Quoted:
He's right you know..... /|
Actually I think Volume III is the best of all 3....
https://www.amazon.com/War-Baby-III-Carbine-Century/dp/0889355509
Larry Ruth is the man on Carbines, knew him for 10 years before I moved down to TX...he personally did my data sheets on mine...expensive books, but worth it...
There is also this:
https://www.amazon.com/U-S-M1-Carbine-Production-Collectors/dp/B00DJU4WU2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541460832&sr=1-1&keywords=for+collectors+only+m1+carbine
Which you can surely find on the secondary market, not nearly as good as any of the War Baby's, but a handy dandy reference, especially for all the different part variations.
I will also concur, buy good references, and stop depending on the kindness of others who generally have bought the books, and learned the info for themselves.
There is a difference between true collectors and accumulators....collectors bite the bullet, and spend the money on good references, which generally aren't cheap (and also generally, if they are, they aren't necessarily good references)
If you are willing to spend $500 and up to several thousand dollars on a gun, buy the best references first, a $100-$200 investment up front can save you thousands (or gain you thousands)....
I have $1000's of dollars invested in my reference library...that's not to say I don't ask questions on things, there is always something to learn, but I can usually answer all my basic questions, and only need to ask for help in the esoteric....
I have been collecting seriously now for 30 years, and it built up over time. Figure out what interests you the most right now, and go buy the books, read them, then go seek what you want armed with knowledge. There is no substitute (except blind luck, which everyone usually gets a few times!
)