Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai


Yamamoto Tsunetomo - 1716
    It is not a book of philosophy as most would understand the word: it is a collection of thoughts and sayings recorded over a period of seven years, and as such covers a wide variety of subjects, often in no particular sequence. The work represents an attitude far removed from our modern pragmatism and materialism, and possesses an intuitive rather than rational appeal in its assertion that Bushido is a Way of Dying, and that only a samurai retainer prepared and willing to die at any moment can be totally true to his lord. While Hagakure was for many years a secret text known only to the warrior vassals of the Hizen fief to which the author belonged, it later came to be recognized as a classic exposition of samurai thought and came to influence many subsequent generations, including Yukio Mishima. This translation offers 300 selections that constitute the core texts of the 1,300 present in the original. Hagakure was featured prominently in the film Ghost Dog, by Jim Jarmusch.

Surgical Speed Shooting: How to Achieve High-Speed Marksmanship in a Gunfight


Andy Stanford - 2001
    These cutting-edge techniques for managing recoil in rapid fire, high-speed trigger control and more are used by today's hostage rescue teams and competitive grandmasters.

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why


Amanda Ripley - 2008
    Today, nine out of ten Americans live in places at significant risk of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorism, or other disasters. Tomorrow, some of us will have to make split-second choices to save ourselves and our families. How will we react? What will it feel like? Will we be heroes or victims? Will our upbringing, our gender, our personality–anything we’ve ever learned, thought, or dreamed of–ultimately matter?    Amanda Ripley, an award-winning journalist for Time magazine who has covered some of the most devastating disasters of our age, set out to discover what lies beyond fear and speculation. In this magnificent work of investigative journalism, Ripley retraces the human response to some of history’s epic disasters, from the explosion of the Mont Blanc munitions ship in 1917–one of the biggest explosions before the invention of the atomic bomb–to a plane crash in England in 1985 that mystified investigators for years, to the journeys of the 15,000 people who found their way out of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Then, to understand the science behind the stories, Ripley turns to leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists, and other disaster experts, formal and informal, from a Holocaust survivor who studies heroism to a master gunfighter who learned to overcome the effects of extreme fear. Finally, Ripley steps into the dark corners of her own imagination, having her brain examined by military researchers and experiencing through realistic simulations what it might be like to survive a plane crash into the ocean or to escape a raging fire.     Ripley comes back with precious wisdom about the surprising humanity of crowds, the elegance of the brain’s fear circuits, and the stunning inadequacy of many of our evolutionary responses. Most unexpectedly, she discovers the brain’s ability to do much, much better, with just a little help.The Unthinkable escorts us into the bleakest regions of our nightmares, flicks on a flashlight, and takes a steady look around. Then it leads us home, smarter and stronger than we were before.

Man Up: How to Cut the Bullsh!t and Kick @Ss in Business (and in Life)


Bedros Keuilian - 2018
    . . There's no way . . . It's impossible . . . Enough. Get off your ass and make your someday goals a priority--today.After years of coaching and consulting hundreds of startup rookies as well as seasoned entrepreneurs, executives, and CEOs, Bedros Keuilian realized that most people who want to start a business, grow an existing business, author a book, make more money, or make a bigger impact usually take the long, slow, painful way to get there . . . and more than 80 percent of entrepreneurs never get to their desired destination or achieve their full potential in business. They treat their dream as if it were merely a hobby and dip their toes in the water, but they never commit to diving in--you get the idea.It's time to cut the bullshit excuses. Everyone has a gift, a purpose. It's your duty to figure out what your gift is and how you're going to share it with the world.Man Up: How to Cut the Bullshit and Kick Ass in Business (and in Life) is your guide to doing exactly that. Keuilian, founder and CEO of Fit Body Boot Camp and known as the hidden genius behind many of the most successful brands and businesses throughout multiple industries, will show you how to break out of the sea of mediocrity, get singularly focused on your purpose, and do what it takes--not only to achieve but dominate your goals.With Keuilian's no-nonsense approach in both business and personal spheres, you'll be able to define your purpose and have clarity of vision--and a plan--to make the quantum leap. Whether it's creating and growing a company, leaving a legacy, making a difference, or launching a new brand, you will discover how to use your passion, purpose, and sheer grit to overcome any adversity that attempts to derail your progress.If there's an area of your life in which you need to man up, this book will get you there.

The Concealed Handgun Manual


Chris Bird - 1997
    Advice for selecting and buying a handgun, discussions of the importance of self-protection, and methods of concealing weapons accompany a discussion of the mental attitude required in case of an armed encounter, and advice on how to avoid violent encounters entirely. Including the new concealed carry laws recently passed in Kansas and Nebraska, this updated edition provides a new context for the need to safely carry a weapon since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the breakdown of adequate law enforcement that ensued. In addition to providing an updated list of handguns suitable for concealed carry, this practical guide also includes more information about the psychological ramifications of using deadly force against another human being.

Kill or Get Killed


Rex Applegate - 1976
    Reprinted and in current use by the U.S. Marine Corps as an official training manual, it details methods of self-defense, offensive close combat, combat shooting and crowd-control techniques in riot situations. Colonel Rex Applegate is widely regarded as the father of modern close combat and combat shooting, and this book is considered the standard by which all other books on the subject are judged.

Ranger Handbook


U.S. Department of the Army - 1992
    In this handbook you will find tactics and techniques used by Army Rangers. This handbook offers the techniques and tactics that make U.S. Army Rangers the best soldiers in the world. These highly trained, easily deployable, and widely skilled infantrymen specialize in airborne assault, raids, recovery of personnel and equipment, and airfield seizure, among other difficult and dangerous missions. Now, in this recently revised edition of the U.S. Army Ranger Handbook, you can get the latest info on everything from understanding the basics of Army operations and tactics to discovering what makes a soldier with good leadership qualities and character. Although primarily written for Rangers and other light infantry units, it serves as a handy reference for all military units, covering how infantry squad- and platoon-sized elements conduct combat operations in varied terrains. this guide provides modern soldiers with best training possible and effectively combines the lessons of the past with important insights for the future to help make army leaders the absolute best they can be. This handbook provides squad and platoon leaders with the roles, tactics, knowledge, and operational requirements to employ combat multipliers in a combat environment. SH 21-76.

SEAL Survival Guide: A Navy SEAL's Secrets to Surviving Any Disaster


Cade Courtley - 2012
    You can live scared—or be prepared. “We never thought it would happen to us.” From random shootings to deadly wildfires to terrorist attacks, the reality is that modern life is unpredictable and dangerous. Don’t live in fear or rely on luck. Learn the SEAL mindset: Be prepared, feel confident, step up, and know exactly how to survive any life-threatening situation. Former Navy SEAL and preeminent American survivalist Cade Courtley delivers step-by-step instructions anyone can master in this illustrated, user-friendly guide. You’ll learn to think like a SEAL and how to: improvise weapons from everyday items * pack a go bag* escape mass-shootings * treat injuries at the scene* subdue a hijacker * survive extreme climates * travel safely abroad* defend against animal attacks * survive pandemic * and much more Don’t be taken by surprise. Don’t be a target. Fight back, protect yourself, and beat the odds with the essential manual no one in the twenty-first century should be without. BE A SURVIVOR, NOT A STATISTIC!

When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need to Survive When Disaster Strikes


Cody Lundin - 2006
    Lundin addresses basic first aid, hygiene skills, and makes recommendations for survival kit items.

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess


Bobby Fischer - 1966
    The way a teaching machine works is: It asks you a question. If you give the right answer, it goes on to the next question. If you give the wrong answer, it tells you why the answer is wrong and tells you to go back and try again. This is called "programmed learning". The real authors were experts and authorities in the field of programmed learning. Bobby Fischer lent his name to the project. Stuart Margulies is a chess master and also a recognized authority on programmed learning. He is a widely published author of more than 40 books, all in the field of programmed learning, especially in learning how to read. For example, one of his books is "Critical reading for proficiency 1 : introductory level". Donn Mosenfelder is not a known or recognized chess player, but he was the owner of the company that developed and designed this book. He has written more than 25 books, almost all on basic reading, writing and math.

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction


Alan Jacobs - 2011
    Americans are not reading enough, they say, or reading the right books, in the right way. In this book, Alan Jacobs argues that, contrary to the doomsayers, reading is alive and well in America. There are millions of devoted readers supporting hundreds of enormous bookstores and online booksellers. Oprah's Book Club is hugely influential, and a recent NEA survey reveals an actual uptick in the reading of literary fiction. Jacobs's interactions with his students and the readers of his own books, however, suggest that many readers lack confidence; they wonder whether they are reading well, with proper focus and attentiveness, with due discretion and discernment. Many have absorbed the puritanical message that reading is, first and foremost, good for you--the intellectual equivalent of eating your Brussels sprouts. For such people, indeed for all readers, Jacobs offers some simple, powerful, and much needed advice: read at whim, read what gives you delight, and do so without shame, whether it be Stephen King or the King James Version of the Bible. In contrast to the more methodical approach of Mortimer Adler's classic How to Read a Book (1940), Jacobs offers an insightful, accessible, and playfully irreverent guide for aspiring readers. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of approaching literary fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, and the book explores everything from the invention of silent reading, reading responsively, rereading, and reading on electronic devices. Invitingly written, with equal measures of wit and erudition, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction will appeal to all readers, whether they be novices looking for direction or old hands seeking to recapture the pleasures of reading they first experienced as children.

The Art of War


Sun TzuSun Tzu
    Since that time, all levels of military have used the teaching on Sun Tzu to warfare and civilization have adapted these teachings for use in politics, business and everyday life. The Art of War is a book which should be used to gain advantage of opponents in the boardroom and battlefield alike.

Krav Maga for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide to the World's Easiest-to-Learn, Most-Effective Fitness and Fighting Program


Darren Levine - 2008
    Its emphasis on instinctivemovements and efficient counterattacks makes it an easy-to-learn and highlyeffective program for anyone—male or female, large or small, young or old.Krav Maga for Beginners presents the system’s fundamental techniques, its most useful real-world moves and its comprehensive fitness program. Whether you are looking to improve your fighting skills or gain the confidence to escape from a personal assault unharmed, Krav Maga or Beginners provides everything you’ll need to reach your fighting goal.With over 360 step-by-step photos, Krav Maga for Beginners makes it easy to learn the world’s most effective self-defense and fighting system:•Escape Danger•Counterattack•Neutralize & Defeat

Krav Maga: How to Defend Yourself Against Armed Assault


Imi Sde-Or - 2000
    Initially developed by Grandmaster Imi Sde-Or (Lichtenfeld) for the Israel Defense Forces and other national security services, Krav Maga has been thoroughly adapted to meet civilan needs. The method was designed so that ordinary citizens, young and old, men and women alike, can successfully use it, regardless of their physical strength. This is the first and only authorized comprehensive manual on the Krav Maga discipline, written by its founder, Imi Sde-Or, and his senior disciple and follower, Eyal Yanilove. This volume especially focuses on the various facets of dealing with an assailant armed with a sharp-edged weapon, a blunt object, or a firearm.

The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science That Could Save Your Life


Ben Sherwood - 2009
    The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life