WaGuns Book Reviews

[Willius]

I like a good book now and then. How about you?
Post up good books, be it fiction or non.

I'll start:

Boston's Gun Bible, Boston T. Party

The Enemies Trilogy, Matthew Bracken.

Terms of Enlistment, Marko Kloos

The Passage, Justin Cronin

[FattyKrack]

NERD TIEEM!
Song of Fire and Ice - George R. Martin
cannot recommend it enough!

[PMB]

A thread to write and recommend (or dissuade) the reading of books related to 2A and firearms.
2A and firearms books are especially desired, but any book that you feel might be of interest to your fellow WaGunners is A-OK.

I like books... I grok a subject better if I feel the book in my hands and can flip back to a part that is referenced later.
A couple of years ago I received a recommendation for a book from another WaGunner (I expect him to chime in with more books to recommend) :
The Second Amendment Primer (MassiveDesign will pop in any second to compliment me on my use of links. Thanks Dan! )
Pic of book cover with awesome limited edition bookmark

Spoiler: show

Subtitled : A Citizen's Guidebook to the History, Sources, and Authorities for the Constitutional Guarantee of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Reading this book gave me some (more) confidence that if SCOTUS actually ever takes one of the relevant cases and interprets 2A in a broad sense, that they will be required to strike all the foolish gun control acts that illegally infringe law abiding citizens' exercise of their Natural Rights (God Given Rights for many of you) of self-defense.
The book is a treatise on the development of the understanding of the Natural Right, not just a defense of its existence. That may seem kind of obscure, but I think it will play a major role when SCOTUS finally tackles it.
The first half of the book builds the foundations of the law against disarming a free populace, and the second half includes some essays. One of them is titled "A Nation of Cowards" (Jeffrey Snyder) that kind of makes you ask "I wonder what nation he is referring to?"

The thinking that went on behind the formation of the Second Amendment is incontrovertible. I plan to buy up several copies and pass them out to friends... Also plan to buy 9 copies to mail to SCOTUS.
Maybe we could arrange a group buy and send copies to our state and national legislators...

Recommendation : Must Read.

[Pablo]

Ordered! Thanks!!

[quantsuff]

D. Grossman, On Killing
https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Psycholo ... 0316040932

[jdhbulseye]

A couple of years ago I received a recommendation for a book from another WaGunner (I expect him to chime in with more books to recommend)

I see I'm being called out for the bibliophile that I am

The 2A Primer is a great little book, lots of good stuff in there. Without a word of a lie the price of entry is worth it just for the extensive bibliography contained within. The actual meat of the book is bonus material.

To start I'm going to drop some books on here that I haven't yet read, purchased but not read. Mostly because I am just so damn excited to get into them:

Memoirs Of A Soldier Of Fortune
Rafael De Nogales
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1163451657/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This guy was a mercenary last century who traveled the world fighting wars. I came across mention of the book as I was recently doing some more research for my own curiosity on the Armenian Genocide. This guy was there. Actually not only was he there but this book is noteworthy for one of the only written eye-whitness accounts of the siege of Van, Turkey. For those who are unfamiliar (dont feel bad I wasn't either), At Van the Armenians saw through the Turks ploy of conscription to lure their young men and their arms out of the city so they could be slaughtered and the remainder of the Armenian population would then be easier to also slaughter. The Armenians proceeded to defend themselves against the Turkish Army with their arms. Like I said I have not read it yet as I am currently into about 3 other books at hte moment. That said I am very excited to read it as this one part of the book sounds like its an excellent example of a group of citizens refusing to become cattle for the slaughter. For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_Van_(1915)

Cato's Letters, Or, Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious, and Other Important Subjects (2 Vol. Set)
John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0865971285/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is an oldie but a goodie. I haven't read it all, just parts. I will warn you that its deep, heavy intellectual stuff and to add to that it was written nearly 300 years ago (before some of our founding fathers were born). However, these essays were incredibly influential during our Revolutionary period and as such I think any American that finds the American Revolutionary war and its aftermath to be a pretty amazing thing in the history of humanity probably ought to own this set. Where else can you get two tomes of writing on liberty and a giant piece of the American history puzzle for under 50 bones? Buy it, you know you want to.

Next we will go with one I am almost done with:

Anatomy of The State
Murray Rothbard
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607967723/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

At only 62 pages one could breeze through this book; but one should not. If you decide to sit down with this one spend some time slowly considering whats written. This one may challenge some of your core beliefs so consider yourself forewarned and approach with an open mind.

Lastly for this post we will go with one I read while I was still in university and I had forgot about for some time when I got busy starting my career. This one is geared specifically to examining the right to keep and bear arms and many of you may recognize the name drop:

The Samurai, the Mountie and the Cowboy
David B Kopel

This one examines the legal environment regarding firearms in Japan, Great Britain, Canada, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Jamaica and the United States and describes how each of these countries' unique histories have impacted how it deals with firearms and firearms laws. As the subtitle suggests it attempts to answer the question: Should America adopt the gun control policies of other democracies?

I couldn't believe my University had a copy in the library, go Wolf Pack! When I read it in college I found it very enlightening; not just for the examination of other "first world" countries laws and histories but also for his analysis of why these countries laws are a non-starter in America. Im sure many of you will find this book enlightening as well even given the fact that its slightly older (published in 1992).

[jdhbulseye]

[PMB]

^ LOL
I am reminded of an old comment that I read somewhere when I was in my teens...
'If women decided that they only like to have sex with men who walk on their hands, half the population would be walking on their hands within a week.'

Mr MassiveDesign disappointed me... I did not get the ridicule that I expected for posting a Google search link.
Try, try again.
Plunder and Deceit, by Mark Levin.
Apparently he is a radio talk show fellow. I only listen to radio for news and only for that when I am "captive" for some reason.

The tough part about reading Mark Levin is that I already agree with almost every position that he writes about in this book. Plunder and Deceit takes a step past the common bitching about governmental waste, fraud and abuse and describes how this overarching waste of our money is destroying our nation, especially for the youth.
The book encourages the youth to wake up and realize what is being done to the future USA, and how they will own all of our mistakes. By the constant brainwashing of our youth to commit waste, fraud and abuse they are weakening not only the economic future, but the moral and social structures of the future as well.
I've gone vesuvial in a few other threads about how especially our education system, but social services also, have encouraged recipients to "tweak" the truth to maximize their benefits.
The simple act of cutting (~ in half to start maybe) of budgets across the board will force organizations to reassess which cases and conditions are vital, and which are only "nice to have."
BTW- if we weren't in debt at all (instead of at least $20 Trillions depending on accounting) I'd be ok with our debt-free nation experimenting a little bit, as long as historical lessons that have already been hashed over by communism and socialism were marked in the "already tried" column. It is mind-blowing that the richest, most prosperous nation in the history of the whole world is ~$20 Trillions in debt.
Inconceivable.
Anyway, back to the book.
You can find the raw data about waste fraud and abuse all over the place. Mark Levin does a good job of explaining the intricate dangers for the future... He opened my eyes to some of the likely consequences of our path of living in a welfare state since 1929-ish.

We damage the future for our progeny. If we care for them (Think of the children!) then we should do the careful analysis of the LONG TERM results. Cost/Benefit Analysis.

Recommendation : Interesting read.
Better World Books has the lowest price that I can find at the moment. $4, free shipping.

[Pablo]

D. Grossman, On Killing
https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Psycholo ... 0316040932

I've heard/read about this book. Started reading it last night. I can tell already it's a well written book, well researched and detailed. Fascinating but not near as macabre as I feared. Thanks.

[GeekWithGuns]

Some of my favorites on classical history:
The Odyssey by Homer
The Iliad by Homer
Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, Vol. I and II by Plutarch
The Gallic War by Julius Caesar
The Civil War by Julius Caesar
The Early History of Rome by Livy
The War with Hannibal; The History of Rome by Livy

Also in more recent history:
Lenin by Dmitri Volkogonov
The Gulag Archipelago by Alexsandr Solzhenitzyn
Ho Chi Minh: A Life by William Duiker
Yeager: An Autobiography by Chuck Yeager
Beyond the Wild Blue: A History of the USAF by William Boyne
Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed by Ben Rich
Neptunes Inferno: The US Navy at Guadalcanal by James Hornfischer
The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and The Imperial Navy by Hiroyuki Agawa
Pacific War Diary by James Fahey
Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis
Dark Sun by Richard Rhodes

Some more classics which I have not read yet though are on the wish list
The Campaigns of Alexander by Arrian
The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides
Any works by Sophocles
Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus

Sorry not too related to 2A topics. Most of my firearms related reading are books related to competition shooting and technical primers.

Though I would recommend the following:
Jim Cirillo's Tales from the Stakeout Squad by Paul Kirchner
Cop: A True Story by Michael Middleton

[quantsuff]

D. Grossman, On Killing
https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Psycholo ... 0316040932

I've heard/read about this book. Started reading it last night. I can tell already it's a well written book, well researched and detailed. Fascinating but not near as macabre as I feared. Thanks.

You are welcome. Our minds are our primary weapons of defense. Don't go unarmed. Read books.

[jdhbulseye]

Our minds are our primary weapons of defense. Don't go unarmed. Read books.

And avoid engaging the unarmed.

[L_O_G]

Ok I will be traveling soon and need a good book. Looking for something to do with deep state or corrupt government type shit.

Any recommendations?

[PMB]

Mark Levin on Thrift Books. Thrift ships quickly.

Mark Levin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Levin

[jdhbulseye]

Ok I will be traveling soon and need a good book. Looking for something to do with deep state or corrupt government type shit.

Any recommendations?

Im currently reading this one. So far pretty good:

Organized Crime: The Unvarnished Truth About Government
Thomas DiLorenzo

https://www.amazon.com/Organized-Crime-Unvarnished-Truth-Government/dp/1610162552/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1519145336&sr=8-6&keywords=thomas+dilorenzo