Book: To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth

by Jeff Cooper.

A meaty Cooper book that nevertheless went by too fast despite its 350+ page length.

The Colonel goes over 5 sections that are near and dear to him. The Present (combat mindset, personal defense), The Pistol (and how to use it), The Rifle (and what it's good for), the Hunter (hunting stories!) and the Past (History).

Cooper explains he got the title from Teddy Roosevelt, and that it was a favorite saying of the Rough Rider. But Cooper reminds that TR got it the Persian Empire. 3000 years ago, a proper training of the elite's sons was to send them to houses of war lords in the hinterlands, where they are to learn to rough it, 'to ride like Cheiron, shoot (arrows) like Apollo, and to speak only the truth.' What else would you need to know to become a proper prince?

The hunting stories are a wonderous indulgence, as Cooper is nothing if not a story-teller.


I may post ANOTHER book review, someday, after I re-read this one. Lots of ground to cover, as it is info dense into the Cooper mind.