Virginia – Like "Surviving a Mass Killer Rampage," "Thank God I had a Gun" provides a lot of detailed information. In this case it is about real-life self-defense cases.

Using actual events from the news, the book covers what led up to the shooting, the shooting itself, and the aftermath, including interactions with the police and the courts. Each case also has Mr. Bird's thoughts about the shooting.

I found that Mr. Bird's writing style made the book one of those that you keep thinking, "I'll put it down after the next page." Which then becomes, "Well, maybe just one more page…"

Much of the detail provided in the book comes from one-on-one interviews with the victim by Mr. Bird, so this is not just a rehash of what was reported in the media.

"Thank God I had a Gun" provides an excellent way to learn from other people's experiences. It forces you to think about important things, such as:  

What could the victim have done differently, if anything, given the way things unfolded?

Could the victim have reasonably avoided the attack altogether?

What would have been the best and safest way to interact with the police when they showed up following the event?