Jim Cirillo was a member of the New York City Police
Department Stake-Out Squad. According to one biographer, “his job was to confront the worst in the criminal world. He
lived through no less than seventeen separate shootouts. He was involved in many more armed confrontations. He later moved
on to U.S. Customs. After retirement from law enforcement, Jim Cirillo took up writing. His book, Guns, Bullets, And Gunfights: Lessons And Tales From A Modern-Day Gunfighter
is a compilation of articles he wrote over the years.
According to the book description of Guns, Bullets, And Gunfights: Lessons And Tales From A Modern-Day Gunfighter,
“As member of the NYPD, Jim Cirillo survived more gunfights than Wild West legends Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson
and "Wild Bill" Hickok combined. Learn what it takes to survive a real gunfight from someone who's been in many - Jim Cirillo,
top gun in the New York City Police Department stakeout unit. Read about the stress and intensity of an actual shoot-out and
how to maximize your training, ammo and weapons to prevail.”
Jim Cirillo is also the author of Tales of The Stakeout Squad, No
Second Place Winner, Principles of Personal Defense, 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, The Wind Book For Rifle Shooters, Surgical
Speed Shooting: How to Achieve High-Speed Marksmanship in a Gunfight and Police
Pistol Craft: The Reality-Based New Paradigm of Police Firearms Training.
According to one reader of Guns,
Bullets, And Gunfights: Lessons And Tales From A Modern-Day Gunfighter, “Jim Cirillo's book is very
informative, especially to those who are actively involved in the law enforcement/security field. This is a must read!
According to one reader of Guns, Bullets, And Gunfights: Lessons And
Tales From A Modern-Day Gunfighter, “Anyone who would describe Jim Cirillo as a "bloodthirsty killer"
is beneath contempt. If you were threatened with violence by some street thug, you would pray that a man like Cirillo might
intercede on your behalf. You may have no idea of the senseless, violent crimes that led to the formation of New York's
Stakeout Unit. Storeowners were being brutalized and executed for no reason after being robbed. I understand that that reality
is hard for some people to grasp. As Orwell wrote, "We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night
to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
Some other, more reasonable critics
have described Jim as coming off as arrogant. Having had the privilege of getting to know Jim in the last few months of his
life, I can assure them that he was not arrogant in the least. He was a warm, open, and vibrant man, extremely gregarious.
He did like to talk about his experiences but the effect was not arrogant. He simply took pride in his accomplishments, but
at the same time he would talk about his own mistakes and laugh at himself. He was also very interested in what other people
had to say. I don't think there is anyone who knew Jim who did not regard him as a fine man and a great
friend. He will be missed.
According to one reader of Guns, Bullets, And Gunfights: Lessons And
Tales From A Modern-Day Gunfighter, “This book is outstanding! First of all...it is short! It is less
than 120 pages, much less in text. That is a good thing. Keeps it easy to get through.
Secondly it addresses the psychological aspects of gun fighting better than most
books of its era. Thirdly, it doesn’t try to cover motor movement skills like some books. If you
want to know how to move, stand, hold the gun and aim...I recommend finding an instructor in the flesh. He doesn’t waste
50 pages with wire diagrams of people going around corners and stuff. His book is better without that stuff. Don’t try
to learn physical skills from books.
Finally, the book unlocks new things
to me each time I read it. I read it the first time when I knew nothing of shooting. I found it interesting and something
to think about. It was short so it was worth my time. Later, as I grew as a shooter and a person I would reread it about once
a year and notice things I hadn’t seen before. New insights I had gained would allow me to comprehend things better
and it made certain parts of the book more illuminating.”
|