Posted: 4/25/2008 12:22:29 PM EDT
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My Library has had a bunch of gun related titles come in over the past four months. Here they are listed from new to old. The descriptions are aimed at the general reader, not the know-it-all gun nut. Available through your local library; you know the place, the big brick building in your downtown? Filled with books? You sometimes take your kids there? She's Got a Gun by Nancy Floyd. Gal buys gun because she misses her brother who died in Vietnam when she was twelve. She enjoys shooting, it ties into her feminist ideas, she reads everything on the topic and ends up shooting competitively. Lots of photos since author is a professional photographer. Storming Las Vegas: how a Cuban-born, Soviet-trained commando took down the Strip to the tune of five world-class hotels, three armored cars, and millions of dollars by John Huddy. The subtitle pretty much says it all. Trigger Men: Shadow Team, Spider-Man, the Magnificent Bastards, and the American combat sniper by Hans Halberstad. Why not? We own all the other sniper books in the world. See HOGs in the Shadows, Illustrated Manual of Sniper Skills, Stalkers and Shooters, Shooter. Defensive Handgunning: a treatise on handgun carry and use by Glenn Rehberg. "Written by an experienced police instructor...guides the reader through the steps necessary to select, carry, and use a handgun in self-defense. Moreover, the author takes the reader through important considerations surrounding handgun use." All the usual items (mindset, stance, grip, reloading, malfunctions, drawing, tactics, etc.) in a well prepared and presented text. Not too many photographic illustrations but they properly chosen and clear (clear but a little grainy). Navy Cross: extraordinary heroism in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflicts by James E. Wise, Jr. and Scott Baron. Twenty sailors and Marines from Afghanistan and Iraq. Other recipients are from Vietnam, Korea, WW2 and WW1. The Preface says " The word 'hero' has been abused to the point where today anyone might be crowned with the title. In truth, however, a hero is someone who puts his or her life on the line for others." Later in the preface the authors say how medal disbursement - specifically the Navy Cross - is proportionately lower than in Korea and Vietnam. But I've read many accounts of "medal inflation" in Vietnam where friends would nominate one another to assist in career advancement. I would bet the number of medals also depends on the unit. A group of guys who are in gunfights all the time must constantly be risking themselves for one another and frequent heroism most seem normal. A unit with little enemy contact that gets in a big gunfight, under the same circumstances as the other unit, may seem super heroic. I'm glad I don't decide on the awards. Modern Law Enforcement Weapons and Tactics, 3rd edition by Patrick Sweeney. "A complete look at firearms training methods and law enforcement gear." Sweeney wrote the two AR-15 books we have, when i did an author search for him this came up. Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery, 6th Edition by Massad Ayoob. From basic to advanced with information on weapons, ammunition, holsters, mistakes, etc. I'd love to take a look at Ayoob's personal firearms collection, I'll bet it is extensive. Screaming Eagles: 101st Airborne Division by Russ and Susan Bryant. We have an 8-year-old Devourer of Books who was in the other day checking out books on Army Rangers. So I bought this one. Green Bay Packers: the complete illustrated history by Don Gulbrandsen. What else is there to say that is not in the title? House to House: an epic memoir of war by SSG David Bellavia. I had already put this as a maybe on my selection list when, by pure chance, I caught the author talking on C-SPAN (watch it here). Bellavia graduated as a theater major - which could explain his enthralling talk - joined the Army, was sent to Iraq, and had his Bradley riding infantry unit assigned to the Marines for the Battle of Fallujah. Bellavia purposefully wrote about all the nasty bits to show how war is. War on Two Fronts: an infantry commander's war in Iraq and the Pentagon by Col. Christopher P. Hughes. Hughes invaded in Iraq in 2003, fought insurgents and did civilian administration, returned to the Pentagon to fight bureaucracy and help with "nation building". Hogs in the Shadows: combat stories from Marine snipers in Iraq by Milo Afong. I bought this on since a couple other sniper books have checked out. Those are some neat rifles. On Combat: the psychology and physiology of deadly conflict in war and peace, 2nd Edtion by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. Grossman's work focuses on combat and killing as applied to military service members and police officers. He has done studies on how people are trained to kill and how their physical and mental reactions to the act. This book discusses how to "train the mind to become inoculated to stress, fear and even pain." |