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Freedom Book of the Month for August, 2002:
Boston's Gun Bible, 2nd Edition
by Boston T. Party, Javelin Press, trade paper, 800 pp. ISBN: 1-888766-06-9.
I'll admit up front to a strong bias I have when it comes to books: I have an abiding fondness for books that provide solid, practical information. Whether textbook, nonfiction narrative, or fiction, if a book can teach me as well as entertain me, or reach whatever other goals the author may have had, it gets higher points on my valuometer (no, that isn't a scientific term I picked up from last month's Book of the Month ;-). So, with a bow to my bias, here's this month's Freedom Book of the Month: Boston's Gun Bible, 2nd Edition.
Now, before you turn away, saying, "Guns aren't my thing," this is no mere gun manual. This could well be the manual for activists in the freedom movement. Author Boston T. Party (AKA Kenneth Royce) begins the book with a section on tactics, covering everything from the very basics to the things -- like preparing a cold-carry gun -- that most of us don't want to think about, but should. He concludes the book with a solid compilation of essays (his and other authors') on the importance of defending freedom. Besides, after reading BGB II, guns may well become your thing, as Boston explains why firearms are indispensable in defending liberty, and what firearms do specific jobs best.
The second edition is not simply a housecleaning of typos and other fussy stuff; Boston added 10 new chapters -- about 200 more pages than the first edition. That's how much more value he's packed into this book -- and the first edition was a powerhouse. New in BGB II are chapters on rating battle rifles and carbines, combat rifle optics, FALs, and ancillary issues to gun ownership (reloading, caching, etc.), among others. Only one chapter was deleted, and another, on curio and relic guns, was shortened. Boston says his goals were to dispel common gun misconceptions, and to compose the best gun encyclopedia for the modern gunowner. He certainly delivers with BGB II.
Gun owners tend to be, er, passionate about their choices of firearms, and Boston is no exception. He has biases, but unlike other authors I've read, he clearly admits and explains them, and allows that others may have a differing view. For example, Boston doesn't have much use for shotguns -- a point on which he and I differ -- but he doesn't try to whitewash that with a lot of shotgun information. He offers the basics and moves on. His candor makes it easy to read through his evaluations without being wary of agendas being pushed.
An exhaustive, well-researched reference book, a good introduction to firearms use and tactics, and an excellent listing of resources (both gun-specific and pro-freedom) -- Boston's Gun Bible, 2nd edition achieves what I didn't think possible: it's better than the first. And it's the same price as the first edition. If you buy only one book on firearms, this is the one to buy. Caveat emptor: many sites list BGB, but have the image of the first edition. Make sure you'll get the 2nd edition, marked with a yellow "Revised with 200 new pages!" banner on the upper right corner. The link below will take you to a site that is offering the 2nd edition.
Order Boston's Gun Bible, 2nd Edition from JPFO, $28 plus shipping, special offers available.
More book information for August 2002
edited by Sunni Maravillosa
July 2002: Economics for Real People by Gene Callahan
June 2002: Net Assets by Carl Bussjaeger
May 2002: The Ballad of Carl Drega by Vin Suprynowicz
April 2002: Toward Liberty: The Idea that is Changing the World edited by David Boaz
March 2002: Liberty for Women edited by Wendy McElroy
February 2002: The State vs. the People by Aaron Zelman and Claire Wolfe
Freedom Book of the Year, 2001: Hope by Aaron Zelman and L. Neil Smith
January 2002: Death by Gun Control by Aaron Zelman and Richard W. Stevens
December 2001: The American Zone by L. Neil Smith
November 2001: Ayn Rand and Business by Donna Greiner and Theodore Kinni
October 2001: Junk Science Judo by Steven J. Milloy
September 2001: Jonathan Gullible by Ken Schoolland
August 2001: Hope by L. Neil Smith and Aaron Zelman
July 2001: Dissenting Electorate edited by Wendy McElroy and Carl Watner
June 2001: Tethered Citizens by Sheldon Richman
May 2001: Lever Action by L. Neil Smith
April 2001: The Cato Handbook for Congress from the Cato Institute
March 2001: The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand by David Kelley
February 2001: Crypto by Steven Levy
January 2001: Total Freedom by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
Freedom Book of the Year 2000: Forge of the Elders by L. Neil Smith
December 2000: The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto
November 2000: Escape from Leviathan by J.C. Lester
October 2000: The Art of Political War by David Horowitz
September 2000: An Enemy of the State by Justin Raimondo
August 2000: The Triumph of Liberty by Jim Powell
July 2000: A Generation Divided by Rebecca Klatch
June 2000: Law's Order by David Friedman
May 2000: Forge of the Elders by L. Neil Smith
April 2000: Reciprocia by Richard G. Rieben
March 2000: The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers by Ayn Rand
February 2000: Addiction is a Choice by Jeffrey A. Schaler
January 2000: Revolutionary Language by David C. Calderwood
Special December 1999 Feature: The Freedom Book of the Year: Send in the Waco Killers: Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998 by Vin Suprynowicz
November 1999: Conquests and Cultures by Thomas Sowell
October 1999: A Way To Be Free by Robert LeFevre, edited by Wendy McElroy
September 1999: Assassins (Left Behind) by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
August 1999: Don't Shoot the Bastards (Yet): 101 More Ways to Salvage Freedom by Claire Wolfe
July 1999: The Mitzvah by L. Neil Smith and Aaron Zelman
June 1999: The Incredible Bread Machine by R.W. Grant
May 1999: Send in the Waco Killers by Vin Suprynowicz
April 1999: It Still Begins with Ayn Rand by Jerome Tuccille
March 1999: The Dictionary of Free-Market Economics by Fred Foldvary
February 1999: Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand edited by Mimi Reisel Gladstein and Chris Matthew Sciabarra
In December 2004 this page was modified significantly from its original form for archiving purposes.
, founded in 1995, is now a part of ISIL.
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