Book Description

At an early age Dave Shike recognized the importance of learning and the value of education. He was influenced by a set of World Book Encyclopedias that opened the doors of travel, cultures, and history. He became a voracious reader, and began to pursue it as a lifestyle. Dave's life work has centered around re-search and teaching. This is evidenced by some of Dave's academic and professional accomplishments that include, but are not limited to, an electrical appren-ticeship, a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Technology, patent work, trade secrets, research work at the corporate level, and his invited participation as an educator at Purdue University Northwest (Indiana) for over ten years.Dave's desire to help others, his love of knowledge and his European travels has helped him gain an understanding of the struggles of humanity. This has laid a foundation and driven Dave as he became a historian of the World War II-era and an expert of the P.38 pistol. The P.38 pistol was considered a wonder of technological advancement even until the 1960's, 15 to 20 years past World War II, due to its double action semi-automatic capabilities. The characteristics and mystery of the P.38 pushed Dave to pursue his research.Dave bought his first P.38 in 1976 and has researched the history of the P.38 for the past 40+ years. Dave has been mentored by the late Warren Buxton, well-known and published P.38 historian, as well as the noted collector, the late Paul Wiedekeher. Since 2007 Dave has been in regular attendance at the annual "P.38 Forum" meetings. Dave's contribution to helping people learn and understand, his desire to keep the intrigue of the P.38 alive helped him, inpart, achieve the P.38 Forum Member of the Year award in 2011. Dave discovered a subvariant, Waffenamt 18 locking block on a very few Spreewerk Grottau pistols. Dave has engaged in his own independent research and discovery, and has been recognized by his peers as a noteworthy contributor to the World War II P.38 pistol.