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5 Must-Read Books For 2024
According To The Gun Cranks
It’s been unusually cold for December in my neck of the woods, with temps we typically only see for a few weeks in late January to early February. Considering I was born on a Pacific island and raised in the South, my blood simply isn’t made for it. To help stave off the prospect of seasonal depression commonly associated with the lack of sunshine this time of year, I’ve managed to make a sizeable dent in the “to be read” pile on my nightstand. To keep things going through winter, I figured who better to turn to for reading recommendations than the Gun Cranks. After all, they’re a far cry from being a bunch of illiterate, uneducated rednecks folks assume the “typical” American gun owner to be. Shocking, I know.
When asked to share their favorite recent reads, here are their responses.
The Daily Stoic
By Ryan Holiday
I’ve been reading “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday for for 11-7/8 months. The book contains 366 short daily “meditations on wisdom, perseverance and the art of living.”
Stoicism is currently enjoying one of its many periodic resurgences. This comes as modern man re-discovers the effective techniques of dealing with daily disappointment, tragedy and hardship were already understood thousands of years by the Stoics of Greece and Rome.
Drawing on the works of Zeno, Seneca, Epictetus, Emperor Marcus Aurelius and others, “The Daily Stoic” offers passages from these famous philosophers along with an easier-to-understand discussion of why the quotes matter to modern man. Within a few pages, you’ll realize the advice and observations are as timely today as it was before the time of Christ.
The common perception of a practicing stoic is they have no joy, emotion or empathy, but this is incorrect. Stoics are full of these emotions like all humans, but “The Daily Stoic” helps you understand how to effectively deal with both tragedy and triumph in order to live a more balanced, less stressful, more successful and more peaceful life. Ultimately, I’d call “The Daily Stoic” one of the best “gateway drugs” for wading into Stoicism.
If you seek to live a better life through self-discipline and without all the ‘touchy-feely’ me-me-me excuses of modern self-help literature, “The Daily Stoic” is a great start. This is why it has become so popular among the ‘gun crowd.’
— Brent T. Wheat
Undaunted Courage
By Stephen Ambrose
“Undaunted Courage” by Stephen Ambrose is a page-turner of a book. Most of us know the names of Lewis and Clark, but not many know the entire story from the people who lived it. A rip-roaring tail of, indeed, undaunted courage — from Indian fights and raging white water rapids to starvation, bitter cold and discoveries that changed a nation, this is a tale of true heroism and determination. It’s living, American history and instills a sense of bedrock foundation to this great country of ours. Get it … read it … and remember it.
— Roy Huntington
John Browning, American Gunmaker
By J. Browning and Curt Gentry
“John Browning, American Gunmaker” by J. Browning and Curt Gentry tells the often surprising story of America’s premier creator of some of our most iconic firearms designs. Browning had the remarkable ability to imagine the inner workings of a gun before he even touched a piece of metal. Once he had in mind, he put his hands to work to put life into those designs. From the 1911 pistol and 1885 single-shot rifle to lever actions and the famous “Ma Duce” .50-caliber heavy machinegun — and more, almost too numerous to count — Browning’s legacy served to build our country, win our wars, and keep the peace protecting police officers, military and common citizens. Reading his life story shows a man of determination, modesty and a sheer brilliance unmatched by any other gun designer. If you’re a “gun person,” this is an investment in what you love to do and an intimate look at much of the history of the firearm in America.
— Roy Huntington
Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich
By Norman Ohler
This was an impulse purchase at a local book emporium that turned out to be unexpectedly insightful. As a lifelong student of military history with an emphasis on World War 2, I feel that I have a decent feel for the timeline of the conflict and who did what to whom. Ohler’s book lent unexpected insights into why some of the familiar figures in Nazi Germany behaved as they did. The book explores the widespread use of Pervitin and similar stimulants and how they helped facilitate superhuman feats like keeping an armored assault going for days on end without a respite. This book helped explain the real reasons why the Germans could pull off Blitzkrieg.
Additionally, I had no idea how badly addicted Hitler and Goering were to habituating substances. Ohler draws on reliable historical accounts to explain what the German leadership was hooked on and how that might have driven their well-documented paranoia and erratic behavior. All in all, a fascinating read.
— Will Dabbs, MD
Casca: The Eternal Mercenary
By Barry Sadler
I grew up on these books as a kid and own most of them. They can be tough to find today. However, I went back and reread the first of the series recently, just for giggles. I was struck by what an extraordinary literary concept this was.
Barry Sadler was the Special Forces NCO who wrote the song, “The Ballad of the Green Berets.” His Casca series consisted of 22 books of men’s fiction that orbited around the Roman legionary Casca Rufio Longinus, the soldier who pierced the side of Christ during the crucifixion. While hanging on the cross, Jesus says to him, “Soldier, you are content with what you are. Then that you shall remain until we meet again. As I go now to My Father, you must one day come to Me.” Casca then absentmindedly wipes his face with the back of his hand, gets the blood of Christ on his lips, and finds that he cannot die.
The rest of the pilot book and the subsequent series has Casca fighting in various places and various eras across vast swaths of time. Casca is not quite haute literature, but it is a reliably fun read. It’s a crime against humanity that nobody has yet made a decent movie out of the concept.
— Will Dabbs, MD
