Vlad Onokoy, renowned AK connoisseur and TFB contributor, has a new book on the way. ‘From Balkans to Babylon: Zastava AKs of Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Iraq’ will be published by Safar Publishing and is now available for pre-order. It is the first English-language book on the history, variants, and field use of Zastava AK rifles and the Iraqi-produced Tabuk AK (which is based on the Zastava). The new book is aimed at ‘collectors, researchers, armorers, and serious AK enthusiasts’. Safar Publishing describe it as “the most comprehensive reference ever published on one of the most compelling Kalashnikov lineages in the world — the Zastava M70 and its descendants.” Vlad photographing Zastava's during a research trip to the range The M70 family of rifles has seen action all over the world. Not only equipping Tito’s Yugoslavian armed forces but also being used in a host of conflicts including the Iran-Iraq War, the Yugoslav conflicts, the war in Afghanistan and even in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia War. Vlad has put together a video explaining how he came to write the book, his own hands on experience with the rifles as an armourer in the field, how he was able to explore Zastava’s incredible reference collection and speak to Serbia’s leading Zastava experts as he researched and wrote the book. So what’s covered in the book? Here’s a full breakdown from Safar Publishing:The complete development history of the Zastava M70 and its variants, from Yugoslav Army adoption to modern Serbian productionFull coverage of Zastava 5.56mm rifles — M80, M85, and M21 — with clear variant comparisonsA dedicated section on Iraqi small arms production, including well-known Tabuk variants and rare, previously unpublished riflesPrototypes and obscure variants documented here for the first time in any publicationMarkings, manufacturing details, and identification guidance for collectors and provenance researchHigh-resolution, detail-focused photography taken in active conflict zones across the Middle East and AfricaAn illustrated development timeline mapping Zastava AKs across changing states, wars, and international arms transfersPrimary source research drawn from declassified intelligence archives and Yugoslav-era records The book is available for pre-order now and is scheduled to begin shipping in the Fall. Find out more and pre-order here.