Knives, Knife Fighting, And Related Hassles: How To Survive A Real Knife Fight Book

Well this was a quick read, and thanks to its similarity to his first book Cheap Shots, I don't have as much to say about it. It covers a more specific situation (knives and their use) about the more general topic of self-defense, but otherwise its written in the same style, has the same positives and negatives and I'd recommend it to the same people...crime authors looking to add grit and realism to their novels.

However, this time around I actually would also recommend this book to people interested in the subject of knives for self-defense. Reason; the language is a tad less salty, and if you are the sort of person who wants to carry a blade, you can probably handle a bit of rough talk.

(And if you can't, you probably aren't up to using a knife on a person. Just saying.)

So, why the higher star rating? Simple; this book is an across-the-board improvement in quality from MacYoung's previous title. The language is clearer, the pictures are better, there are less pointless asides and all the from-the-streets stories actually tied back to some point MacYoung wanted to make. Its still salty as hell; I don't think that will ever go away, but this time some of the asides are funnier, and MacYoung straight-out says he's the sort of person to "fuck around at his own funeral".

As an example of improvement; the pictures are limited to demonstrating how to hold a knife, how to carry a knife, how various different people stand while holding a knife, and so on. In other words, there aren't any still images trying to demonstrate "strikes", which are a complete motion a still image simply cannot convey properly. As such, the pictures actually have value as an addition to the descriptions.

Another point I like is how MacYoung gets into the legal/moral/social costs of carrying a knife in society and how one's life will change if one ever has to carve on someone, and its done to impress upon would-be "knifers" the seriousness of the topic. In this, I appreciated MacYoung's sense of when to be funny and when it was time to be serious. One of the many improvements over his last book.

So in the end, I can recommend this book for both IRL self-defense practitioners and authors looking for inspiration. Just sit down, put on some vintage guitar rock, crack a cold one and enjoy! Its well worth the trip.