Cheers everyone. I’d met them both before in the 90’s but it had to be done again. 
Cool stuff, Yodlaf. Franco Nero still looks great!
Can now be pre-ordered from Fab Press[url]http://www.fabpress.com/vsearch.php?CO=FAB105[/url] 34,99 £ for the limited edition. Steep price but i suspect it’s worth it ? Maybe Yodlaf and Phil can tell something more about the contents of the book ?
Hope it’s worth it for that price 
.
I will be writing a review of the book quite soon for the database. At the moment though it is sitting second in a little queue. First impressions are good but I’ll save any further comment until I’ve finished it completely.
OK thx, looking forward for the review.
I just ordered the limited hardback version myself, it was expensive so I hope it’s worth it.
Yesterday i received the folliowing message from Fab Press
[i]Thanks very much for ordering the hardback signature edition of Any Gun Can Play. When you placed your order, we were expecting to be shipping finished books before the end of the week ending Friday 24 June.
However, we have asked our printing company to package the books in custom designed mailing boxes in order to provide the maximum possible protection for the books during transit, and unfortunately production of these shipping boxes has taken longer than expected. The printers have informed us that they expect delivery of the shipping boxes late next week, meaning that it is our intention to get all pre-ordered books packaged and sent out into the mail system during the first full working week of July.
Apologies for this delay, which is an unforeseen side-effect of our efforts to ensure that all signature edition books are delivered to our customers in the best possible condition.
Thanks again for your order, and we hope that you will enjoy your new book once it arrives.[/i]
I received an autographed copy of Any Gun Can Play a week ago from Kevin Grant for my helping him with research and supplying pictures. For you waiting for your copy it will be well worth the extended wait. Since Kevin is a fan as well as a writer he covers the films from a fans point of view as well as disecting their philosphical side. There are many, many photos (black & white, color, ad mats, posters) and is well written. The print is small which makes for some slow reading, but necessary to keep down the size of the book which is almost 500 pages. This is one of the best books in English on the genre that has been published and a fun read as well. I was told by Kevin the paperback versions should be shipping from Amazon this week from the UK and sometime in July from the U.S.
My paperback shipped last week from UK Amazon, not sure why its not available to buy now.
Amazon UK have sold out of all their available copies.
Good news for Kevin. Bad news for any prospective buyers. And there should be loads. This really is a very good book indeed. Am currently writing my review of it for the site and can heartily recommend it.
(The book that is. Whether the review will be any good is another matter.)
My review of this book is now up:
http://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Any_Gun_Can_Play_-_Book_Review
I really recommend this one.
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Ok I buy it. For 500 well written pages it is quite cheap.
The chapters written on a thematic basis fill around 350 pages with the remainder taken up with the ‘who’s who’, filmography and some colour plates. Either way, I still think it’s worth the money. Especially as the paperback edition is cheaper than the hardback I purchased.
Excellent review Phil I feel the same way about the book. It took me about two weeks to read the book as I wanted to absorb each chapter.
I knew Kevin back in the “Blood Money & Vengeance” fanzine days and enjoyed his articles and reviews so I knew he could pull it off.
Written by a fan I’m glad he talks about Leone but doesn’t devote half the book to him. Sergio and Clint are referenced when the need
arises. It’s nice to read about the other architects of the genre that never seem to get their due.
Thanks again for a great review.
Thanks for the review Phil but it left me wondering, is this only about spaghetti westerns (Italian/Spanish) despite the title or how much is there about others (Karl Mays, East Germans, Turkish [they’re partly European… ;D ] etc whatever there are)?
The Karl Mays are discussed certainly and the East Germans referred to. The Turks don’t get much of a look in I’m afraid. 
In the Filmography Grant states that he has included films which have significant contributions from one or more of the ‘four key nations’ of Italy, Spain, France and Germany (including the GDR).
I must say that I’ve only flipped through it so far and me and Phil got it on the same day!
But with moving home and then being hit with illness for the best part of a month I haven’t really been up for it yet.
What the… … I can forgive the Turkish but how does he dare to ignore the Finnish classics?! 
Anyways thanks Phil.