This is a good book to build understanding of your right to self defense. It covers the essentials of when self defense is justified and other practical matters of self defense. The book does support people understanding that no one should ever want to get into a conflict they have to defend themselves. An important point he makes is you are not in control of your future after an incident and even if by the facts it was a perfectly justified use of force, an impartial jury could convict you and do it is best to avoid conflict except for an absolute necessity. I encourage every individual to be careful and be extremely cautious and responsible with a gun.

This is a good read and has good examples and explanations that anyone taking on the responsibility of self defense will benefit from reading this book.

Short Version: If you own a gun, buy this book. Now.

To continue…

There are many experts who can teach you how to handle your firearm and survive a gunfight, and Massad Ayoob is one of the best.

But Ayoob was the first man to recognize that when the gunfight is over and you’ve survived, that’s only the beginning of the fight. Mr. Ayoob was the first to address what happens *after* the smoke clears. Everyone else stopped once the bad guy was stopped. But some 36 years ago, in his book “In The Gravest Extreme,” Mr. Ayoob addressed the rest of the story for the first time: The emotional and especially the *legal* aftermath of a self-defense shooting. You survived the attack, now how will you survive the legal process?

Massad Ayoob covers what happens: The “Mark of Caine” syndrome, the police, the courts, and what you should expect and what you need to do before, in preparation, and after. There is no better authority on the subject. Yet he writes in an accessible, readable, and relatable way; this is no dry academic text. It is backed by his experiences in the field and in the courtroom.

Now, some “hoplophobes,” as the late, great Colonel Jeff Cooper called them, might argue that this is a book about how to get away with murder. That couldn’t be further from the truth. If anything, this book is about how *not* to shoot somebody when you shouldn’t. If every gun came with a copy of this book instead of a cheap gun lock, I would argue that more lives would be saved. Seriously.

If you own a gun and you are looking to learn, buy this book first. In fact, splurge a little and buy In The Gravest Extreme too, and read it first. Everything there is as relevant as the day it was published decades ago. Deadly Force expands upon those concepts and relates them to current events.

This is an absolute essential, and I give it my very highest recommendation.

This book is superb. My only complaint is that it is printed on low quality, light grey paper. Normally I would deduct a star for that, but since I would give this book six stars if I could I figure it balances out to a five-star review.

This is ESSENTIAL information for any gun owner in the U.S. Reading this book might very well be the difference between acquittal and conviction if you ever have to use a gun in self-defense. The author explains very clearly how the law treats the issue of self-defense. Massad Ayoob knows his stuff and is an excellent communicator as well. This book was published somewhat recently (2014) so it includes fairly recent examples from case law and demonstrates familiarity with contemporary perspectives on guns and self-defense.

I will be giving this book as a gift to all my gun-wielding family and friends this year. Seriously, one of the most important books I’ve read.