Customer Reviews

To Ride, Shoot Straight, And Speak The Truth

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is so hard to improve on the five star reviews that have been written. But it was when I read 'Combat mind-set, proper sighting, tactical residential architecture, nuclear war - these are some of the many subjects explored by Jeff Cooper in this illustrated anthology. The author discusses various arms, fighting skills and the importance of knowing how to defend oneself, and one's honor, in our rapidly changing world' that I knew it would be a book I would read and use. In my personal opinion he is the best author on firearms and their use. The real McCoy and not some fictional Rambo type.

I know he is a former Marine Lt. Colonel who served in WWII and Korea,
history professor (Ph.D.) and an ongoing student of history, philosopher, adventurer, author, and shottist. Being an English language connoisseur I love that he uses words like shottist. So many people have noted to me that what sets the author apart from so many gun or firearm authors is his no nonsense, common sense approach to teaching about guns and gun uses. And how he teaches that they are tools and not recreational toys. Like the NRA and the Ducks Unlimited gun course I took he teaches that All firearms are loaded, keep your finger off the trigger unless your sights are on the target, never let the firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy and
be sure of your target and what is behind it. He teaches and writes about the most
effective methods to learn for engaging and hitting human antagonists or game animals with the proper firearm. He is a common sense, no nonsense teacher which I would like to see cloned!

Back in 1975 he founded the American Pistol Institute API which taught rifle and shotgun pistol, usage and then the name was changed to Gunsite (gunsite.com). He is also the founder of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (ipsc.org), a member of the NRA Board of Directors, and Editor-at-large for Guns & Ammo magazine. I belong to the NRA (nra.org)and subscribe to and recommend Guns and Ammo magazine which you can subscribe to via Amazon.com.

Art Of The Rifle and his Principles Of Personal Defense are also excellent books.

This is not a "Gun Book" though it certainly contains a hefty amount of gun info in it. It is just a good book, by the man who literally changed the way police officers train in this country. (If you have ever seen a cop hold a gun with two hands, thank Cooper for it)

Cooper is an excellent writer, and while some readers may find parts of this book uninteresting, there is something here for everyone. I even read a few of the passages out loud to my pre-teen daughters in front of a campfire a few weeks ago; they were riveted to their chairs. (The Passage titled "Survivor" should be standard reading to every school age student; it brings a certain amount of humanity to WWII in a way that is shockingly personal.)

I read this entire book in a 6 hour period and then read it again a second time in one day. If you like guns, you will love this book, but if you don't there is still enough interesting info here to keep you interested.

I recommend this book highly.

I get this book to help my shooting skills.

The book did that. But it's not a book on shooting skills.

It's a book on shootting but also on personal defense. But it's ALSO a book on defending your home. But it's ALSO a book that is designed to create real men, not the Hollywood lie but real men who are honest, who defend honor, and who know how to protect their families and themselves.

The book is a pro-active defense book meaning that it teaches you how to KEEP from becoming a victim. But it also shows you how to change your mindset to be a better man.

This book reads like a book of short stories. That's what it really is, although some of the "stories" are detailed instrictions on what it means to protect one's family and exactly how to do so.

I didn't shoot until I had read this and then I shot a lot. As you may have read in my Disabling America (ISBN: 0785262253) I have many problems with my hands. As you'll also read there, I overcome them and Jeff Cooper and his training and the people around him have (and will) continue to help me learn how to use what I have to defende what is right to defend.

I strongly encourage you to read this if you are a man... or if you want to become a real man.

This is Cooper's best general purpose work. For the student of marksmanship, both rifle and pistol, this is his most illuminating text, revealing details of the marksmanship process that are immediately useful. It is even more useful as a text for the self-reliant citizen. And, of course, it is entertaining and amusing. If you have just one "gun book", this should be it.

Colonel Jeff Cooper compresses volumes of information into one well-written, informative, and entertaining volume. He shares his experiences and philosphies with the reader as a father would share them with his son at the fireplace.

As a "Generation Xer" it is a great relief to know that this country will eventually be taken back by those who followed the Ten Commandments, read the Constitution, learned shooting from their fathers, and read Col Jeff Cooper's writings.

Read the book and see.

If you're a sporting enthusiast, whether a hunter or a shooter (shottist, to use Col. Cooper's term...), the name of Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, RET. is probably a familiar one. I was first exposed to the Colonel's work as a young infantry officer. The Marine Corps has a vested interest in developing their troop leaders. Professional reading is always encouraged. I read a short, easily read paperback listing "Principles of Personal Defense". The author was a retired Marine named Cooper. (If you haven't read that one yet, add it to your list! ) I was amazed at the volume of eminently practical and sound theory put forth in that book. As a Grunt, I was skeptical of anything that sounded far-fetched. I'd heard my share of war stories. That slim volume caught my interest. The Colonel earned my trust by simply and plainly telling the truth about combat.
I spent quite a bit of time teaching Marines about combat. I hadn't actually been in combat, yet... still, an infantry platoon commander's job is to make sure his troops are prepared for combat.
Enter this book.
I got my first copy in the late '80's. Cooper's discussion of the Combat Mind-set earned the immediate approval and acceptance of every combat vet I spoke with. The young Marines I was priveleged to instruct received the information enthusiastically. For the last twenty years or so, I have been continuously involved in training, first with the Marines, through Desert Storm, and on to Police recruits, Police In-service, Corrections Officers and Tactical Response Teams. And the young fighters still receive the Colonel's ideas as enthusiastically as ever. My fifteen years of SWAT experience says that these theories work operationally, as well. The coverage in this work, while limited to a few short chapters, will constitute the very best investment you can make to cultivate your mind to walk easily in a troubled world. The chapter discussing how to deal with terrorism, written twenty years before 9-11-2001, ought to impress the most jaded skeptic.
But Combat Mind-set is just a small portion of the book. Colonel Cooper has an amazing knack for describing highly technical subjects such as terminal ballistics, weapons systems, bullet construction, etc. Subjects which are normally difficult to grasp come alive in varioius chapters so dedicated.
Have I left out you hunters? I've enjoyed hunting almost longer than I've enjoyed fighting. And I absolutely love a well-told hunting yarn. The last half of this book is dedicated to hunting, with a myriad of detail not normally associated with "sporting literature". From hunting "losl" in Norse woodlands, and the full panopoly of African antelopes, to the sometimes lethal encounters with his favorite game animal, syncerus cafer, the Colonel shares details that make those hunts come alive. His writing is just that good.
Is there anything critical to say about the Colonel's book? Yes. If you're offended by someone who tells the plain, unvarnished truth, if you're jealous of those who really have " been there-done that", and who write so well, that you think you went along for the trip, you may have a tough time digesting this book. "To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth" is not for the timid. Of the half dozen copies of this book that I own, I hope that one of them gets returned to me so I can sit by the fire and read it, once more, after this hunting season ends!

This is one of the most thought-provoking books on the often controversial subject of keeping firearms for self protection. Gun enthusiasts would probably recognize the author as a veteran gun writer and the founder of Gunsite. The former marine Lt. Colonel pulls no punches here, all the topics from firearms selection, technique, training, to proper mindset are discussed simply and directly in the manner for which Cooper is famous. A great book for anybody for keeps or intends to keep a personal firearm. An interesting read even if you sometimes don't agree with what Cooper says.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. Maybe my expectations were too high. It is twice the price of a normal Kindle edition, and the print versions are insanely priced. Jeff Cooper was a great teacher who accomplished many things in the world of firearms instruction, but those accomplishments are only lightly dealt with here.

This book is a simple collection of reprinted editorials and op-ed pieces for gun magazines. It barely touches on the things that made Jeff Cooper great: simplified firearm's safety procedures, concise rules for tactical engagement, and precise ways for matching guns to shooters. Many of Jeff Cooper's opinions and experiences are here, but none of the deep thought, careful research, and hard lessons that went to the formation of those opinions is present. We find much of the "here and now", and none of the "how and why", which is even more important now that he is no longer with us.

At $9.99 this Kindle book would be a bargain and an instant recommendation. At $19.01 it's very hard to consider.

Cooper, a tireless advocate of self responsibility and personal virtue, gives this book enough adventure and colorful history to fill two lifetimes. Although it will be mostly read by the shooting public, this work is recommened to any who feel that our society has lost it's vision.

If you are a military officer, a hunter or interessed in self/home defence, this is the book for you. Cooper digs deep in the nature of the handgun, explaining every diferrent situation of use. This book I read for 30 hours from cover to cover.