Rating: 
Summary: Boooorrrrriiiinnng
Review: Jim Cirillo is so full of himself that it isn't even funny. This book is poorly written. He repeats himself -- I swear you get the account of his first shootout no less than three times. His arrogance is overwhelming, even on the off chance it may be deserved. There is some useful information in this book about the physiology of bullet damage and the importance of drilling for those involved in high-stress shootouts. But I was left with the impression that this guy enjoyed killing just a little too much. Frankly, I don't know whether to be relieved he's no longer on the force or scared s--tless that he's out there packing with no supervision.
Rating: 
Summary: This book will teach you things about yourself.
Review: Jim Cirillo's book will not only teach you about self defence but will help you explore area's of the human psyche that most people never realize exists. If you are politically liberal this is a must read or if you just want to know something about self defence from someone who has been there 252 times.
Rating:
Summary: Ludicrous...!!!!!
Review: Only in America. The notion that some people find this kind of stuff interesting says a lot about them. That it found a publisher speaks volumes about a culture that encourages everyday citizens to pack heat...and "protect" themselves. In trying to make his vile case, Crillo indadvertently shows why we have more to fear from the pinhead next store with his or her shiny new Smith & Wesson than we do from all the so-called street scum. I support gun rights but let's be clear: this kind of nonsense will do more to sink the second amendment than any form of controls. No wonder the rest of the world finds the American preoccupation with firearms both idiotic...and inexplicable. Who can explain this? It makes no sense.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to read book of Cirollo's experiences
Review: Some very useful information on shooting and training techniques.Cirollo developed several variations of pointing and aiming which could come in handy if you practice using them. Interesting stories of gunfight survival and the skills and attitudes that the men who were so engaged had. Jim, how about another book with more details about your partner Allard and the other men in the unit and the skills and weapons they relied on as well as the bureacratic changes in the police department that impacted on morale?
Rating: 
Summary: notification of accompanying video
Review: The publisher sells an interesting companion video to this book, entitled JIM CIRILLO: MODERN-DAY GUNFIGHTER--EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT GUNFIGHTING BY A GUY WHO PUT HIS LIFE ON THE LINE TO FIND OUT. For more information on the video, visit Paladin's web page at http://www.paladin-press.com
Rating: 
Summary: Great tales, mediocre lessons
Review: This book is a compilation of articles written by Jim Cirillo. Some of these articles have been published before. This idea of compiling old articles into a book seems not to be the best possible idea, since the result is somewhat incoherent. It seems that these articles have not been edited at all when transformed into a book, because Cirillo tells two or three times how he ended up in NYCPD Stakeout Squad. The story is a good one, but once should have been enough. And there is at least one chapter which I had read before in another book. The book is divided into three parts. You guessed it: Guns, Bullets, and Gunfights. The main portion of Guns -part consist of article on hybrid weapons (Cirillo likes to fit Dan Wesson revolver barrels into S&W frames. The problem is that Dan Wesson company has closed down years ago). In the Bullets -part Cirillo presents his patented "Felon grabber" -bullet design, and mourns that no bullet manufacturer has shown interest in producing the bullet. There is also some discussion on other hollow point bullets. The third part is the real meat of this book. There Cirillo tells about his gunfights and the ideas he has developed from his first hand experiences. There are several problems about this book. Since there is only about 120 pages, Cirillo should have concentrated on only one topic. Now he can only scatch the surface on these subjects. Secondly, Cirillo seems to be a bit too much in love with himself. The book is filled with references of his achievements ("here are some of my police shooting awards...", "I fired this range record...", "...On my waist is the speed slide I invented, which revolutionized combat shooting", and so on. These examples are captions from preface). Third, because of the structure of the book, there is some repetition, as I mentioned earlier. Also, the text is written in layman's words. I don't doubt that Cirillo doesn't know what he is talking about, but it would be more credible if he would have used more scientifical approach. The reason to buy this book is the third part, in which Cirillo tells tales about his adventures in Stakeout squad. It's a real shame that there is only ten pages of these stories, because the stories are witty and humorous, even ïf the subject of the stories is somewhat grim. In the third part Cirillo also introduces his "silhuette point" -system of aiming, and there is also discussions about the qualities that make man a gunfighter, realistic training and so on. However, the same problems that trouble the first two parts exist here also. In conclusion, if Cirillo were to write a whole book of stories on Stakeout squad, I could recommend it to anyone. Sadly, in this book there is only a limited amount of good stuff.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: This book is clearly a compendium of articles and as such is poorly organized and repeatitive. The articles themselves are fine, but they don't work in book form. The author spends a great deal of time on his "magic", home-brewed ammunition and custom-built revolvers, which simply aren't a viable alternative for most people. It is certainly worth the read, but it is disappointing because I'm sure that there's much more to learn from Cirillo than is presented here.
Rating: 
Summary: Alot of knowledge, excellent
Review: This is another excellent book, Jim Cirillo puts his observations and lessons from his LIVED experiences w/ the NYPD stakeout unit that should be the role model for agencies today on how to deal with crime. My only dissappointment was that the book was only about 200 pages, the personal stories are amusing, but reading his ideas and experience on what works, some "why's", hopefully another book is in the works from him. alot of good knowledge
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book for the more advanced student
Review: While a book like Mas Ayoob's In the Gravest Extreme" is written for someone new to the field of self-defense, this book is for the more advanced student. As such, it provides bits and pieces of information. A word of wisdom here, a pearl of knowledge there. More advance students should not expect anymore. I recommend this book as part of anyone library of self-defense books.
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