Book Reviews

The Gun Book for Girls
The Gun Book for Girls by Silvio Calabi, Steve Helsley, and Roger Sanger from Rowman & Littlefield (rowman.com) is the third installment of a series written to introduce firearms and shooting to all demographics. Despite the fact that criminal misuse of firearms has been steadily declining since the early 1990s, guns remain linked to crime and violence, gun control politics has become an increasingly polarizing political issue and misinformation about firearms continues to spread. The Gun Book… series explores the realities of guns and shooting and sets the record straight about some common misconceptions.

On the heels of The Gun Book for Boys and The Gun Book for Parents, The Gun Book for Girls is for girls and women interested in guns and shooting but who have no background in firearms and is expanded over the previous editions. The book emphasizes safety and proper usage of firearms, defines terms and provides practical advice about using and maintaining guns. It also covers firearms, shooting methods, clothing and accessories for women, profiles females who shoot and who work in the gun trade, and discusses the issues around guns for self defense.

This series is non-political and written in an easy-to-understand conversational tone. Each book is thoroughly illustrated and content is presented in easily managed portions that can be read in series or singly. It makes for an attractive history book and practical guide.

Shooter’s Bible Guide to Home Defense
Shooter’s Bible Guide to Home Defense: A Comprehensive Handbook on How to Protect Your Property From Intrusion and Invasion by Roger Eckstine from Skyhorse Publishing (skyhorsepublishing.com) is a full color, beautifully photographed, comprehensive overview on home security. While there is coverage of a number of techniques, firearms and equipment included, this book is more than a catalog of guns, gimmicks, gadgets, and drills that only the highly trained can employ. It is an introductory overview on how to fortify your home or business discreetly and protect yourself from crime.

Eckstine examines how to evaluate your premises, how to choose various security systems, and how to safely interact with aggressors should someone invade your home or business. Other topics include minimizing hiding places, body language and verbal judo, improvised weapons, fight versus flight and creating a customized strategy for your home.

Obviously, a book this wide in scope can’t give each topic the full treatment it deserves, however, it is solid overview. Defense in depth, also known as layered security, is the practice of combining multiple security controls for protection. With multiple layers of defense, we aren’t dependent on any one of them being breached because an attacker would have to circumvent all of them. This book will teach you how to establish these layers for an overall plan that can fit your budget.

Read more in our February 2014 issue. Back issues are available.

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