Here’s a sampling:

“I wish I had a book like this 9 years ago when I started playing. For a 14 year old it’s hard to explain to your parents why they should wake up early on their day off to drive you out to a paintball field. This book really puts it into perspective.” -Grayson Goff-X-Factor

“This book dispels a lot of myths that my wife and I had about paintball. What a great way to get the kids out of the house and burn up some pent-up energy! This is something I can do with my kids that would be fun, safe, keep them out of trouble and keep us all in better shape. Now I understand why big companies use this sport for teambuilding and corporate retreats.” -Grayson’s dad Jerry Goff

You can learn more about Texas X Factor HERE

“This book is a great resource for any parents out there with questions about paintball. It does a great job going over just about everything someone should know about our sport.” -Yosh Rau of 7-Time World Champion Professional Paintball Team San Diego Dynasty

“A must read for any parent who’s hesitant about letting their child play paintball or who wants to know more about the sport their child is into.” -Ryan Greenspan of 7-Time World Champion Professional Paintball Team San Diego Dynasty

“There’s a lot of common misconceptions about the sport of paintball, and this book does a great job of giving a straight forward, unbiased look into our sport that can help anybody—not just parents—make an informed decision about paintball.”—Alex Fraige of 7-Time World Champion Professional Paintball Team San Diego Dynasty

You can learn more about San Diego Dynasty HERE

-and-

my Amazon Author Central page is now up and running and you can see that here

A little bit about the book appears towards the end of the second part, where I talk about the book’s intended audience and how retailers can use it as an effective tool to increase their customer base.

“I came into this book knowing nothing about paintball (and not being a parent, but that’s beside the point). Now I know more than I did before, and am rather interested in giving paintball a try!

The book presents an easy-to-read overview of paintball. You get to read about the history, the equipment, some tips on playing, etc. You’ll learn quite a lot about what you need to have (face masks, a barrel blocking device), and things that are optional. You’ll learn what to look for in a good place to play and a bit about teams and the like.

I found the book to be quite helpful, especially since I knew next to nothing about paintball prior to reading it. It was also surprisingly entertaining! At no point did I feel like I was just reading some guide book; the love the author has for the subject was quite clear.

Not many books manage to be both informative and enjoyable, but this one does. Recommended!”

Mr. Swanson is new to paintball, so I was happy to have him take a look at it - if someone new to the game found it to be helpful, I believe it’s a good indication that parents of paintballers will as well.

You can see the review in its original HERE

Of course, I strongly endorse and recommend purchasing the book from a local paintball shop or field (your experience with the game will be greatly enhanced), but I’d also rather you purchased the book than not, so if online buying is your thing, go for it.

The publisher (Liaison Press) is working on adding images and I’m awaiting Amazon to get my author’s page up and running for the Amazon listing, so there’s much more to come.

And remember - if you are a paintball field, store or on-line business, you can purchase the book in dealer quantities and at dealer pricing, from its paintball distributor - Kee Action Sports.

I am the curator for the World Paintball Library and have opportunity to review most every paintball book printed since the early eighties.

Steve is one of paintballs admired contributors and continues to advance the understanding and appreciation of the game of paintball.

PBReview is a player-rated system, so after you’ve had a chance to read the book, why not head on over and give it a rating.

It may take them up to a week to get the image of the book up there - and although it doesn’t show it, the “Manufacturer” is Liaison Press and the distributor for paintball is Kee Action Sports

From 80 MOMENTS THAT SHAPED PAINTBALL

39. November, 1992
Tournament players unite: The NPPL is Born

After nearly a decade of competition that began shortly after the creation of the game of paintball itself, the sport had evolved to a point resembling competitive paintball in the modern day, with “professional” paintball teams battling for tournament titles across the United States. Professional and amateur teams travelled the country playing in events that started with the National Survival Game Nationals, PBGA North American Tournament and Air Pistol Open and evolved into the Great Western Series, the Last Blast, the Splat-1 Indoor Paintball Championships and the Lively Productions Masters, Music City Open and more. As tournament paintball evolved, events moved from fifteen-man down to ten-man, where teams including Scream, the Lords of Discipline, the Black Diamonds, the Florida Annihilators, the All Americans, Aftershock, Constant Pursuit, the Bushwackers and, of course, the Ironmen, competed for cash, titles and bragging rights. Along the way to a form of paintball that would be recognized today, it became clear to the teams and players at the highest levels of the game that things needed to change in order to help the sport evolve from its predominantly recreational past into a true, professional sport.

As tournament promoters continued to raise entry fees and better represent their supporters, the manufacturers and distributors who were making money in paintball, it was the players who began to suffer. Tournament entrance fees rose, as did the costs of paintballs at what were predominantly “event paint only” tournaments, while the quality of officiating and reffing began to decline. Teams expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of prize money being paid back to the teams that populated and financed these events, but most complaints fell on deaf ears, until finally the players acted. Steve Davidson, longtime player and head of the World Paintball Federation, called a meeting to be held in November, 1992 in Chicago, at which representatives of the top teams, companies, leagues and the media could voice concerns, raise points of conflict and, hopefully, initiate changes that would lead competitive paintball into a new era.

When the meeting finally occured, representatives included members of Aftershock, the All Americans (including Adam and Billy Gardner), Fred Schultz of Constant Pursuit, Tom Cole of Bad Company, the Bushwackers, Bo Peep, Todd Inman of Green Machine and the International Paintball Players Association (IPPA), Friendly Fire, Master Blasters, New England Express, the SOB’s, Swarm, Thunderstorm, the Wild Geese, the Black Diamonds and the Terminators. PMI, Vents Goggles, Russ Maynard and the Great Western Series, the Paintball Sports Series, Jerry Braun, Paintball News and Paintball Sports Magazine were also in attendance. Issues including entrance fees and prize money, promotions, referees, prizes and scheduling were immediately put on the table and broken down into committees to be discussed, and before long issues were being solved and tournaments were being planned for the 1993 season. Entrance fees were set and carved in stone, cost of paintballs was capped at three and four cents per paintball, and the competitive game was changed when it was agreed that virtually all penalties for in-game rules infractions would be handed down during play, on the field, in the form of one-for-one, two-for-one and three-for-one eliminations. For the duration of the 1993 season committees were set and Steve Davidson was installed as the first representative of what would be known as the National Professional Paintball League.

Committees Included:
Promotions and Marketing
Fred Schultz, Constant Pursuit
Al Podufaly, NE Express
Ron Kilbourne, Bushwackers
Bill Gardner, All Americans

Referees
Adam Gardner, All Americans
Doug Haskins, Wild Geese
Chip Kuhrt, MUFFS

Rules
Bob Long, Ironmen
Kevin Donaldson, Master Blasters/Bo Peep
Al Podufaly, Expressed
Skip Swift, Thunderstorm

Cost and Prizes
Adam Gardner, All Americans
Rennick Miller, Aftershock
Fred Schultz, Constant Pursuit

The National Professional Paintball League agreed to host six, five and ten-man “pro-am” tournaments in 1993, that offered at least twenty thousand dollars in prize money, six weeks apart. Two professional teams would referee each event, with teams mixed on all fields, and these referees would be responsible for selecting and balancing the wooded playing fields. Events for the 1993 season would include San Diego, Dallas, Boston, New York and Reno, with entrance fees capped at 1500 dollars for field paint only events, and 1850 dollars at “bring your own paint” events. Prizes and trophies were mandated, and for the first time in paintball’s history, the sport had its own true professional league, governed by the players, for the players. Many of those who attended are still involved in paintball, with some now leading the industry and the sport into the new millennium at the head of teams, companies and, of course, tournaments.

Many of you may not know that Guy is a pioneer of the sport, opening one of the first nationwide distribution businesses and has become a major industry resource over the years.

Guy maintains the World Paintball Library that strives to collect everything in print, on tape and in images related to paintball, and particularly to paintball technology.  His resources are frequently referenced by patent attorneys and the US Patent Office when looking for ‘prior art’ references.

I’m very pleased that Guy wants to include my book in the collector’s guide (I guess that means he expects it to be collectible!) and urge you to check out Mr. Cooper’s website The World Paintball Library.

This one we ultimately used for the back cover. That player looks like he's having fun!

Just slightly different from the final design - note that the title is centered, rather than offset to the left.

What do you think?  Did we pick the right one?