by Josh Amos
Happy December to all of our Armed Citizens' Legal Defense Network affiliates, members and journal readers. I was given the leeway to do something a little different this month. Since our members are always seeking knowledge about topics of concern to armed citizens, and with Christmas right around the corner, I thought some suggestions on books, videos, and information sources might be timely.
I polled the crew in the our office to ask what books, videos, and online resources armed citizens should read and keep in their research libraries. Here’s what earned the top recommendations:
Armed Citizens' Legal Defense Network President Marty Hayes recommends The Art of Modern Gunfighting: The Pistol, Vol. 1. I admit that I wasn’t aware of The Art of Modern Gunfighting before Marty mentioned it, so I haven’t read this one. I will soon remedy that deficiency!
Network operations manager Gila Hayes recommends Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self Defense by Massad Ayoob.
She commented that this book is so essential that we have made it part of the Armed Citizens' Legal Defense Network education pack sent to all members when they join. While members should already have a copy tucked away in a safe place, with notes from reading it, you might consider getting a copy for your pals. Massad Ayoob is a Network Advisory Board member and anything he writes is worth the time to read and the expense to buy. Find it at https://www.gundigeststore.com/deadly-force-self-defense.
Melissa DeYoung who works in the office across from mine recommended Conflict Communications (ConCom): A New Paradigm in Conscious Communication by Rory Miller. Miller’s material offers brilliant insights how to understand and avoid trouble by understanding different cultures, avoiding misunderstandings, spotting predatory behavior and more. His books and videos are a “must” for your armed citizen library. Learn more about Rory and his work at http://www.chirontraining.com/.
Belle McCormack, Firearms Academy Staff Instructor and administrative assistant at the Network, recommends Warnings Unheeded: Twin Tragedies at Fairchild Air Force Base by Andy Brown, the Air Force police officer who stopped the mass shooter on Fairchild AFB in 1994. In Warnings Unheeded, Andy painstakingly details all the events that lead up to that horrific event as well as the aftermath. Andy details so many lessons that it is hard to synopsize them all. I believe Andy’s study is a lesser known gem that belongs on the bookshelf of any serious armed citizen.
For my part, let me recommend two websites that are well worth reading and bookmarking for regular study. Marc “Animal” MacYoung’s website http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com is a combination of library and encyclopedia. Bookmark it, read, and reread it. Marc’s writings on violence, crime, and human behaviors are prolific. Yes, he used to be a criminal; he is not overly proud of it. Yes, he can be wordy, but he will give you valuable, new ways to solve problems.
My next recommendation is for Greg Ellifritz’s http://www.activeresponsetraining.net. This is another site that has a ton of great information. Greg is a sergeant in a Central Ohio police department, a martial artist, accomplished shooter and highly-educated man. He is an avid learner and trainer who always asks “why?” Greg always lays his cards down on the table so you know where he got his information and why he has drawn the conclusions he shares on his website.
A book I’ve been recommending a lot lately addresses church safety. What They Don’t Tell You About Church Safety by Bryan Donihue is extremely thought-provoking. We reviewed this book for the June 2016 journal, and I found that its safety lessons apply to fraternal organizations, parent/student organizations and volunteer groups as well as churches. See
https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/june-2016-book-review.
That wraps it up for this month, folks. Thanks for stopping by and spending some time with us. I hope you will consider the work of the authors we recommended. They are good folks who generously share their hard-earned knowledge with readers and hopefully help the rest of us so we won’t have to pay the hard dues that they have paid.
To read more of this month's journal, please click here.