Well, Mas Ayoob has done it once again, a superbly researched and well- written book on the use of deadly force in a self-defense situation. This book is loaded with lots of very sound and well research information and provides you with a library of recommended reading material that you should also study. Great Stuff!
The following is a list of the chapters in this book and a brief synopsis of what each chapter entails.
Chapter 1: Introduction
In this section, the author gives you a standard introduction on what to expect in this book. A couple of things, in particular, stood out to me in this section, and the following section and that was the recommendation of one book entitled, “A Time To Kill” by Greg Hopkins, and a set of four legal books entitled, “Warren On Homicide.” I ordered the first book off of Amazon, and am actively searching for the four legal books, which at the time of this review I have not been able to find. But persistence and the internet will locate them for me in short order, I hope!
Chapter 2: Standards
In this section, the author talks about the “legal standards” by which YOU will be judged if you are ever involved in a situation where you employed deadly force. Each state or jurisdictions laws, although they may be similar, are going to be slightly different from one jurisdiction to another, it behooves you to know and follow the laws of the jurisdiction that you are in. Ignorance of the law is NOT a viable defense.
Chapter 3: The Ability Factor
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In this section, the author discusses the “ability” of your attacker to inflict grievous bodily harm or death upon you. This usually takes the form of a weapon, which can be a variety of things, but also can include the sometimes little known and misunderstood fact of “disparity of force,” which the author discusses as well.
Chapter 4: The Opportunity Factor
Opportunity in this section is discussed in relation to your attacker having the “opportunity” to harm you. Even though he/she may have the ability, they, in fact, may not have the opportunity to do so at the present time. There may be someone that has the ability to harm you, but if they are 100 miles away and don’t have a missile, it would be pretty easy to conclude that they don’t have the immediate opportunity to harm you.
Chapter 5: The Jeopardy Factor
In this section, the author clearly defines what jeopardy is and how to articulate that, if and when, you have to face a judge and jury of your “peers.” A very eye-opening section and one that was really quite informative, just like the rest of the material in this book.
Chapter 6; Other Critical Concepts
The author discusses in this section some legal concepts which are not widely known by the general public but are vitally important to your defense.
Chapter 7: Furtive Movement Shootings and Other Widely Misunderstood Events
This section deals with actual events that can and often do happen in a gunfight, yet are widely misunderstood by virtually everyone who is not an active student of the gun and gunfighting.
Chapter 8: Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground Laws
This section clearly defines the difference between the two and why they often times get confused with the other.
Chapter 9: Debunking Myths of Armed Self-Defense
I was actually surprised when I read this section, there were a couple of myths that I had never even heard of and was equally surprised that someone would actually try and use them as a viable defense. Every time, and I mean every time, I think I have heard the stupidest thing ever, I am blindsided by something even more profoundly stupid. This was the case as I read some of these myths.
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Chapter 10: State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman: A Case Study for Armed Citizens
Exactly as the title of this section states, this covers this well publicized and very media and politically biased event. Great information!
Chapter 11: Case Study: The State of Arizona vs. Larry Hickey
Another less known case of justifiable self-defense.
Chapter 12: After the Shooting
The author discusses what to say and what not to say after a self-defense shooting.
Chapter 13: Hardware Issues
The author discusses such issues as; choice of ammunition for self-defense, trigger pull, and even the names of guns. Which you may think isn’t an issue, and you are right it shouldn’t be an issue, but often times it is. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Chapter 14: Concealed Carry Advice
Included in this section is the authors “Ten Commandments for Concealed Carry.”
I can not recommend this book, or any book by Mas Ayoob, highly enough. So as soon as you finish reading this review click on the buy it now button and purchase this book and read it several times. You will be glad that you did!
Reprinted from Amazon.com.