Black Rifle Coffee Company, Home to Tons of Coffee and Published Authors
It’s well known that Black Rifle Coffee Company is about more than just coffee, but did you know that our staff includes several talented writers (and not just those working for Coffee or Die Magazine). If you’re ever in search of a new book to add to your arsenal, check out the options within the BRCC family.
In the hilarious and personal memoir Thank You For My Service, readers ride shotgun with former Army Ranger and private military contractor and current social media phenomenon Mat Best into the action and its aftermath, both abroad and at home. From surviving a skin infection in the swampy armpit of America (aka Columbus, Georgia) to kicking down doors on the outskirts of Ramadi, from blowing up a truck full of enemy combatants to witnessing the effects of a suicide bombing right in front of your face, Thank You for My Service gives readers who love America and love the good guys fresh insight into what it’s really like inside the minds of the men and women on the front lines. If you’re behind the curve and you haven’t read this one yet, well, now is a great time to catch up. (If, for whatever reason, you need more convincing, check out this article that Coffee or Die published about the book.)
Photo courtesy of Mat Best/Black Rifle Coffee Company.
Dan Horgan, Luke Ryan, Tyr Symank (aka Charlie Martel)
Three of the BRCC crew are published in War… & After: The Anthology of Poet Warriors — a collection of warrior poets, or poet warriors, rather, each delivering their own firsthand experiences of war. In this collection, those who have trained for and — more often than not — engaged in war bring back to us their experience and knowledge so that we may indulge ourselves vicariously in war’s brutal consequences.
Photo courtesy of Dead Reckoning Collective.
The Gun and the Scythe: Poetry by an Army Ranger, a booklet of poetry written by former Army Ranger Luke Ryan, explores the nature of violence, war, and the contrast between evil and courage found on the battlefield. War is an eternal thing, as essential to human nature as eating food, as physical as sex, and as spiritual as prayer. These are the ideas communicated in Ryan’s poems in a way that anyone, veteran or not, can resonate with.
A Moment of Violence is Luke Ryan's second book of war poetry, which delves deeper into his experiences as an Army Ranger, some violent events in his childhood, and some after his years in the military. Every form of art explores a different facet of the human experience, and Ryan has found catharsis in exploring war and violence through the emotional medium of poetry. He wrote these books to better understand himself and in the hopes that other veterans might resonate with his work. Additionally, this book, along with The Gun and the Scythe, could provide insight to those interested in war’s psychological and emotional aspects.
In the short story “The Eighth,” a boy stands on the edge of a Celtic battlefield with angry, rough men to his back. Ancient heroes, magical objects, and mysterious adventures befall the kings and heroes who have led him to this grassy field, but he is just a boy with a dented metal sword in his hands. His father died in a field like this. Will he suffer the same fate in the name of some glamorous adventure of the men who ride horses with gold spears and white tunics?
The First Marauder, the first novel in Ryan’s trilogy, follows Tyler Ballard, a young survivor of "the Red," a deadly virus that has wreaked havoc across the United States. The world should be on its way to recovery, but Tyler finds it only delving further into darkness. Upon the murder of his brother, Tyler lies about his age to join the East Tampa Militia in its fight against a neighboring town over resources. He hopes that joining the war will bring him vengeance for his lost brother, but he finds that war takes you anywhere but where you want to go. Ryan siphons his combat experiences into this novel and paints a unique picture of a broken world. This book is about the discovery of war and politics as seen through the eyes of a young boy as he is tossed into the meat grinder of life and turned into a man.
Photo courtesy of Luke Ryan/Black Rifle Coffee Company.
The Last Punisher: A SEAL Team Three Sniper’s True Account of the Battle of Ramadi, which Rocke co-authored with Kevin Lacz and Lindsey Lacz, is a bold, no-holds-barred, first-person account of the Iraq War. With wry humor and moving testimony, Kevin Lacz tells the story of his tour in Iraq with SEAL Team 3, the warrior elite of the Navy. This legendary unit, known as “the Punishers,” included Chris Kyle (American Sniper), Mike Monsoor, Ryan Job, and Marc Lee. These brave men were instrumental in securing the key locations in the pivotal 2006 Battle of Ramadi.
Image courtesy of Barnes and Noble.
In Rimfire Revolution: A Complete Guide to Modern .22 Rifles, Shea cements himself as an expert in the field of rifles, specifically the rimfire rifle. Shea’s book addresses the rimfire rifle as a historic centerpiece of the shooting community and brings it into the modern times. Every major gun manufacturer has brought at least one new rimfire rifle to the market in the last two years, and these models are covered in detail. This book gives complete coverage of semi-autos and how they work; the magic of bolt-action accuracy; advice on sharpening up shooting accuracy; match shooting and how to succeed; do-it-yourself precision gunsmithing; hunting with rimfires; and the future of the rimfire market.
Photo courtesy of Kurtis Frasier/Free Range American.
“The True Story of How Standing Rock Fell” is an investigative essay written through the eyes of author Marty Skovlund Jr. as he details the final days of the Oceti protest camp on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. Braving extreme weather as well as the volatile standoff between the Dakota Access Pipeline and the self-proclaimed water protectors, Skovlund searches for the unbiased truth of what’s actually happening. This long-form essay is the only account of the Standing Rock protests that offers the reader access to not only the protesters but also the law enforcement and private military contractors who opposed them for nearly six months.
Violence of Action: The Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror is much more than the true, first-person accounts of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Global War on Terror. Between these pages are the heartfelt, firsthand accounts from and about the men who lived, fought, and died for their country, their regiment, and each other. Objective Rhino, Haditha Dam, recovering Jessica Lynch, the hunt for Zarqawi, the recovery of Extortion 17, and everything in between. These stories have been told many times in barracks rooms, over bar tables, and at backyard barbecues, but they had never before been shared with the general public. These stories should be heard. So much more than just stories from a specific unit, this book reveals the sights, smells, and emotions of everything that happens in war, good and bad. It will be seen as the quintessential, ageless work on the human condition in combat.
Send Me: The Incredible True Story of a Mother at War is the extraordinary story of American special operator and trailblazer Shannon Kent, who was killed at the age of 35 by a suicide bomber while hunting high-value targets on a classified mission in Syria in 2019.
Send Me is Shannon’s heroic life story, revealing the truth of both her work and her death. Shannon’s team wasn’t on a routine patrol the day she died, nor out for lunch as many news outlets reported. She was hunting ISIS cells.
Joe Kent, a retired Special Forces soldier, recalls how he and Shannon met in a war zone, their love forged during an elite special operations training course, their dedication spanning multiple combat deployments, and the birth of their two boys. This book is the legacy of an extraordinary woman who rose to the apex of the military, working with the most elite forces in the world. It lifts the veil from the life of a Special Forces family to share their duty, sacrifice, and humanity.
Photos courtesy of Marty Skovlund Jr./Black Rifle Coffee Company.
