G-Man Book - With Full Auto

[rhmc24]

G-Man by Stephen Hunter was so interesting, so detailed about guns I had to do this report.

G-Man, about killing the 1934 bank robbery gangsters, resurrected my kid memories of the 1930s, the love/hate the public had for famous outlaws who out-gunned the law & gave the Depression its just deserts. Centers around a fictional Arkansas Sheriff Swagger, one of the experienced gunmen the FBI recruited to give serious sting in FBI's infancy, populated primarily with law-school graduates.

Heavy on gun types, descriptions, shootings by the Dillinger gang & exploration of their personalities & behaviors. A lot of text is given "full automatic", the Thompson .45ACP, Baby Face Nelson's full-auto 1911 & Lebman, its creator --



The .30-06 Colt Monitor, a modified version of the military BAR but shorter, 6 pounds lighter, with pistol grip & compensator. Made for the .30-06 penetration of car bodies which often deflected the .45ACP of the Thompson.



Fiction, the book is interwoven seamlessly with actual events & individuals; easy to suspect that it may be un-recorded history. It's kind of two stories in one, the Dillinger era & the Sheriff's grandson's seeking details of his ancestor's FBI life & his disppearance. Reading it, chapters switch time & place from 1934 sites of activity to the present search using past evidence from early on. Interest builds & after the final shoot out switches to the Sheriff's exit from the FBI.

 

[chief38]

My wife recently bought the book for me and I started reading it last week. Up to chapter 6 now and so far - so good. Obviously he is a "Gun - Guy".

 

[tlawler]

Hunters characters and their exploits are a bit far fetched, but certainly entertaining reading. Some people think his rewriting of history downplays the actions of the real heros, like Ed Hollis and Sam Cowley, who died while taking down Baby Faced Nelson. I've read all of his books, find them very entertaining, and love the fact that he is such a detail oriented gun guy. His take on the Kennedy assassination in "The Third Bullet" is certainly interesting.

 

[Faulkner]

Hunters characters and their exploits are a bit far fetched, but certainly entertaining reading. Some people think his rewriting of history downplays the actions of the real heros, like Ed Hollis and Sam Cowley, who died while taking down Baby Faced Nelson. I've read all of his books, find them very entertaining, and love the fact that he is such a detail oriented gun guy. His take on the Kennedy assassination in "The Third Bullet" is certainly interesting.

I suppose that most people understand that fiction is not the rewriting of history.

When we consider the dime novels that were written about Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickock, and Jesse James which were 99% fiction it seems that there is a precedent over a hundred years old on writing fiction from a historical base or timeline.

 

[rhmc24]

I noted a couple 'far fetched' items in it but sometimes needed to hold the story together. I checked out a little more on the Monitor. Its
muzzle probably lit up the scene at night. It was known for the cloud of unburned powder from the compensator & its good control in shooting & its lack of rise . The Monitor info I have is that the FBI ordered 70 of them & some were sold to prisons, also foreign orders. Seems strange that it is never heard of in FBI news reports, maybe due little use due being over-gunned in most operatons or being confused with the Thompson by observers---->

 

[redlevel]

I have wanted a 1911 in .38 Super since Earl Swagger used one to such good effect in Havana.

 

[tlawler]

When we consider the dime novels that were written about Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickock, and Jesse James which were 99% fiction it seems that there is a precedent over a hundred years old on writing fiction from a historical base or timeline.

That's very true and a lot of the fiction today still depends on factual history and recent timelines that transport the writers fictional characters into believable heros. I just look at men like Agent Hollis and Agent Cowley and realize that real heros are just average guys like them. Outgunned and facing daunting odds, they never hesitated to do their duty, even knowing that it may(and ultimately did)cost them their lives.
I know it's all entertainment, but the Swagger franchise seems to have single-handedly won both world wars, taken care of the depression era gangsters, solved the Kennedy assassination, and nearly turned the tide in Vietnam.

 

[mg357]

I bought a copy of the book and enjoyed reading it in fact i had a very Hard time putting it down.

 

[tlawler]

I bought a copy of the book and enjoyed reading it in fact i had a very Hard time putting it down.

No doubt about Mr. Hunter's writing skills. I've had trouble putting any of his books down once I start reading them. Don't get me wrong, I love the exploits of the different generations of the Swagger men. I even went back and had to re-read "Point of Impact" to see how badly they did with the movie "Shooter" with Mark Wahlberg. I do like the more(what I consider)believable stories like "Point of Impact", "Isniper", "Hot Springs", "The 47th Samurai", etc. I even liked "Iripper", even though it was more of one of his "faction" works like "G-man" and "The Third Bullet".

 

[tlawler]

I bought a copy of the book and enjoyed reading it in fact i had a very Hard time putting it down.

No doubt about Mr. Hunter's writing skills. I've had trouble putting any of his books down once I start reading them. Don't get me wrong, I love the exploits of the different generations of the Swagger men. I even went back and had to re-read "Point of Impact" to see how badly they did with the movie "Shooter" with Mark Wahlberg. I do like the more(what I consider)believable stories like "Point of Impact", "Isniper", "Hot Springs", "The 47th Samurai", etc. I even liked "Iripper", even though it was more of one of his "faction" works like "G-man" and "The Third Bullet".

 

[Faulkner]

No doubt about Mr. Hunter's writing skills. I've had trouble putting any of his books down once I start reading them. Don't get me wrong, I love the exploits of the different generations of the Swagger men. I even went back and had to re-read "Point of Impact" to see how badly they did with the movie "Shooter" with Mark Wahlberg. I do like the more(what I consider)believable stories like "Point of Impact", "Isniper", "Hot Springs", "The 47th Samurai", etc. I even liked "Iripper", even though it was more of one of his "faction" works like "G-man" and "The Third Bullet".

Not long after I read Hot Springs I rode my Harley down to the setting for the book, Hot Springs, Arkansas, and spent an afternoon looking around. Hunter obviously did a thorough scoping out of the landscape because the geographic details on the location and description of the buildings in the book were spot on. Even the telephone switch building and Coy's Steakhouse were right were he indicated in the book.

 

[usmc2427765]

Stephen Hunter has always nailed it when it comes to weapons. I don't recall ever reading one of his books where he was wrong and he has a few books under his belt. Hope he keeps on turning them out !

 

[jag312]

The .30-06 Colt Monitor, a modified version of the military BAR but shorter, 6 pounds lighter, with pistol grip & compensator. Made for the .30-06 penetration of car bodies which often deflected the .45ACP of the Thompson.

I have always wanted a Colt Monitor since I was a young man. When I could afford one, I lived in California. Now that I live in Nevada and can own one, I can't afford it. Such is life.