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Readers! A November fund-raising drive!

 

It is unfortunately time for another November fund-raising campaign to support my work here at Behind the Black. I really dislike doing these, but 2025 is so far turning out to be a very poor year for donations and subscriptions, the worst since 2020. I very much need your support for this webpage to survive.

 

And I think I provide real value. Fifteen years ago I said SLS was garbage and should be cancelled. Almost a decade ago I said Orion was a lie and a bad idea. As early as 1998, long before almost anyone else, I predicted in my first book, Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, that private enterprise and freedom would conquer the solar system, not government. Very early in the COVID panic and continuing throughout I noted that every policy put forth by the government (masks, social distancing, lockdowns, jab mandates) was wrong, misguided, and did more harm than good. In planetary science, while everyone else in the media still thinks Mars has no water, I have been reporting the real results from the orbiters now for more than five years, that Mars is in fact a planet largely covered with ice.

 

I could continue with numerous other examples. If you want to know what others will discover a decade hence, read what I write here at Behind the Black. And if you read my most recent book, Conscious Choice, you will find out what is going to happen in space in the next century.

 

 

This last claim might sound like hubris on my part, but I base it on my overall track record.

 

So please consider donating or subscribing to Behind the Black, either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. I could really use the support at this time. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation. Takes about a 10% cut.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription, which takes about a 15% cut:

 

4. Donate by check. I get whatever you donate. Make the check payable to Robert Zimmerman and mail it to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


The Marines have put in an order for 12,000 M1911 pistols, the iconic 45 caliber pistol designed by John Browning more than a 100 years ago and used by the American military for most of the first half of the 20th century.

Comeback: The Marines have put in an order for 12,000 M1911 pistols, the iconic 45 caliber pistol designed by John Browning more than a 100 years ago and used by the American military for most of the first half of the 20th century.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

5 comments

  • John Browning and his father were among the greatest firearms designers in history- as well as faithful Mormon pioneers. My 1911 inherited from my dad is a prized possession.

    PS- Thank you for the steady stream of great posts on your site, as well as the engaging discussions you have with John Bachelor.

  • The 1911 does have good stopping power: my father chose it as his sidearm in Vietnam precisely for that reason. However, my experience is that it’s too heavy and not well enough balanced for me to reliably put rounds on target in a rapid fire scenario. That, and the hammer tends to catch the web of my thumb. I much prefer the .40 S&W or the 9mm Glock. In a situation where I might have to use a pistol, I’d prefer to have a gun that’s comfortable and accurate for me.

  • Kelly Starks

    over a hundred years old and still thought to be the best handgun around.

    They probably could find a better one now a days – but I’m sure they are happy to go back to these after the 9mm Berrettas.

  • wade

    why empty the full clip of any 9mm to stop an opposition. one good aim with the .45 and its All Over……pun intended.

  • Patrick

    As many weapon instructors say.

    A pistol is only to get you out of a bad situation, or to get you to your rifle, to get you out of a bad situation.

    Its not for engaging the enemy or continuing the fight.

    And for those two roles the 1911 does just fine.

    If you follow police engagement stats the relation of hits to misses went up three fold when high capacity pistols replaced the standard sub10 round semi-auto and the 6 round revolver.
    Somehow cops missed more when they had more ammo to expend. Or they just cared or practiced less. Which do you think it is?

    I also like the idea that our sidearm will now be American designed and made.

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