Most of us are stuck at home right now and I’ll bet at least a few of you are getting bored. A good book is exactly what you need!
But with shipping times getting longer and longer, maybe it’s time to turn to some electronic books instead.
Here are ten awesome books that you can read right now on Kindle or other e-reader devices.
Just a click and a download away and you’re ready to learn some new firearm skills, bushcraft 101, or history you never knew happened!
Best Books For Firearms Enthusiast On Kindle
Books To Teach Firearms Use
Firearms handling is a perishable skill and with most of us unable to get to the range right now, some books on the topic can at least help keep you up to date. Or if you’re new to firearms, these can give you a good place to start.
1. Long Range Shooting Handbook – Ryan Cleckner
One of the definitive guides to long-range shooting, Ryan Cleckner is a definitive voice on the top and his Long Range Shooting Handbook if read cover to cover will grant you most of the book know-how needed to reach out.
Nothing can replace practice and you will definitely need to practice, but getting the classroom work out of the way will go a long way to helping you understand what you’re doing.
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This is also a great book for referencing back once you’ve done some hands-on shooting, especially if you’re having trouble understanding why you’re missing.
2. Dryfire Reloaded + Drills and Skills Reloaded – Ben Stoeger
Exactly as the title makes it sound, Ben Stoeger offers a complete guide to dryfire and other drills you can practice at home. Perfect for during the Covid-19 lockdown!
Ben is an IPSC World Champion and a multiple USPSA National Champion who competes and teaches classes all over the US. The man knows what he is talking about and practices what he preaches.
This isn’t just for competition though, dryfire and reloading drills help in defensive shootings also. While rare to need a reload during a personal defense shooting, it can happen. Knowing how to do so with speed and economy of movement is critical.
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Plus, once we’re allowed out of our houses again–you’ll be extra prepped and ready to take the competition by storm!
Books About Self-Defense
3. Violence of Mind: Training and Preparation for Extreme Violence
If this was a movie, it would be rated R and directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Another book that is not for the faint of heart or if you have pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure.
And if you’re squeamish — good luck.
Violence does not come naturally to most people, so for many of us, it can be hard to understand the fight or flight response. Really, it isn’t something anyone can understand until they have experienced it, but this book at least can describe it the best.
Dealing almost elusively with mindset and preparing yourself for a fight that will hopefully never come, Violence of Mind is a first-hand experience-driven narrative into the depths of brutality.
Varg Freeborn isn’t a paper tiger like many who plague the self-defense trainer world, this is a man who has been on both sides of the law and has survived more before being legally allowed to drink than most professionals experience in their whole career.
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I highly recommend this book.
4. Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self-Defense – Massad Ayoob
Massad Ayoob is probably one of the most well-known firearms experts in the world outside of the firearm community.
Ayoob has appeared on just about every major news program you can think of as a legal expert regarding the use of deadly force, is a retired police Captain, and is almost without a doubt the most accomplished and publicly visible expert on the use and legality of deadly force in the world.
If you own a firearm or have any thoughts as to possible needing to use a firearm for self-defense, his book is a must-read. From what to expect after a shooting to the legal ramifications of taking your shot, Ayoob’s book details everything.
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You should still consult your local laws, but you will be far more prepared mentally, legally, and morally once you’ve finished reading this book.
Books About Strategy
Strategy is critical to everyday life but is woefully ignored as a skill. The ability to think critically and plan strategically are things that are as uncommon as common sense.
Even if you’re already a critical thinker, it’s good to brush up. These books will give you a leg up in that department and will serve you well as you navigate the times ahead.
Don’t believe me? Well, I’ll admit–I didn’t really pick these books myself. The United States Special Operations Command did.
Something you might not know is that the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) also has a university, the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU).
The JSOU has a library and the library makes their reading lists publicly available, including the USSOCOM Commander’s Reading List. And that’s where I found these books.
I’ve read a good number of the books on the USSOCOM’s reading list, but these are two of the best so far.
5. Good Strategy, Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters – Richard Rumelt
Granted, this is more of a business book than a military book–but the fundamentals apply more than you might think. Especially when you’re talking strategy.
While I first read Good Strategy, Bad Strategy while I was in college for a business class–finding it on the USSCOM’s list makes perfect sense.
If you want to learn how to develop a great strategy for problems or for life, there are dozens of awesome books to help you do that. But the ability to look at a strategy and identify why and how it is bad is much harder.
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Rumelt is one of the few writers on the topic that explores this more mysterious side of strategic thinking.
6. Insurgents, Raiders, and Bandits – John Arquilla
Part strategy, part history, part critical lessons learned, John Arquilla takes an in-depth look at the history of small-unit warfare in their conventional and nonconventional roles.
While it rarely deals with strategy directly, it does provide a fascinating insight into how war has changed over the years and yet at the same time has remained incredibly consistent.
Covering 18 stories across history, this book is easy to pick up and read for an afternoon or allow yourself to get lost in for a couple of days. But I would recommend taking it one bite at a time to give you time to completely process and absorb the information presented.
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Maybe break up your reading with some dryfire drills!
Books To Help You Survive
7. Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival – Dave Canterbury
If you need a quick and dirty crash course into fieldcraft, this is a good start.
While there are a dozen books I could recommend for this category, I picked Bushcraft 101 because it’s likely the easiest entry book on the topic I’ve read.
Don’t be mistaken though, if you’re dropped off in the wilderness with just this book, a knife, and a prayer–I would expect you to be wolf food by the end of the night.
However, if you’re trying to prepare yourself or already have a little bit of know-how and are looking to expand your knowledge or are in need of a refresher, then this book can really help.
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It also doubles as a cookbook, just in case you’ve been wondering how exactly to prepare squirrel or hardtack.
8. Emergency War Surgery: The Survivalist’s Medical Desk Reference – Department of the Army
I strongly, strongly, strongly do not recommend trying to do field surgery on yourself or others.
But… I mean, if that’s the last option after society collapses… then this is the book to get.
It’s also a highly credible source since this is literally published by the US Department Of The Army. So that’s comforting at least.
Personally, I have a copy because it’s an interesting read. I don’t see myself ever trying most of what the book covers, but I figure hey–if the zombies ever come for me and all I have on hand is a veterinarian to save me, this book seems like it would be pretty useful to them.
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Useful Entertainment
Maybe I’m the weird one but I don’t often read a book purely for entertainment. If I’m going to read for the fun of reading, I normally want to at least get something practical out of it.
These books are right in line with that thinking. They are fun to read, but helpful also if you’re willing to commit some of it to memory.
9. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War – Max Brooks
Yes, this was made into a movie with Brad Pitt.
No, the book is nothing like the movie.
Yes, even if you’ve seen the movie you need to read the book.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about World War Z. Max Brooks’s book isn’t just some zombie flick, it is actually a well thought out and well-researched book about the possible outcome of the collapse of society and governments as we know it.
It isn’t about if humanity will survive the apocalypse, but how we survived it.
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His approach to the topic and his conclusions are bold and worth paying attention to. So says FEMA and the Naval War College, both of whom have invited Brooks to speak to them multiple times.
Plus, it’s a really fun book… and hella cheap!
10. Sniper on the Eastern Front: The Memoirs of Sepp Allerberger, Knight’s Cross – Albrecht Wacker
If history is written by the victors, it’s hard to really get the whole story. Sniper On The Eastern Front is one of my all-time favorite books partly because it explores the war from the side that lost.
Sepp Allerberger was a sniper in World War II for the Germans and as the book title suggests he was stationed on the eastern front fighting the Russians.
He would go on to be the second most successful sniper for the Germans in WWII with 257 confirmed kills and would be awarded the Knight’s Cross.
His war started in 1943 when he was 19, he started as a common soldier but quickly found himself as a sniper. He was also, arguably, a war criminal by his own account.
This… is an interesting book. Partly because we get a first-hand account about a part of the war that is rarely discussed, but also as a critical insight into the tactics, problems, and solutions encountered by a soldier that had the freedom to address those problems on his own, without the benefit or burden of the central army.
One caveat to this I will give is that this is a first-hand account of the war. Witnesses are… unreliable. While much of this book can be backed up by other first-hand accounts, some of it cannot.
Between the fog of war and the fact that this memoir is an English translation of a German publication written by someone who repeatedly interviewed Sepp who at the time was an old man remembering the early years of his very traumatic life, it is reasonable to say that his account of events is not 100% reliable.
At the same time, his words should not be dismissed. Take it with a grain of salt if you wish, but it is a captivating read and a fascinating look into World War II.
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11. Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 – Antony Beevor
I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that Stalingrad might be the most important battle of World War II to study and understand.
From the tactics to the humanitarian impact, Stalingrad was a turning point in the war and in the geopolitical landscape.
This isn’t a light read kind of book though. It’s gritty, dirty, and doesn’t pull punches on the details. If war is hell, Stalingrad was one of the deepest circles.
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You could spend a lifetime studying the battle and the surrounding events, but if you want the condensed version–read this book.
Parting Shots
There are dozens of other books I could recommend you read, but this will have to do for now.
If you don’t have a Kindle yet, you can grab the app for your smartphone and read the books that way! But the Kindle is nicer and a good price.
What are your favorite books that a firearms hobbyist might love? Let me know in the comments! If you’re looking for some straight gun know-how, take a look at the Beginner’s Guide To Guns!
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More good reads on Kindle: "A Rifleman Went to War" by H. W. McBride; "Fry the Brain" by John West; "Guns, Bullets, and Gunfights" by Jim Cirillo; "Legendary Lawman: The Story of Jelly Bryce" by Ron Owens; "Practical Shooting, Beyond Fundamentals" by Brian Enos; "Sniping in France" by H. Hesketh-Prichard; "Tactical Reality" by Louis Awerbuck; "The Farnam Method of Defensive Handgunning" and "The Farnam Method of Defensive Shotgun and Rifle Shooting" by John S. Farnam; "The White Sniper: Simo Häyhä" by Tapio Saarelainen; "With British Snipers to the Reich" by Clifford Shore; and anything by Stephen Hunter (except "Night of Thunder" and "The 47th Samurai").