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.


A must after 9/11   June 18, 2002
 16 out of 26 found this review helpful

Recommended reading after 9/11. This is not a another shooting manual, more like the philosophy of self defense, why you must fight back against crime. If more people had read this book back in the 90's probably 9/11 wouldn't have happened. THANKS GURU!


Good book   January 7, 2002
 4 out of 81 found this review helpful

This is a good easy to read book. It is filled with many excellent stories. It is not a how to shoot or what gun should I buy book.


Not a hunter   January 6, 2002
 8 out of 10 found this review helpful

This book is wonderfully well written. Every book I read by Cooper increases my respect of the man and his knowledge. The only thing I found to knock in this book is the large section on hunting. Since I don't hunt, that section just didn't hold my interest. Although, don't get me wrong, it's as well written and informative as the rest of the book. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did enjoy the history section at the end.


20 years with the Colonel, and still going strong!   November 24, 2001
 29 out of 36 found this review helpful

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!