There are hundreds, if not thousands of gun books out there. They cover every conceivable topic in regards to shooting and defense. One of the best is called In the Gravest Extreme: The Role of the Firearm in Personal Protections, by Massad Ayoob. The author is a well known firearms and self defense instruction. He is a police officer and currently is the director of Lethal Force Institute. Basically, this guy is a self defense guru.
This is one of Mr. Ayoob's earliest books, being printed in 1980. The choice of weaponry is a bit outdated, but nothing he has suggested is any less effectual today then 28 years ago. He advocated 38 Special and revolvers, which were the round and weapon of choice. Now, self defense experts are pushing the 9mm as the minimum caliber for protection and something plastic ans no brainer to carry around (Glocks, xD's, Sigma's). In another chapter, he expressed a very 1980 attitude about women in self defense when suggesting women use a 22 LR for self defense so they can handle the recoil. (In his defense, his more recent writings do not really discriminate between men and women for weapon choice---times change).
In essence, this books is about staying out of trouble with a gun. It does not advocate just shooting a bad gun. In fact, on several chapters it specifically warns against showing or using your weapon, unless you feel your life of someone else's is in immanent danger. This work gives specific examples of when weapons have been used to scare off bad guys. The intent is not to kill them but to save your own life.
Overall, this is one of the definitive works on self defense with a handgun and everyone who has a CCW or even a gun in the house should read this book.
