Just started this today...

I just started reading this today and I already have a new sig line for my e-mail...

"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."

This bit of timeless wisdom is on page 2. I can scarcely wait to continue this read. :)

http://www.jeffcooperbooks.com/

In the Gravest Extreme

In the Gravest Extreme: The Role of the Firearm in Personal Protection written by Massad F. Ayoob, ISBN 0-936279-00-1.

Mr. Ayoob is a well-known authority on the use of firearms and confrontation. This book, albeit somewhat dated (21st printing of a 1980 copyright) by today's standard, has some very useful discussion of the who, what, why, how and when of personal defense with a firearm. Also, his style of writing is quite readable.

In my opinion, the discussion about do not give chase, do not instigate, be judicious in the application of preemptive strike, to be aware of and current on the local laws applicable, firearm safety, and leave police work to police personnel is the most important treatment in this book.

Next in importance are the discussions of caliber, recoil, home defense scenarios and the general use of firearms for defense in any number of scenarios is near as critical as the former list.

This book (about 135 pages in a roughly 5-3/8" X 8-3/8" platform) covers the many aspects of firearm use, especially with regard to personal defense, very well and from the viewpoint of someone who knows. That knowledge from many years in LE, instructor and student of the topic.

Principles of Personal Defense by Jeff Cooper

I began and finished this little gem last night. It is Principles of Personal Defense written by Jeff Cooper, ISBN 0-87364-497-2.

This booklet (about 55 pages in a roughly 5-3/8" X 8-3/8" package) doesn't talk about the how, the why, the when, the who or really even, the what.

It presumes that you have a firm grasp of:

How to implement your chosen defense.
That your reason for implementation is known by you.
You will choose when to implement.
Who you will implement against.
What it is that you are even trying to accomplish with said implementation.
All in the realm of personal defense.

The following quote from the preface page ix succinctly states the purpose of personal defense. "In war there is no substitute for victory, and this is equally true of personal combat, which is, after all, a microcosm of war. When a coward is offered deadly violence, his reaction may be to surrender, or cower, or flee, or call for help; not one of these choices is likely to obviate his peril. But this booklet was not written for cowards."

Cowardice to me, is one of those amorphous characteristics, one does not truly know their capacity for cowardice until it is truly tested. I trust that I am not a coward, but until I have to face an unknown, equal or superior force with real consequences of failure... I will not truly know. - ancillary commentary by me.

The body of the booklet does not discuss anything but the Principles of personal defense. The author defines principle in the following statement, extracted from the Preface pages vii and viii, "If a principle exists it must be immutable, for that is what a principle is - a truth standing apart from the mood of the times.

These principles (among many things) lie in elevated state of awareness, absolute belief in your chosen course of action, your willingness to react with as much vigor as you can muster and calm, intelligent use of what is at hand to defeat those who threaten your life.

IMHO - This is a very good "no shit Sherlock" read... meaning that upon reading you will likely have the... slap your forehead, duh moments that I had. But, it is those obvious things that are so obvious as to not be paid attention to, that can be deadly.

I never hurts to have a clear reminder of what is truly at stake during the moments (maybe seconds) that you have to defend yourself.

Armed Response by David Kenik

Follows is my take on the book Armed Response: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Firearms for Self-Defense written by David Kenik with foreword by Massad Ayoob, ISBN 0-936783-45-1.

I am and have been a concealed carry permit holder since moving to Alabama in 2002. Prior to that, I held a carry permit in South Dakota, and prior to that I was active duty Infantry. But, there were many years between South Dakota and Alabama and I did not hold a permit and actually, did not own a handgun. For the longest time after moving to Alabama, although I held a permit, I did not carry. Lately, I have begun to carry again, simply to get used to it again. I generally don't frequent areas that one would expect to need to defend oneself, but as the world spins out of control... there is absolutely no sense in being unprepared. So, after rearming myself, I set myself on the path to New World Order enlightenment. And, by New World Order, I mean post Bush-the-elder. This book and various other media are the beginning to my enlightenment.

Overall, this little (about 180 pages in a roughly 6" X 9" platform) book covers the topic of lethal force encounters with a firearm in relatively broad strokes, as should any 180 page "Comprehensive Guide" to anything. The only thing that I found to truly disagree with in the whole book comes from page 128 with dude hidden behind the front-end of an Audi and proclaiming that autos make great cover because the engine block is impenetrable to most fire. True, the engine block is pretty stout. That is the only thing that is pretty stout, except maybe the transmission, frame and brake drums -- all noncontinuous in form. Doors, trunks, pickup boxes, space above and below the engine block are all easily penetrated by most ammunition. And, the cover provided is unidirectional -- meaning that if you have adversaries in two planes, you need to seek better cover. Don't get me wrong, if it is all you have handy, make the best of it.

With that little tirade out of the way, I will say that the rest of this book makes a great deal of sense, is presented in an orderly and relatively sequential fashion and makes a great introduction to any number of topics for further reading and discussion.

In an effort to not just repeat that Table of Contents, I will summarize as follows...

Chapters 1 through 9: Things to know, understand and be comfortable with prior to picking up a firearm.

Chapters 10 through 15: Firearm choices, issues and general information.

Chapters 16 through 21: How to carry, how to maintain comfort and how to present.

Chapters 22 through 25: Choosing your ammunition and firearm AND becoming competent with them.

Chapters 26 through 27: What to do and not do during confrontation and ways to deal with the after confrontation.

Chapters 28 through 31: Firearm storage, secondary safety tools, general good information about gun fights and gun control.

Resources and Endnotes: Good places to go looking for things mentioned throughout the book and reference materials for further study.

All in all, I highly recommend this as introductory materials for beginning or re-beginning firearm enthusiasts and those who just wish to be prepared.