PRACTICAL PISTOL MANUAL: How to Use a Handgun for Self Defense.
Now that more than 27 states have
passed laws requiring training for the concealed carrying of firearms, citizens and police
have a duty to teach their safe and responsible use. Thirty-one states permit concealed
carry, plus Vermont that allows concealed carry with no permit required. In the eight
states that permit concealed carry with no training required, permittees have a moral
obligation to learn how to carry and use their firearms safely and responsibly.
More Info.
Tactical
Reality: An Uncommon Look at Common-Sense Firearms Training and Tactics
Understanding
Firearm Ballistics
The
Farnam Method of Defensive Shotgun and Rifle Shooting
Complete
Guide to Guns & Shooting
The
Best Defense
A
Little Handbook on the Second Amendment
The Operator's
Tactical Pistol Shooting Manual
by Erik Lawrence
Books of
self-defense interest
Real Fighting: Adrenaline Stress Conditioning Through Scenario-Based
Training by Peyton Quinn.
Reviewer: A reader
This guy has been a bouncer in some of the toughest bars in the country and he also
holds rank in several martial arts, but his take on real world self defense is surprising
indeed. He identifies the real problem in defending oneself against a real world assailant
and it just isn't about "martial technique" at all. He offers really priceless
insights into how to avoid a fight and how to spot an ambush or "interviewer"
who's conversation or threats ( woofs) are designed to see if you are safe to attack. This
information is priceless, yet I have never even seen this discussed in my whole library of
martial arts "how to do it" books. Yet, when I read this stuff I know I have
seen this before myself in every real fight I ever saw . Yet he puts it together in a way
that makes sense, it's understandable, clear and very practical and useful on the street.
I read his first book, "A Bouncer's Guide to Barroom Brawling" and that one
started me really thinking, it dealt with techniques and drills mostly but still presented
the basic problem of adrenal stress and how most people are just not prepared to deal with
"stand up aggression" and how the aggress or knows this and counts on it. But in
this last book he gets right down to it, showing you how and why you must deal with
"tough guys" & aggressive and hostile people before the fists start to fly.
It also makes very clear what "proper combat mindset" is all about and to shift
gears and "be there" if it comes to a real fight. If you are into martial arts,
but especially if you are a martial arts instructor, or self defense program instructor,
this is definitely a must read. But anybody can learn a great deal from it even if they
have no interest in martial arts at all. More Info.
Armed & Female by Paxton Quigley, 1989, softcover. Paxton
Quigley was on Sen. Kennedy's staff who helped enact the Gun Control Act of 1968. When
nothing changed, she investigated why. This book is the result of her investigation into
the effectiveness of gun control laws. More Info.
Bullseyes Don't Shoot Back by Rex Applegate, Michael Janich. 1998,
softcover. The complete textbook of point shooting for close quarters combat.
More Info.
CCW: Carrying Concealed Weapons. How to Carry Concealed Weapons and Know When
Others Are... by Jerry Ahern, 1996, softcover. This is a good book to read
for an overview on the practicality of concealed carry. More Info.
Dead or Alive the Choice is Yours: The Definitive Self-Protection Handbook
by Geoff Thompson. 1997, softcover. Shows you how to avoid violent situations, how
to control yourself and defend yourself. More Info
Family Protection Guide: Always the Victor Never The Victim by Craig Fox
Huber, 1995. More
Info.
In the Gravest Extreme by Massad Ayoob, 1980, softcover. The role
of the firearm. If you carry a gun, this is MUST reading. More Info.
Practical Pistol Manual: How to Use a Handgun for Self Defense by Bill
Clede, 1997, softcover. Designed as a text for pistol permit training required in
an increasing number of states. More Info.
Principles of Personal Defense by Jeff Cooper. 1989, softcover. A
primer on the "mindset" of engaging an adversary and surviving.
More Info.
Protecting Your Life, Home, and Property: A Cop Shows You How by Robert
L. Snow, 1995. Hardcover. More Info.
Softcover.
More Info.
Real World Survival: What Has Worked For Me by Walt Rauch. 1998,
softcover. The who, what, when, and why of surviving a threat. More Info.
Safe, Not Sorry: Keeping Yourself and Your Family Safe in a Violent Age
by Tanya K. Metaksa, 1997, hardcover. Everything a woman needs to know.
More Info.
Shooting to Live: With the One-Hand Gun by Capt. W.E. Fairbairn and Capt.
E.A. Sykes. Reprint edition 1992, softcover. Classic text, originally published in
1942. "As valid today as it was then," said Joe Truncale, LE Trainer magazine.
More Info.
Strong on Defense: Survival Rules to Protect You and Your Family from Crime
by Sanford Strong. 1997, softcover. Tells how to mentally prepare yourself to
survive sudden and random violent crime.
More Info
The Best Defense by Robert A. Waters. 1998, softcover. A
collection of fascinating accounts of people who successfully used firearms to defend
themselves and others. More Info.
The Save-Your-Life Defense Handbook by Matthew Braun, 1977. More Info.
The Tactical Advantage by Gabriel Suarez. 1998, softcover. A
defenitive study of personal small arms tactics showing combat-proven techniques big-city
cops use to stay alive. More Info.
Tough Target by J.J. Bittenbinder, 1997, hardcover. A street-smart
guide to staying safe.
More Info.
When Seconds Count: Everyone's Guide to Self-Defense by Sammy
Franco. 1994, softcover. Provides practical skills, proven techniques and necessary
confidence to avoid, defuse, confront or neutralize armed and unarmed assailants. More Info
LE Books
POLICE OFFICER'S GUIDE: Gives you a comprehensive understanding of the police
profession from abnormal behavior to the yawara. 2nd Edition extensively updated. Used as
a basic text in some police academies. "This is a well written and comprehensive book
that every police officer will find valuable. It is a text that police training courses
may want to consider adding to their list of required reading." -- Joseph J.
Truncale, ASLET Journal.
More Info.
SECURITY OFFICER'S MANUAL: A complete basic text from the officer's point of
view. Used in many training programs. Covers from physical conflict alternatives to
weapons responsibility; including bomb threats, fire prevention, patrol, report writing,
threat response, and more.
"This manual should be required reading for everyone entering this dynamic
field," -- Harry C. Kinne, Director of Public Safety, Wesleyan University, Middletown
CT. More
Info.
POLICE NONLETHAL FORCE MANUAL: These psychomotor skills require training by a
qualified instructor. But with understanding how the techniques work, you get more out of
training. 2nd Edition coming soon. How often do you have to draw your gun on the job?
Seldom. But how often have you had to subdue a combative subject? Often. This book exposes
you to some of the most respected police instructors in the country. They bring you
"Choices this side of deadly." First edition still available. More Info.
POLICE HANDGUN MANUAL: Everything you need to know about shooting and using a
handgun in practical application is covered in a series of fun-to-read stories. 2nd
Edition coming soon. You can't learn to shoot by reading a book but you can gain an
appreciation for the various techniques and be guided in your own self-training by what
you read here. The object is to "Get street-smart survival habits." First
edition still available. More Info.
POLICE SHOTGUN MANUAL: How and when to employ the combat shotgun. An offensive
weapon for police, a defensive weapon for citizens. 2nd Edition coming soon. First edition
still available. More Info.
Books on gun laws and
politics
Guns, Crime, and Freedom by Wayne LaPierre, 1994, hardcover. The
most complete and comprehensive look at the gun control controversy you'll ever see.
More Info.
Gun Laws of America: Every Federal Gun Law on the Book: With Plain English
Summaries by Alan Korwin, 1996, 336 pages. More Info.
Harvest of Rage by Joel Dyer, 1997, hardcover. Why Oklahoma City
is only the beginning. More Info.
More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws (Studies in Law
and Economics) By John R. Lott. 1998, hardcover. Chalenges conventional
wisdom regarding gun control, using the FBI's own crime figures over 18 years.
More Info.
No More Wacos by David B. Kopel and Paul H. Blackman, 1997, hardcover. Explains
what's wrong with federal law enforcement and how to fix it. More Info.
Stopping Power, Why 70 Million Americans Own Guns by J. Neil Schulman,
1994, hardcover. Neil Schulman wrote two award-winning novels. He is a
screenwriter, and a journalist. He wrote this book "to set the record straight,"
but using the investigative diligence of his journalistic training, he reaches some
startling conclusions. More Info.
Restricting Handguns: A Liberal Skeptic Speaks Out by Don B. Kates, 1979.
More Info.
Targeting Guns: Firearms and their Control (Social Institutions and Social
Change) by Gary Kleck. 1997, softcover. A substantial revision of Kleck's
award winning "Point Blank," published in 1991. An encyclopedic resource for the
truth about gun control.
More Info.
That Every Man Be Armed by Stephen P. Halbrook, 1994. Traces the
Second Amendment from its origins in ancient Greece to its current significance in modern
America. More Info.
The Gun Control Debate: You Decide by Lee Nisbet.. 1991,
softcover. Contemporary issues in philosophy.
More Info.
The Gun Grabbers by Alan Gottlieb, 1985. Details the structure,
financing, power, and composition of the anti-gun movement. Explains how anti-gunners use
the media and celebrities. More Info.
Unlimited Access, An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House by Gary
Aldrich. 1996, softcover. Accounts of Clinton White House staffers borders on the
unbelievable. But Aldrich relies on eye witness testimony: his own and that of other White
House insiders. Jack Anderson's comment, "the first book that tell us what is really
going on at the Clinton White House. The answer is terrifying and demands congressional
hearings," is an understatement.
More Info.
Stopping Power
Books
Its impossible to describe the information found in
the book - there is just so much of it - instead, I'll list the chapters, which include:
Mechanisms of Collapse, A Neurologists View of "Stopping Power", Hatcher's
Theory of Relative "Stopping Power", Relative Incapacitation Index, Southwestern
Institute of Forensic Sciences Methodology, FBI Methodology, Introduction to Results from
the Street, Actual Street Results for all Calibers, Short Barrel Ballistics,
Non-hollowpoint Options for Police, Speciality Ammunition, Tactical Penetration, Point of
Aim, Tissue Simulants, Ordnance Gelatin, Ideal Bullet Performance, Predicting Stopping
Power Using Street Results, New Ammo Developments, Terms, Test Weapons Velocity, Actual
Bullet Effectiveness, Validity of Various Theories of Handgun Stopping Power, Shot
Placement - Body Size - Clothing, Select Muzzle Velocities from Speciality Ammo, Addresses
of Ammo Manufacturers, Importers & Distributors.
A book which covers: "Stopping Power"
Theories, Neurological Shock, Navy/Crane 9mmP Ammo Tests, Police Marksman/ Fairburn Ammo
Tests, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Ammo Tests, Secret Service Ammo Tests, 10mm and 10mm
Medium Velocity Ammo, 10mm and 10mm Medium Velocity Street Results, .40 S&W Ammo, .40
S&W Street Results, .357 SIG Ammo, Pocket Pistol Calibres and Street Results, Updated
Street Results, The Great Subsonic Controversy, Cor-Bon Ammo, Magsafe and Glaser Updates,
Black Talon and Winchester Supreme SXT, CCI-Speer Gold Dot, Remington Golden Sabre, The
History of Hydra-Shok, Starfire & Quick-Shok Ammo by Tom Burczynski, Rhino, Razor,
Quick-Shok & Omega Star Ammo, Effects of Multiple Bullet Impacts, Shotgun and Rifle
Results, Sub-machine Gun Results, Changing Ammo Test Standards, Predicting "Stopping
Power" by Steve Fuller, Summary of Results, Autopsy from Triple Gunshot Victim,
Autopsy from Headshot Victim.
In September of 1987, the Weapons Advisory Committee
of the FBI Academy conducted an evaluation of a number of semi-automatic pistols. These
pistols represented both the 9mm (Luger/Parabellum) and the .45 ACP calibers and were
considered for issue to FBI Field SWAT teams as well as to Special Operations Groups
(SOG). During the selection process, it become apparent that the calibre questions was
highly controversial and very technical. In order to substantiate the final selection
recommendation, a decision was made to seek outside expertise to analyse the factors
involved in handgun wounding and the relative effectiveness of calibres. Consequently, a
number of recognised experts from several disciplines accepted an invitation to
participate in a three-day Wound Ballistic Workshop that was held at the FBI Academy of
September 15-17, 1987. On the final day of the workshop, each participant presented a
brief oral summary of his findings and a written position paper on same. This book
contains a summary of the key findings, as well as the position papers of each.
Books of Police interest
Careers in Law Enforcement and Security by Paul & Shari Cohen. 1994,
hardcover. More
Info.
Combat Use of the Double-Edged Fighting Knife by Rex Applegate. 1993,
softcover. More
Info.
Community Policing: Chicago Style by Wesley G. Skogan & Susan M. Hartnett.
1997, hardcover. Studies in crime and public policy. More Info.
Cops Under Fire: The Reign of Terror Against Hero Cops by Larry McShane.
1999, hardcover. Veteran Associated Press writer goes beyond Rodney King and O.J.
Simpson to give firsthand accounts of dozens of cases where the lives of officers doing
their duty were changed forever. More Info.
Emergency Vehicle Operation: Emergency Calls and Persuit Driving by Tom
Barker. 1998, softcover. More Info.
Far Beyond Defensive Tactics: Advanced Concepts, Techniques, Drills, and Tricks for Cops
on the Street by Loren Christensen. 1998, softcover. Shows cops how
to use proven defensive tactics to survive. More Info.
Federal Jobs in Law Enforcement by John W. Warner. 1992, softcover. Guide
to federal law enforcement careers.
More Info.
Fit for Duty by Robert Hoffman, Thomas R. Collingwood. 1995, softcover. Peace
officer's guide to total fitness.
More Info.
Guide to Careers in Federal Law Enforcement by Thomas Ackerman. 1999,
softcover. Profiles 225 high-powered careers and gives you sure-fire tactics for
getting hired. More Info
Handbook on Questioning Children: A Linguistic Perspective by Anne Graffam
Walker. American Bar Association. Effective use of languages critical for adults
who talk to, interview and question children. A newly revised edition of the 1994 ABA
book. More
Info
I Love a Cop by Ellen Kirschman. 1997, softcover. What police families need
to know.
More Info.
Kill or Get Killed by Rex Applegate. 1976, hardcover. Applegate's classic
book on riot control techniques, manhandling, and close combat for police and military.
More Info.
LAPD: Patrol, SWAT, Air Support, K9, Crash and Homicide by Samuel M. Katz, 1997,
128 pp.
More Info.
Management of Aggressive Behavior by Roland Ouellette, 1993. The most
frequent challenge you face on the street isn't guns but aggression. This book tells how
to defuse and control such situations. More Info.
Modern Law Enforcement Weapons and Tactics by Tom Ferguson. 1991, softcover. More Info.
NYPD: On the Street with the New York City Police Department Emergency Services Unit
by Samuel M. Katz, 1995, 127 pp. More Info.
One Time: The Story of a South Central Los Angeles Police Officer by Brian S.
Bentley. 1997, softcover. Bently tells his story as an idealistic, middle-class,
college graduate, African-American with nine years service as a Los Angeles police
officer. He is currently relieved from duty without pay for 129 allegations of misconduct.
Of a number of LAPD officers who have authored books, he is the only one under
investigation.
More Info.
Police Field Operations by Thomas F. Adams. 1997, hardcover. An
introductory book for students of law enforcement. More Info.
Police Officer's Guide by Bill Clede, 1995, softcover. Everything you ever
wanted to know about police work and weren't afraid to ask. Used as a text by some police
academies. It is the text for the Online Police Academy correspondence course,
Introduction to Law Enforcement. More Info.
Police on Patrol - The Other Side of the Story, by Linda Kleinschmidt, A.J.
Publishing, Hartford CT, 1996, 154 pages. A compilation of brief "war
stories", some humorous, some tragic, but all giving an insight into the minds of
those on the thin blue line. More Info.
Precinct 19 by Thomas Larry Adcock, 1986, softcover. Yet another rendition
of Police work in the Big Apple, specifically Manhattan's Upper East side. Written by an
outside "observer", it is true stories of the realities of Police work. More Info.
Presumed Guilty by Stacey C. Koon, Robert Deitz. 1992, hardcover. The
tragedy of the Rodney King affair. More Info.
Security Officer's Manual by Bill Clede, 1993, softcover. Everything the
new security officer needs to know, from public appearance to bomb threats. MUST reading
for everyone entering the security profession as an officer.
More Info.
Selecting a Police Chief by Police Executive Research Forum. 1999,
hardcover. Demystifies the recruiting and hiring of police chief executives for
both the prospective employers and prospective chiefs.
More Info
Sky Cops by Richard Rosenthal. 1994, softcover. Stories from America's
Airborne Police. More Info.
The Art of Investigative Interviewing by Clarles L. Yeschke. 1997, softcover. A
human approach to testimonial evidence. More Info.
The Fraud Identification Handbook by George B. Allen. 1999, softcover. A
comprehensive guide to all types of fraud for professionals, law enforcement and small
business owners. Ten chapters: introduction, investment fraud, confidence games, consumer
fraud, science fraud, and summary-conclusion.
More Info.
The Making of a Detective by Harvey Rachlin. 1995, hardcover. Behind-the-scenes
chronicle of Homocide Detective David Carbone. More Info.
The Night Raiders: Israel's Naval Commandos at War by Samuel M. Katz, 1997,
softcover, 368 pp.
More Info.
The Soul of a Cop by Paul Ragonese & Berry Stainback, 1992. A
tremendous autobiography of an NYPD Cop's 17 years on the job in everything from traffic
duty to the Bomb Squad and ESU. More Info.
Total Survival, Edited by Ed Nowicki, 1993, softcover. A comprehensive
guide for the physical, psychological, emotional, and professional survival of law
enforcement officers.
More Info.
True Blue, by Ed Nowicki, 1992, softcover. True Stories About Real Cops.
More Info.
Undercover Second Edition by Carmine J. Motto and Dale L. June. 1999,
hardcover. An instructive and entertaining book for those public and private
investigators who are potential undercover agents. More Info
Women in Control? by Frances Heidensohn. 1996, softcover. The role of women
in law enforcement.
More Info.
Police on Patrol - The Other Side of the Story, by Linda Kleinschmidt, A.J.
Publishing, Hartford CT, 1996, 154 pages.
Reviewed by Bill Clede
People don't understand police, was Linda Kleinschmidt's conclusion after having
breakfast with several Hartford police officers she knows. As the cops wound down from
their midnight shift, Kleinschmidt was all ears. She decided such stories are better told
in the officer's own words, and anonymously, so they could speak more freely.
The result is a compilation of brief "war stories", some humorous,
some tragic, but all giving an insight into the minds of those on the thin blue line. The
stories are true. You've probably heard many of the "excuses". But it's funny
when the attractive female speeder opens her blouse as the officer approached, and is
surprised when she looks up and sees a female officer.
"People need to understand," Kleinschmidt said, "that if it
appears the officer who pulled you over is having a bad day, you don't know the half of
it."
The purpose of this book is to educate the public on the other side of the
story.
It's built like the old joke books, snippets of stories, and it's a bit wider
than the usual small format book. But that makes it ideal for stashing in the
"library" to read during your daily visits. More Info.
Management of Aggressive Behavior by Roland Ouellette,
Reviewed by Bill Clede
For as long as you've been a police officer, how many aggressors have you been
forced to shoot? How often have you had to scuffle? Aha, you spend much more time managing
aggressive people with words or empty hand control techniques than you ever spend firing
your sidearm.
It would stand to reason that you should practice verbal and defensive tactics
much more than marksmanship, right? But it doesn't happen that way. If tactical exercises
are worthwhile on the range, why not practice the skills you need for the majority of your
confrontations?
Perhaps the reason is that books, so far, have focused on specific techniques in
firearms, baton, handcuffing, or compliance holds. Finally, there's one that starts with
your just "being there" and goes only to the point of taking a subject into
custody.
In researching the Police Nonlethal Force Manual, I took a course from
Roland Ouellette, retired State Police Academy instructor who now heads R.E.B. Training.
That course addressed the skills that all officers need and so few understand. You deal
with people every day. You are trained to deal with aggression. But what about in between?
The way you stand, where you stand, your tone of voice, all are tools you use to
placate an upset citizen. But do it wrong and you can actually precipitate aggression
against you.
To give police trainers their due, most instructors I've had weave tips and
tidbits into their defensive tactics, handcuffing and baton training. But Roland Ouellette
developed a course to specifically cover this often neglected aspect of police training.
He calls it Management of Aggressive Behavior. Certainly others also told him, "You
ought to write a book."
While the physical techniques he explains and illustrates should be learned
hands-on under the supervision of a qualified instructor, much of his book helps you to
understand the nuances of your actions before you lay hands on a subject. It puts a
perspective on what the subject communicates to you by nonverbal means, and on what you
can communicate to the subject in the same way.
A studious reading of Ouellette's book gives you confidence in dealing with
people because you better understand what you're dealing with. And that helps you to do a
better job, perhaps with fewer fights. More Info.
Unlimited Access, An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House, by Gary Aldrich.
Regnery Publishing, Washington DC, 1996.
Reviewed by Bill Clede
I'd heard about a book by a retired FBI agent talking about the Clinton White
House but never gave it a second thought. Political books are of no interest to me. I
never read Primary Colors, either. Then a copy of Aldrich's book was found under my
Christmas tree. Believe me, this is not a political book.
Aldrich is as apolitical as one can be. He is obviously a competent police
officer. From his accounts of attempts to do background investigations, and his
observations of people and events, demonstrate his law enforcement training. His
conclusions attest to his police experience.
Aldrich's accounts of Clinton White House staffers borders on the unbelievable.
But he relies on eye witness testimony for everything in his book: his own and that of
other White House insiders. He covers "Nannygate," "Travelgate," and
the mysterious case of Vince Foster -- whose true motives for committing suicide were
revealed to Aldrich, in a secured vault, by security director Craig Livingstone.
Jack Anderson's comment, "the first book that tell us what is really going
on at the Clinton White House. The answer is terrifying and demands congressional
hearings," is an understatement. More Info.
Concealed Handgun Manual, by Chris Bird, softcover.
Reviewed by Bill Clede
The flood of self-defense books published recently says something about public
interest. Most I've seen are good and give good advice. But the best I've read so far is
one that was not written by a cop. This book was written by a former newspaperman who
worked the police beat.
The way Chris Bird tells stories, this is a book you will enjoy reading. He has
worked alongside police officers who rely on their sidearms for their survival. They know
what works and what doesn't. Bird consolidates their combined knowledge into 276 pages of
sound advice, clear explanations, and proven techniques. He delves into what goes on in
your head and what happens to your body when faced with a deadly threat. These are all
things you need to know to cope with the emotions that overwhelm you in such a situation.
He also shows what can go wrong and how the consequences may not be what you
expect. If you wear a gun, this is a book you can't afford not to read. More Info.
Bullseyes Don't Shoot Back by Col. Rex Applegate & Michael D. Janich.
Paladin Press, 1998, softcover.
Reviewed by Bill Clede
When you are suddenly threatened, it induces stress. Your body reacts to stress.
Your adrenalin starting to pump, you crouch, you square your body to the threat, your eyes
focus on the threat, and your muscles contract convulsively.
"Why not use these natural reactions in a shooting technique that is easy
to learn and easy to retain?" Applegate asks.
Since his assignment to the Army's Office of Strategic Services (OSS) under Col.
Will Bill Donovan in World War II, his mission in life has been to train his men to
survive armed confrontations. Notice how that is worded. Applegate was as much a marksman
as anyone else on the range, but he knew that's not what happens in real life. He set out
to discover how a handgun was really used by the famous lawmen of history. Wild Bill
Hickok was no phoney. He was a real gun fighter. He was murdered in Deadwood, South
Dakota.
In early 1942, Applegate went to the Deadwood County Courthouse. He asked the
lady there about news clips or anything on Hickok. She brought him a dusty bundle of
papers tied with an old red ribbon. Most were repeats of dime novel episodes, but one was
a letter asking Hickok what was his technique.
The famous gun fighter's response was clipped to the letter and it riveted
Applegate. Hickok had penned in his own handwriting, "I raised my hand to eye level,
like pointing a finger, and fired." Applegate felt like he had discovered the
"Holy Grail."
In a dozen chapters, Applegate and Janich discuss the history of point shooting
and why it works. They relate the technique to time and distance and explain the
"body point." Depending on time and distance, they explain the one-hand point
shooting technique, two-hand point shooting, two-hand sighted fire, and shooting from the
draw.
They compare point shooting with state of the art, and provide training tips.
Steve Barron, who applied the technique to police training at Hocking College in Ohio,
explains how police firearms training there has come full circle and now teaches point
shooting.
Bullseyes Don't Shoot Back gives you a lot to think about. But if you
think about it now, in training, when you suddenly face a threat you'll have a lot less to
think about to properly respond to that threat. That can help to keep you alive.
More Info.
The Ayoob Files: The Book by Massad Ayoob. Police Bookshelf, 1995, softcover.
Reviewed by Bill Clede
I'm a police trainer and writer who knows the value of learning from one's
mistakes. But Massad Ayoob got real serious about it long before I did. He is director of
Lethal Force Institute in Concord NH, and has written about infamous gun fights in a
regular feature in American Handgunner magazine, The Ayoob Files.
Ayoob critiques these cases to learn what went wrong or right. He sought the
techniques that he could pass on to others to enhance their survivability.
For example, every police trainer knows of the 1970 Newhall Incident in
California. Four Highway Patrol officers died in a five-minute gun battle with two
well-armed "gentlemen." They died, in part, because of habits they developed on
the training range. That incident has changed the way police are trained.
I've written about Newhall a dozen times, but I didn't know the live hero of the
incident was a citizen, Gary Ness using the .357 Magnum dropped by an officer, who scored
the only telling shot putting one bullet into the upper chest of murderer Bobby Davis.
Ayoob dissects this incident. He read the police reports, local newspapers, and
talked with those involved. He spells it all out in this book.
Yes, I saw the TV special on the FBI Shootout in Miami. But try to remember all
the details. Ayoob arrived in Miami three weeks after the gun fight to teach at the Metro
Dade Police Academy. He sorted through all pertinent information to lay out the event in
one chapter and its reconstruction in another.
And yes, the Rodney King incident is another chapter.
The way Ayoob explains 14 significant gun fights of our time is instructive. You
learn what went wrong, and what went right. And in the case of gun battles, it's nice to
be able to learn from the experiences of others. More Info.
REAL-WORLD SURVIVAL, What Has Worked For Me, by Walt Rauch. 1998.
Reviewed by Bill Clede
For the many years I've counted Walt Rauch a friend, I've never once accused him
of being politically correct. He lives up to his reputation of "telling it like it
is" in his new book. He jumps with both feet into testy waters I only dip a toe into
in my book, PRACTICAL PISTOL MANUAL: How to Use a Handgun for Self-Defense.
Most writers refer to self-defense as a response to an attack. In teaching
police officers I emphasize their purpose is to STOP the felonious assault that may lead
to death or grievous bodily harm. In the first paragraph of Chapter I, Walt says, "A
primary facet of mindset is controlling your fears or negating them so that they do not
inhibit or restrict your actions, which should be to DESTROY, not `stop,' the other
guy."
The very last sentences in his book are, "[Self-Defense] is your
responsibility alone and you will live -- or die -- with it. I will only say that in a
final, life-threatening conflict, if you are to live, Otherhuman must die, for he does not
have the right or privilege to harm you!"
In between is a lifetime of learning how to survive in the real world. And 99
44/100% of his advice can keep you alive. The other 56/100% should be considered whether
you like it or not.
Real-World Survival is well worth reading, and reading again. More Info.
The Fraud Identification Handbook by George B. Allen. 1999, softcover.
A comprehensive guide to all types of fraud for professionals, law enforcement
and small business owners. Ten chapters: cover investment fraud, confidence games,
consumer fraud, financial fraud, government fraud, investment fraud, operations fraud,
public interest fraud, science fraud, and a summary-conclusion.
"I wrote this book as an affordable, education-prevention guide for
individual consumers, investors, professionals. and small business owners," Allan
said. "It is designed to work as a reference. It's unusual in that it includes
natural resource fraus, gem and mineral fraud, and science fraud."
Allen holds a BA from Colorado College, an MS from the University of Arinoza And
Criminal Investigator Certification from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
More Info. |
