Straight Talk on Armed Defense: What the Experts Want You to Know

My first book I ever read about the legalities of self-defense and the use of lethal force was Massad Ayoob's book "Deadly Force". The book was incredible and, as for many before me, fundamentally changed the way I viewed self-defense. When I saw "Straight Talk on Armed Defense" was released I immediately purchased it because I have been consistently impressed with the quality of work that Massad Ayoob puts out. As the other reviewers have mentioned, this book did not disappoint.This book shines both for the new reader who is just learning about the nuances of armed self-defense, as well as for the seasoned reader who is already familiar with the concepts. For the new person, this book is a great overview of the many facets involved in armed defense. As each author mentions, there is more to self-defense than just buying a gun and hoping for the best. Understanding criminal psychology, relevant crime data, peri/post-incident physiology and psychology, criminal/civil trial dynamics, effective self-defense training, etc. are all necessary pieces of the self-defense puzzle.For the seasoned reader/practitioner, I believe this book is still immensely useful because it serves as an excellent checklist. I once read somewhere that it's helpful to ask yourself three questions when examining an action:1) Am I doing it?2) Am I doing it enough?3) Have I mastered it?As I went through each chapter of the book, I found that asking myself those three questions was very powerful. Some chapters I found that I could comfortably answer yes to at least the first two questions, whereas other chapters revealed major areas of opportunity for me. The chapters aren't meant to be exhaustive treatises on the subject at hand, but rather a compendium of subjects that the responsible armed defender should familiarize themselves with.One of my favorite aspects of this book was the last chapter called "Moving Forward" - I wish every book had a chapter like this! In the chapter, Massad answers the question that everyone has when they get to the end of a book: "Now what?" Massad answers that by pointing the reader to a treasure trove of resources for additional study. Book recommendations, websites, articles, training courses, and lesser force options are provided to allow for further exploration by the interested reader. Many of the recommendations will be familiar to readers of Massad Ayoob's work, but I sense most readers will walk away with at least a couple of new resources to check out.As should be clear, I'm very impressed with this book and highly recommend it. I appreciate the unique approach that Massad and Co. took with this latest offering. If you're serious about protecting "you and yours" - and I mean "protecting" in every sense of that word - then this book deserves a place in your library.

This book was an easy read, well written in verbiage that is understandable. I thought the were to many examples, but my wife read every one and wanted more. The best thing about this book is that he gives details on how to get the training I need.

When I finished the Introduction by Mas Ayoob, my thought was "this will be an excellent book!" Well . . . the portions done by Ayoob are! Of the remainder, several chapters are from people with doctorate degrees who seem to be proving they are academics rather than people with practical knowledge. One attempts to prove his mastery of the English language, while another (female as it turns out) does her best to prove she is an excellent research grunt (a landslide of foot notes). Yet another of the doctors does his best to scare you out of carrying/owning a gun.My initial guess was that this book would take from one to three months to properly glean the information that is in it. Now that I am on my second reading, I tend to believe it will be much less. Now, I'd guess more like two readings, with a third needed for a few of the chapters.Is there GOOD information in this book? Everything I know says a resounding YES! BUT . . . it will take significant work to glean the useful parts from the academic blather. With that said, there are many of the chapters that were written by BTDT (Been There Done That) and are much easier to understand. Once again, Ayoob has some excellent material and there are several chapters that are also excellent.A saying that has been credited to Albert Einstein goes something like "Things should be made as simple as possible, only more so." Some of the contributors to this book seem to have never read that.

Massad Ayoob is one of, if not the, foremost trainers of armed self-defense today. Not only does he train citizens in how to shoot accurately and safely while under stress, half or more of his curriculum is devoted to the legal aspects of a self-defense shooting. His MAG40 class has been called "The one class to take, if you can take only one."In this book he has assembled an amazing group of fellow experts to address various aspects of armed self defense, each of them covering areas that they are known as experts in. The synopsis covers that ground, so I won't reiterate it; suffice to say, the average gun owner may not have heard of many or even most of the contributors to this book, but this is truly an all-star cast.While two or more of these experts will be assembled in the same location, it's usually for industry events. There are one or two annual training events that many of them will attend and present at together, but they are usually sold out well in advance, not to mention not widely advertised.This book is a welcome substitute for those of us who would like to attend such an event but cannot, as well as an introduction to the deeper subjects of armed self defense for the beginner.

I stopped carrying after reading this book. I will resume carry once I am convinced I have practiced sufficiently and purchased carry insurance. The book scares the tar out of me but also brings home the reality of the responsibility we assume when we carry. The sections on how to avoid trouble are probably the most important since having to pull my weapon is the last thing I ever want to do. A great read. Will be passing along to my CCW friends.

Mas Ayoob is without doubt the master in his field. I have had the please of experiencing his class in person and I consider all his books as required reading.This book along with his other works is yet another outstanding contribution to the complex world of the use of deadly force.I highly recommend this book.