From: "Peter Webb", [EMAIL PROTECTED]
G'day All............
On the subject of reading matter:-
John Lott's "More Guns, Less Crime" is not light reading, but you do not
need a degree in statistical analysis to understand his conclusions, merely
his methodology.
David Kopel is also worthwhile. Not just his "The Samurai, The Mountie and
the Cowboy" , but his later book"Guns: Who Should Have Them?" Which is a
collection of pieces , some by other authors on varying aspects of the
gun-control debate, including the Feminist viewpoint, Afro-American
experiences, children and firearms , and most interestingly; a critique of
the medical profession's advocacy of firearm control from the viewpoint of
sociologists and criminologists.
Interestingly, Kopel reveals himself as yet another former believer in the
accepted wisdom that gun-control reduced crime, who was convinced otherwise
by his studies of the evidence.
As for accounts of men at war;- if you can cope with an Australian
viewpoint, then may I strongly recommend "The Desert Column" by Ion (sic)
Idriess. It is the diary of a private soldier in the Australian Light Horse
, from the time of his landing at Gallipoli and through the Palestine
Campaign including both Gaza and Beersheba (arguably one of the most
significant cavalry actions in modern warfare) up to the point where he was
invalided out (after being wounded for the third time) just prior to the
capture of Jerusalem. ......... One of my all-time favourites.
Another is "To the Last Ridge" by W. H. Downing. Again, an "other ranks"
view of WW1 with Australian infantry in France. It includes a first-person
account of the counterattack at Villers-Brettoneaux. Makes my hair stand up
Finally, I have greatly enjoyed Elmer Keith's "Hell, I was There"........ An
interesting man in interesting times.
Best Regards........... Peter Webb
--
Understanding the methodology is more important than
understanding the conclusions, because all sorts of people
make wild conclusions that their methodology does not support.
The comparison between suicides by gas ovens and suicides
by guns by the Home Office had all sorts of conclusions that
the methodology could not possibly support.
Steve.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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