Jeff Cooper, the Gunner's Guru is an interesting man. If you mention his name in a crowd of shooters some will shut up as if E.F. Hutton is speaking and others will start scoffing. The Guru is one of our most colorful and controversial gun writers and is sure to spark interesting conversation at a gun club. But I have a lot of respect for the man and outside of Chuck Heston, he is the only public figure I would ever want to meet face to face.
It is interesting to see the polarity that has developed around Jeff Cooper; either you are a believer in his Modern Technique or you think that he is full of mush. Granted, there are a few people (as there are always) in the middle but for the most part shooters either believe in him or trash him.
The latter group is the most fascinating. Many of the people is this camp tend to ignore all of Cooper's writings because they disagree with him on sighted fire. Some of them (gunwriters in particular) have damned him with faint praise for years, attempting I suppose, to convince readers to ignore Cooper completely.
This is a shame and a real disservice to those who want to learn self-defense and proper gunhandling. While Cooper's advice on shooting is worth reading, the real treasure is found elsewhere.
Cooper's ideas and lessons on Crisis Management and Mindset should be studied intently by anyone interested in self-defense. What he has to say about situational awareness and combat readiness will save your life. I have a copy of his book Principles of Personal Defense, and it was some of the best money that I have ever spent. I reread this book about once a month, just to keep fresh in my mind the lessons it teaches.
When a reader explores the writings of Jeff Cooper he finds more than just advice on personal combat. He will see and learn about men and events that modern historians have ignored. The reader will learn about bravery from men who are truly heroic, integrity from men who are virtuous, and duty from men who knew the meaning of death before dishonor. In a decade where a man can hit a ball far and be called a hero, it pays to read about men who really were.
Jeff Cooper's writings involve more than how to shoot a handgun. They are a journal
of events and actions that all men can learn from. If you take the time to read his
works, you will have learned more about the pride and responsibility of American
citizenship than you ever could have learned in civics class. The Guru has lived a
long and interesting life. You would be wise to learn what you can from it.