Unrepentant Sinner: The Autobiography of Col. Charles Askins

This is a great book. It was not written by a contemperary. It was written by a member of a generation that has passed on. If some of the attitudes offend, keep in mind that Col Askins was of a world that's foreign to the one we live in today. And the world we inhabit today, will be foreign to the world just one generation in the future. This book is a slice of history, a history that's exciting and interesting. The pictures it brings to mind are graphic and often humorous, and sometimes tragic. It's almost always entertaining, and has the honesty of a document that has not been sanitized by political correctness. It's important to understand how our antecedents felt, to widen our historical perspective. The Colonel's attitudes were very much those of the generation of my parents. I'm naturally curious to find out why they had those kinds of prejudices, and also curious to look at contemperary 'tudes to see what might go by the wayside. It's been years since I've read this book, but I keep it on the bookshelf because it's one book I'll read again.

Not great literature by any means, but not a bad read if you are interested in Askins. If the material contained within offends some of you that badly, perhaps you should just remember not to venture so far out from under you mother's skirt. Askins for all of his "issues" is represenative of an older age of American masculinity, before the average white male became as sissified as he is today. You have to honestly ask yourself, if trouble was on the horizon, would you rather have Askins at your side or some of the emasculated posters reviewing this book?

There is a tendancy in reading this book to judge Charles Askins on the basis of current political and cultural standards. This, I believe is a mistake and also unfair. Askins grew up in South Texas in the shadow of the old west. Gunfights were still not uncommon and crime was dealt with in a different way.Askins knowledge of guns, his skill in their use, and his experience in using them is something that you will not encounter in people of this era. His writing is not half-bad for a man of limited education and often quite colorful. The stories are fascinating.For all of his liabilites, upon reading this book, one often feels the world would be a better (and safer) place if men like Mr. Askins were still around and it is often worrisome, in this world of political correctness, how this nation would fare in a war of major proportions with a populace that is indocrinated against guns and violence and where boys are made to behave like girls.

Col. Askins is a man of a different era. His opinions on race, war, violence, and politics may offend you. If you can get past the anachronisms, you will find an exciting story of a man who embodies the ideal of the rugged American individualist. Askins is truly a "sinner" who never repents, even when he is confronted (in his later years) by a world with which he had no truck. He is also a very good writer who can spin a tale with great wit and insight. In an age when people conceal their unpleasant values and beliefs for the sake of remaining socially acceptable, Askins is a reminder that the law of the jungle remains intact.

From the first page to the last, Askins spins a tale of a salty and sometimes distasteful life as a long ago Policeman and Soldier. The book is of special interest to shooters as it highlights Askins competetive background and his developements in the area's of handguns.