Customer Reviews:
 Savage Tales! September 28, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Whenever you are disgusted with the disgraceful passive-aggressive, anti-confrontational, and indirectly rude bahavior which characterizes our present age, open Mr. Kirchner's excellent tome of warriors! These were people who weren't afraid to go into harm's way. They solved their conflicts with blades, bullets, and bare fists! No "sensitivity training" for these worthy fighters! The author has compiled his list of his favorite fighting men and women, from antiquity to the present. We all have our own list that we would compile in a similar manner, but this list is damned good! I would have included more U.S. Marines, Vikings, Medieval Knights, and Samurai, but this not my book! In here you will find a number of well-known heros and rogues, and many more who should be better known than they are. Here is a sampling:
-Gregory Boyington, the hard-partying, irreverant, and hell-raising Marine Corps fighter-ace of World War II, who flew for the Flying Tigers, and also founded the famous Black Sheep Squadron.
-Delf Bryce, probably the deadliest gun-fighter the FBI ever had, the quintessential G-Man of the 1930s.
-Ty Cobb: I thought, what is a baseball player doing in this book?...then I read about what a savage brawler he was, straight out of an R.E. Howard pulp-novel! Conan would be proud!
-Peter Francisco, a giant in Washington's army, who was a one man army himself! A man so strong, he carried an artillery piece off the battlefield so the British wouldn't capture it! Heres a patriot who needs a monument!
-Jean Louis, a Haitian swordmaster in Napoleaon's army, who originally found himself harassed because of his nationality. Nobody harassed him when he demonstrated his skill with the blade.
-Jose Llulla, another master swordsman: A gentleman from Spain who became a famous duellist in 19th century New Orleans.
-Takeda Sokaku, a 20th century samurai and master of the martial-arts, one of the last true exponents of Bushido. Although he would likely have been happier in Japan's Age of Wars, he found plenty of action in our time!
-Egil Skallagrimson, one of the most savage Vikings ever, he survived a lifetime of feuds with Norway's King Eric Blood-axe. No matter how many warriors the king sent to eliminate Egil, the body count kept rising! Egil died of old age on his farm in Iceland.
-Nancy Wake, an Australian volunteer in the French resistance in World War II, and later an agent in the Special Operations Executive. There were a number of deadly female agents such as herself that should be more well-known.
Aside from these, read about the heroic exploits of young Winston Churchill, or James Bowie, Wild Bill Hickok, Robert the Bruce, and Miyamoto Musashi. Included within are accounts of three Luftwaffe aces Hartmann, Marssielle, and Rudel, and other famous aviators. You will find the exploits of Shaka Zulu and his champion Mbogozi, or Geronimo, in his prolonged fight against Mexican and U.S. soldiers.
Some of these people fought for their nation in war, some for survival, for enforcement of the law, or for personal honor. Some of them..just liked to fight! Its an essay on the value of bravery, self-reliance, and the will to win!
Real-life action heroes June 19, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
A quick, interesting, and fun read! Kirchner profiles 50 of the deadliest solo fighters of all time in 44 chapters, from brawlers to duelists (both sword and gun varieties) to fighter pilots. On occasion two or more warriors are listed in a single chapter. While one could argue whether or not these men and women truly represent the top 50, you cannot argue that their heroic tales are anything less than fascinating (if a bit pithy in some cases). This fun book has a smattering of historical photos as well as illustrations from the author to give readers a good idea of what these folks looked like too. Despite the title, it is not only about deadly men. A few women are list too. For example, exploits the American Revolutionary and Indian fighter Hannah Duston, and the scandalous life of 17th century swordswoman Julie La Maupin are included as well.
The full cast of characters includes Alexander the Great, Tom Allen, James Bowie, Pappy Boyington, Jelly Bryce, Lloyd Burke, Ned Christie, Winston Churchill, Ty Cobb, The Black Douglas, Hannah Duston, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Peter Francisco, Geronimo, Gurkhas (Jitbahadur Rai, Dwansing Basnet, and Lachhiman Gurung), Frank Hamer, Nancy Hart, Erich Hartmann, Wild Bill Hickok, Andrew Jackson, Jean-Louis, Turkey Creek Johnson, Commando Kelly, Pepe Llulla, Frank Luke, Donald McBane, Hans-Joachim Marseille, Bat Masterson, Julie La Maupin, Mgobozi, Audie Murphy, Usamah ibn-Munqidh, Miyamoto Musashi, Charles Nungesser, Francisco Pizarro, Robert the Bruce, Ronald Rosser, Hans Ulrich Rudel, Luke Short , Egil Skallagrimsson, Sokaku Takeda, Lance Thomas, Nancy Wake, Lewis Wetzel, Sam Whittemore, Alvin York, and Shaka Zulu. All these folks faced impossible odds, suffered grievious injuries, and persevered in the face of adversity.
This tome is packed full of interesting historical insight. Thankfully it reads much more like a work of fiction than a history book despite the fact that the tales are all true. You can read about fighter pilots who flew combat sorties days after receiving serious gunshot wounds, broken legs, or prosthetic limbs as well as soldiers, duellists, and fighters who were shot, stabbed, or mutilated and continued to battle for their lives. Some found their greatest calling in warfare or law enforcement while others were forced to fight in self-defense. Regardless of why they fought, how they fought, or what they fought with, they all did some seriously amazing things. If you want to know more about any of these fascinating characters there is a very complete bibliography to lead you to more sources too. Very well done!
Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction
a good overview August 11, 2004
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Deadliest Men is not an indepth study, nor does it claim to be. I particually enjoyed it because it is an overview that has inspired me to read more about some of the subjects. I also learned about some that I otherwise would not have chosen to investigate.
Certainly, any "list" book is going to get some complaining about who is on, or left off the list. I suggest you not worry about the picks and enjoy it for what it is. A good read of abridged profiles of some amazing warriors.
 Good - for all the wrong reasons December 22, 2003
9 out of 16 found this review helpful
The reason I got this book, is not the reason I enjoyed the book. Before I picked this book up, I was expecting indepth analysis of 50 warriors. What they did, how they did it, what made them incredible. I was expecting too much information. Unfortunatly, what I got instead was a quick overview of everyone. That was a big turn off, and I almost put the book away right there. On closer inspection, the 50 alltime greats turned out to be (mostly) Americans & Frenchmen. Included in the list were some Nazi's, one or two vikings, japanese and asians. That left a sour taste in my mouth; I highly doubt over 5 gunslingers from Texas should be in the top 50 warriors list of all time. So that was that, and I wanted to chuck the book, but I couldn't put it down :) The sheer awesomeness of these men made me keep reading. 5 page biographies or not, I was immpressed and astonished with what some of these men did in the name of honor, courage and self respect. Just to learn of these men, is reason enough to pick up this book. Overall, this book kills a couple of hours. I'd recommend it when you're feeling low, or you need to kill an airplane trip. Not for everyone.
One of my most favorite books to read!! January 3, 2003
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
I dont like to give 5 stars, but this book is Bad! Nice short and not overworded or exagerated biographies of some butt-kickin Bad-...!! This is the second one Ive bought and given away! I just might buy one for myself...again.
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