Don't know anything about Brother Chris's rant; but I do know he can sometimes get on a roll! As a little FYI regarding John Houchins book, I communicated with John a number of times over the past 3-4 years that this book has been in development. Like everything thing else in this world, it will not be prefect; but John did his absolute best to make the book as complete and informative as possible. One item that should be of interest to Smith collectors is that John and another LCSCA member arranged to conduct another study of the surviving Smith shipping records archieved at Cody. This was an expensive undertaking; but from that effort it was learned that (1) the shipping records are indeed all that remain of the original Smith production records; and (2) that Mr. Brophy's original grade recap was quite accurate, as few adjustments were made to his original totals. That said, the new recap will be more complete providing additional details on lower grade Smith guns; and there will also be a few surprises, which I will not divulge. Regarding the book itself, it is extensive and will build on Brophy's original work to include all that has been learned since Brophy's book was originally published. Additionally, it will have tons of great color photos, most of which were taken by photographer Terry Allen whose work is regularly featured in the DGJ, Shooting Sportsman, and other sporting magazines. Regarding the cost of this book, given printing and photography costs, the limited printing run; and the size of the book, it was an expensive item to produce. An interesting story regarding the printing of this book is that John learned he could significantly lower final retail price if he agreed to allow actual printing work to be done in China. John, being a Texan and a true patriot, couldn't bring himself to have his work on an American Classic gun printed in China; and was finally able to locate a printer in NC that could keep the per book price at something less than exhorbitant. I believe I am correct in stating that printing is underway as I write; and John plans to have copies available and being marketed prior to Christmas. It should be a great read; and, as is evident from the cover in the promo, will contain photos of some really interesting Smith guns.