Written by: Greg Ellifritz
Compared to the average American, I read a massive number of books. I try to read between around 10 books a month. I accomplish this because I don’t have TV in my house and I carry a book wherever I go. Whenever I have a few spare moments, I spend them reading. In 2020, the number of books I read was lower than a normal year, but I still managed to finish 92 books.
I won’t bore you with the details from all of them. The books listed below are the cream of the crop. They are the most informative and influential books I read last year. The books are ordered solely based on the date I read them. I think some of you will enjoy this reading list.
Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt
“Love Your Enemies offers a clear strategy for victory for a new generation of leaders. It is a rallying cry for people hoping for a new era of American progress. Most of all, it is a roadmap to arrive at the happiness that comes when we choose to love one another, despite our differences.”
Raven: One Boy Against the Wilderness
Robert Young Pelton is my travel writing hero. I’ve loved everything he’s ever published. This is his first venture into fiction.
Saps, Blackjacks and Slungshots: A History of Forgotten Weapons
This book is the absolute definitive reference on small impact weapons. The complete history of these weapons is covered with extensive period newspaper, book, and movie quotes. It’s a stunning compilation of information.
SHTF Survival Stories: Memories from the Balkan War
First-hand experiences of a man who survived the economic/societal collapse caused by the Balkan wars in the 1990s. The descriptions of life during that time were potent reminders of how well we have it in today’s world while at the same time providing valuable instruction about how to survive such chaos should it ever happen here.
Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual
The best leadership advice that I have ever read.
Broken
Winslow is a witty and masterful storyteller. This collection of novellas was both potent and entertaining.
Pistolcraft: Forging Past and Present
Reid provides a superior resource to understand the development and evolution of pistol training over the years.
The Detective in the Dooryard: Reflections of a Maine Cop
I’ve long enjoyed this Bangor Police officer’s writing on his department’s Facebook page. He’s a stunning example of the way police agencies should be engaging with their residents on social media. I looked forward to the insights he shares in this book.
This is one of the best books that highlights the day to day life of an average police officer. Tim gets it right. There were some spots in the book that brought a tear to my eye when they were so strikingly similar to things I did in my career.
Days of Rage: America’s Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence
With the extreme level of violence directed against police officers in the last year, I looked back to an era with a similar level of hatred for the police to attempt to determine if the best practices of the early 1970s could be adapted to today’s law enforcement world. This book was surprisingly educational. I had no idea many of those radical groups existed.
Reading the radicals’ own stories about how they thought of themselves at the time reminds me of modern-day ANTIFA.
The Revengers (4 book series)
Marcus Wynne’s The Revengers is a fast paced and incredibly entertaining book series with lots of guns, action, and righteous violence. If you are looking for an entertaining escape, you’ll like the series.
The Book of Numbers: Analyzing the ROI on the Pursuit of Women
This book contains some very unique research. The author attempts to quantify exactly how much money the average man spends to find a woman who will marry him. The author then looks at research to determine how likely that married couple will stay happily married for life. Both numbers are quite depressing. I’ll be interested to read the author’s upcoming book covering the same issues from a female perspective.
These books are absolutely worth your time to read. I hope you take the opportunity to check some of them out.
For more great books, check out my Recommended Reading page.
Some of the above links (from Amazon.com) are affiliate links. If you purchase these items, I get a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.
