The book is presented in alphabetical order and each major country of Europe has a foreword covering the basic political history and the development of the country's firearms industry, followed in chronological order with photographs showing the development of their service arms.

It includes pictures showing close up details of the major differences between models and under each firearm is shown the basic issue bayonet. Calibre, overall length, barrel length, number of grooves, twist rate and rear sight measurement are also listed. At the end of each section there are various photos of ammunition and relevant data. The book provides good solid information and will appeal to novice or advanced collectors. Please see the Gallery for select example pages taken from the book.

Included is information of officially accepted rifles and carbines for use of the following armies in period 1867 – 1886:
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Kingdom of Belgium
Great Britain
Kingdom of Denmark
Republic of France
Imperial Germany
Kingdom of Greece
Kingdom of Holland
Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Portugal
Russian Empire
Kingdom of Spain
Kingdom of Sweden-Norway
Swiss Confederacy