Way back in 1990 at the young age of 19 years old, I talked my father into taking me to a local gun store to purchase my first handgun.  In my mind I had already decided that I wanted to be a police officer when I got older and getting a head start on training for that day needed to begin now.  I told dad that I wanted to buy a Glock pistol since that’s what a lot of police departments were starting to carry and I wanted to get experience with it.  Having shot revolvers growing up with him, this would be the first semi-automatic handgun in the family.  He obliged me one Saturday and after completing all the needed paperwork and handing over my hard earned money from my painting job, I was the proud new owner of a Glock 19.

That day began my love of the Glock pistol, and here we are almost 30 years later and the feeling has not subsided.  As the owner of numerous Glock’s  in my rotation for everyday carry, and as an instructor and armorer for my agency, I was excited to be given the opportunity to review Robert Sadowski’s “Book of Glock”.

When the book arrived, I ripped into the mailing package like a kid on Christmas morning and took the large paperback out of the envelope.  My first reaction was wow!  The Book of Glock is 262 pages of photographs, diagrams, charts and tables within the 33 Chapters of comprehensive detailed information on Gaston Glock’s greatest invention.

When it was time to start reading I did what I was taught in school, started at the beginning.  Chapters one through five are quite literally the history of the Glock pistol in extremely specific detail about how it came to be one of the most popular handguns in the world.  The timeline that shows the evolution from when Gaston Glock created the company in 1963 all the way up to 2017 with the release of Gen 5’s is nothing short of amazing.

The chapter on “Glock Anatomy” was very detailed in the explanation on what makes this weapon tick.  The cutaway images of the firing process is great to see in full color.  This will allow firearm instructors and armorers who read this book the ability to explain the functionality of it to their students in better detail.

Starting in Chapter Six and continuing to 26, each and every model of Glock pistol is described, the specifications are spelled out in a clean and easy to ready table, and photographs of each generation is shown.  This information is perfect for anyone who is ready to purchase a Glock but isn’t quite sure which one to get.  These chapters have done all the research and comparison for you and put the information in one location.

There is a chapter on training and shooting techniques where the basics of grip, stance, sights and trigger press are explained for the novice gun enthusiast.  The Glock Shooting Sports Foundation and Glock Collectors Association are recognized with chapters spelling out what those organizations can do for you as a Glock Shooter.  The different Glock tools and accessories that are available even have their own chapter in this book showing what else is available out there to add to your own collection.  Surprisingly, there is an entire chapter dedicated to “Geeked-Out Glocks” and the customization of the pistol that you can do yourself, complete with pictures.

The only chapter in the book that I wasn’t completely satisfied with is the one titled “Field Stripping and Detailed Disassembly”.  Honestly, the first part of the section that is about field stripping the weapon could have easily been included in the “Cleaning and Maintenance” chapter and left at that.  The second part of the chapter is 16 pages of specific instructions and photographs on how to completely disassemble the pistol into all 34 individual parts.  One of the biggest issues I have is the one line that states “Reassemble in reverse order”.  That’s it as far as putting the gun back together… Weapon armorers know that it’s not always that easy!  I believe that whole section should have either been removed or at least have a caveat printed at the beginning of the chapter that states the complete disassembly of the pistol should only be done by a certified Glock Armorer.  I have had a plastic baggie of gun parts handed to me before by someone who read a book or watched a video of “How to….” and I had to put back together what they couldn’t.  I don’t want someone to take their defense weapon apart because they read how to in a book and not be able to get it back into working condition.

“The Book of Glock” is an encyclopedia of information on every Glock pistol made up to 2017.  With a list cost of only $19.99, this is definitely a must have for the library of any Glock enthusiast or armorer.  I’m sure that I will be referring back to it on a regular basis for both myself and others in my agency that want some specific information on a particular model.

Material Disclosure

I received this product as a courtesy from the manufacturer via Spotter Up so I could test it and give my honest feedback. I am not bound by any written, verbal, or implied contract to give this product a good review. All opinions are my own and are based off my personal experience with the product.

*The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Spotter Up Magazine, the administrative staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.