellent historical perspective of the transition from the Pennsylvania style of gunmaking to the post-Hawken years, and the impact both upon and by Jacob and Samual Hawken and their Rocky Mountain rifles.

As a resident of St. Louis, I have access to the Hawken House in Webster Groves, Missouri, and to the Missouri Historical Society's Museum in Forest Park. It is exciting to see references to these resources mentioned in the book.

I am also planning to build my first true "Hawken" rifle, and this book gave me tremendous insight into what is historically accurate and why, for each period in the evolution of the Hawken Rocky Mountain Rifle. With this information, I am in a much better position to make informed decisions about what my finished rifle should be.