What do you think?
Rate this book
The Way of the Gun: A Bloody Journey into the World of Firearms – An Eye-Opening Exposé on Violence and Humanity
In this compelling and revelatory book, an investigative journalist explores the lifecycle of the gun—following those who make firearms, sell them, use them, and die by them—with a special emphasis on the United States, to make sense of our complex relationship with these weapons. We live in the Age of the Gun. Around the globe, firearms are ubiquitous and define countless lives; in some places, it’s even easier to get a gun than a glass of clean water. In others, it’s legal to carry concealed firearms into bars and schools. In The Way of the Gun , Iain Overton embarks on a remarkable journey to understand how these weapons have become an integral part of twenty-first century life, beyond the economics of supply and demand. Overton travels through more than twenty-five countries around the world and meets with ER doctors dealing with gun trauma, SWAT team leaders, gang members, and weapons smugglers. From visiting the most dangerous city in the world outside a war zone to the largest gun show on earth, his journey crosses paths with safari hunters and gun-makers, paralyzed victims and smooth-talking lobbyists. Weaving together their stories, Overton offers a portrait of distinct yet deeply connected cultures affected by the gun and from them draws out powerful insights into our weaponized world. Ultimately, he unearths some hard truths about the terrible realities of war and gun crime, and what can be done to stop it. Eloquent and accessible, infused with compassion and humor, The Way of the Gun is a riveting expose about guns and human beings that offers an eye-opening portrait of our time.
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 2015
14 people are currently reading
359 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
December 16, 2018
This is an awesome book. I interpreted for the author at a journalists' workshop, and because I was impressed by him I ended up buying his book. It is a thoroughly comprehensive study of guns, in all their aspects - from the manufacturers, the dealers, the customers, to the people who use them, and the people whose lives are devastated by them (and the medics who try to mitigate the consequences). It is extremely well researched, and the author has left no stone unturned in his search for the truth at every turn. It is also extremely well written, the author is far more than a journalist. But above all, it is a human story. The story of the people who makes guns what they are - the most deadly weapon of war in our time, as well as a scourge in peacetime societies. The author brings to life the many people he has interviewed during the writing of his book, and through them the reader enters the world of the gun in all its myriad aspects. A fascinating read.
February 24, 2022
Judging from other reader’s comments I seem to be one of the few who completed this book (and I certainly understand why). I continued reading in hopes of some epiphany from the author explaining America's gun lust but short of some astounding stats on the numbers of weapons in circulation and the resulting deaths none was forthcoming.
The author takes readers on a peripatetic tour of gun cultures world-wide showing the role guns and evolving technology is used and the impact on the various cultures, Not surprisingly the U.S features prominently in various stats i.e., since 2006 the U.S has the most mass shootings, contrary to the argument that it’s the individual not the gun responsible Overton responds with the fact that mental illness was found to be the trigger in only 23% of mass shootings, the implications of high capacity magazines in the death toll etc.
In his attempt to find a metaphor for the prevalence of guns and the resulting violence in the U.S. Overton visits MOMA in NYC looking for Roy Lichtenstein’s 1962 painting “Takka Takka” showing a machine gun blazing away and Warhol’s infamous Elvis portrait from 1963 with gun in hand but was surprised to find neither in the collection – I felt the same as I searched for the reason I continued to read this book, not finding what I was looking for either. Apparently there was a good reason I found this book in the remainder bin.
The author takes readers on a peripatetic tour of gun cultures world-wide showing the role guns and evolving technology is used and the impact on the various cultures, Not surprisingly the U.S features prominently in various stats i.e., since 2006 the U.S has the most mass shootings, contrary to the argument that it’s the individual not the gun responsible Overton responds with the fact that mental illness was found to be the trigger in only 23% of mass shootings, the implications of high capacity magazines in the death toll etc.
In his attempt to find a metaphor for the prevalence of guns and the resulting violence in the U.S. Overton visits MOMA in NYC looking for Roy Lichtenstein’s 1962 painting “Takka Takka” showing a machine gun blazing away and Warhol’s infamous Elvis portrait from 1963 with gun in hand but was surprised to find neither in the collection – I felt the same as I searched for the reason I continued to read this book, not finding what I was looking for either. Apparently there was a good reason I found this book in the remainder bin.
November 2, 2019
The 'Gun Baby Gun' title is frankly quite awful and dates the book to the release of Gone Baby Gone - but that's probably one of the only serious knocks against this sprawling, ambitious - almost too ambitious - book.
Iain Overton takes on the almost impossible task of making sense of the impact that guns have had on the world. However, the book often reads a lot like him trying to make sense of many of his more violent experiences as a journalist.
The narrative skitters back and forth in time and I get the feeling that had Overton conceived of writing the book BEFORE he had many of his more harrowing experiences, he may have been able to infuse them with a greater degree of depth and attention - ask many more probing questions etc.
However what you have is pretty great - some truly horrific statistics about gun violence, the bullshit at the heart of many of the beloved claims of those who oppose gun control, the vast unforeseen, unforeseeable consequences of America's Second Amendment and the many wealthy cynical people who keep it going.
Overton devotes each of the books sections and chapters to various people affected by guns - victims - the dead and the injured, doctors at the vanguard of treating gun wound victims, recreational hunters - including Overton's own attempt at hunting that reads a lot like Bambi in Africa, gun traders, countries that have many guns but low gun violence, countries where guns are supposed to be banned but are ubiquitous.
In many cases, the meaning that Overton appears to be seeking frustratingly eludes him - the quest for something that goes deeper than "shit happens".
And while I've never had such experiences myself, Overton's horror and embarrassment at the curiosity that draws him to the sites of massacres like Sandy Hook, Utoya, is conveyed admirably well.
Some of the chapters and incidents felt like they deserved books of their own - other felt overly detailed delving into areas that interested Overton a lot more than they did at least me as a reader - for instance, the minutiae of the arms trade.
As an aside, this is a great book to be read on Kindle where you can actually dive down the rabbit hole of notes which are mostly linked to. I found this to be the case even with the last book I read, I Am Radar where a lot of the non-English parts were quickly subjected to Google Translate. Is this going to be the end of physical format books for me? I wonder...
Iain Overton takes on the almost impossible task of making sense of the impact that guns have had on the world. However, the book often reads a lot like him trying to make sense of many of his more violent experiences as a journalist.
The narrative skitters back and forth in time and I get the feeling that had Overton conceived of writing the book BEFORE he had many of his more harrowing experiences, he may have been able to infuse them with a greater degree of depth and attention - ask many more probing questions etc.
However what you have is pretty great - some truly horrific statistics about gun violence, the bullshit at the heart of many of the beloved claims of those who oppose gun control, the vast unforeseen, unforeseeable consequences of America's Second Amendment and the many wealthy cynical people who keep it going.
Overton devotes each of the books sections and chapters to various people affected by guns - victims - the dead and the injured, doctors at the vanguard of treating gun wound victims, recreational hunters - including Overton's own attempt at hunting that reads a lot like Bambi in Africa, gun traders, countries that have many guns but low gun violence, countries where guns are supposed to be banned but are ubiquitous.
In many cases, the meaning that Overton appears to be seeking frustratingly eludes him - the quest for something that goes deeper than "shit happens".
And while I've never had such experiences myself, Overton's horror and embarrassment at the curiosity that draws him to the sites of massacres like Sandy Hook, Utoya, is conveyed admirably well.
Some of the chapters and incidents felt like they deserved books of their own - other felt overly detailed delving into areas that interested Overton a lot more than they did at least me as a reader - for instance, the minutiae of the arms trade.
As an aside, this is a great book to be read on Kindle where you can actually dive down the rabbit hole of notes which are mostly linked to. I found this to be the case even with the last book I read, I Am Radar where a lot of the non-English parts were quickly subjected to Google Translate. Is this going to be the end of physical format books for me? I wonder...
June 15, 2015
Gun Baby Gun is an outstanding achievement. In a world of drones, stealth bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles, the author Iain Overton is perhaps the first journalist to trace the path of the humble gun, from factory to soldier, police officer to criminal. This is narrative history, a geographical journey that takes the reader from the shantytowns of South Africa to the well-heeled streets of investment fund New York.
I have to confess that as an aspiring crime novelist I approached this book with not a little vicarious fascination. Would I find some juicy titbit with which to pepper my novels? Would I glean some surprising factoid with which I might titillate my readers? But I found this to be no homage to the firearm, no hagiography; instead I found something much more interesting.
Gun Baby Gun is a sober but increasingly angry book. The author documents what guns do, the damage they wreak. The author rails against a culture that glorifies them. There’s a good section where he describes how guns transform a person, elevate the mere bully into the thug that cannot be ignored. He describes how even police officers and soldiers walk differently when they have a gun. He discusses masculinity, makes a throw away remark that perhaps only women should be allowed to own guns. Having read this book I wonder if that’s not such a bad idea.
But it’s the author’s use of statistics that are most compelling. Who knew that there are more gun shops in the US than petrol stations? Or that numbering almost 130'000, their number even surpasses that of McDonalds outlets? Or that the largest gun dealer of them all is Walmart? Statistics like these pepper the book and are used to great effect to highlight our culture’s absurd relationship with firearms. While this culture is most prevalent in the US, it can be seen in every gangster flick, action movie, or video game.
And that brings this review back to me. For I found myself increasingly uneasy reading this book. I read and write crime fiction. I play Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto on the PlayStation. I love a good action flick at the cinema. Will I continue to do all that? Yes. It’s almost certainly a cop out and I’m sure I wouldn’t be so glib if I ever witnessed gun violence myself, but I enjoy such entertainment and it’s never made me violent. (Please note, the author doesn’t claim that everyone who plays a video game or watches an action flick will turn into a gun-toting psychopath, but quite rightly, he does raise the issue of violence in entertainment and aggression in the real world).
But will I be more circumspect in future? Will I try to ensure that I don’t inadvertently glamorise the gun? After reading this, I’ll certainly try.
I have to confess that as an aspiring crime novelist I approached this book with not a little vicarious fascination. Would I find some juicy titbit with which to pepper my novels? Would I glean some surprising factoid with which I might titillate my readers? But I found this to be no homage to the firearm, no hagiography; instead I found something much more interesting.
Gun Baby Gun is a sober but increasingly angry book. The author documents what guns do, the damage they wreak. The author rails against a culture that glorifies them. There’s a good section where he describes how guns transform a person, elevate the mere bully into the thug that cannot be ignored. He describes how even police officers and soldiers walk differently when they have a gun. He discusses masculinity, makes a throw away remark that perhaps only women should be allowed to own guns. Having read this book I wonder if that’s not such a bad idea.
But it’s the author’s use of statistics that are most compelling. Who knew that there are more gun shops in the US than petrol stations? Or that numbering almost 130'000, their number even surpasses that of McDonalds outlets? Or that the largest gun dealer of them all is Walmart? Statistics like these pepper the book and are used to great effect to highlight our culture’s absurd relationship with firearms. While this culture is most prevalent in the US, it can be seen in every gangster flick, action movie, or video game.
And that brings this review back to me. For I found myself increasingly uneasy reading this book. I read and write crime fiction. I play Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto on the PlayStation. I love a good action flick at the cinema. Will I continue to do all that? Yes. It’s almost certainly a cop out and I’m sure I wouldn’t be so glib if I ever witnessed gun violence myself, but I enjoy such entertainment and it’s never made me violent. (Please note, the author doesn’t claim that everyone who plays a video game or watches an action flick will turn into a gun-toting psychopath, but quite rightly, he does raise the issue of violence in entertainment and aggression in the real world).
But will I be more circumspect in future? Will I try to ensure that I don’t inadvertently glamorise the gun? After reading this, I’ll certainly try.
May 18, 2015
What an immensely bleak and disheartening read. You can't help but close this book full of anger towards all those who deliberately perpertrate this endless cycle of violence - the gun manufacturers concerned only with profits and markets, the politicians who take lobbyist money and vote against gun control measures, the middlemen and smugglers who facilitate the illicit trade in weapons, the governments who secretly bankroll the illegal acquisition of arms for rebel factions and do nothing to control the spread of arms within and without their own borders.
Written by an investigative journalist, the book travels from South Africa's overwhelmed doctors and morticians to the American National Rifle Association, from the hub of the world's illegal trade in small arms in Ukraine to a gun factory in Turkey, investigating how the gun impacts on different communities - healthcare professionals and undertakers, victims and criminals, terrorists and rebels, police forces and the military, hunters and sportsmen. Depending on which end of the gun they stand, every group has a different perspective, and every group only sees a small part of the overall picture.
It's hard to escape the towering presence of the United States in this book. The world's largest producer of fire-arms, home of the immensely influential NRA, with a worrying rate of injury and fatalities due to gunfire, the US Second Amendment has an impact beyond its own borders. US gun lobbyists actively work against international attempts to halt the spread of illicit weapons. US guns end up in the hands of the very terrorists the governments claims to oppose. The NRA whips up fear in its members by harping on about psycho killers and rogue governments, terrorists, criminals, burglars, rapists - and yet the very guns they champion are in the hands of those monsters. Gun control laws in states bordering Mexico and Canada have a direct impact on homicide rates in those countries - strict gun control, fewer deaths. And the US is almost the only country in the world where the response to gun massacre is not tighter gun control, but relaxation and expansion of existing legislation.
One cannot help but feel, reading this book, that nothing in the world will change until America does. Until America, with its might and power and its ability to be a force for real change in the world, decides that the sheer weight of death and destruction is simply not worth the 'right to bear arms', it is unlikely that any real global gun control could ever succeed. One wonder just how many playground massacres have to take place before that happens...
Written by an investigative journalist, the book travels from South Africa's overwhelmed doctors and morticians to the American National Rifle Association, from the hub of the world's illegal trade in small arms in Ukraine to a gun factory in Turkey, investigating how the gun impacts on different communities - healthcare professionals and undertakers, victims and criminals, terrorists and rebels, police forces and the military, hunters and sportsmen. Depending on which end of the gun they stand, every group has a different perspective, and every group only sees a small part of the overall picture.
It's hard to escape the towering presence of the United States in this book. The world's largest producer of fire-arms, home of the immensely influential NRA, with a worrying rate of injury and fatalities due to gunfire, the US Second Amendment has an impact beyond its own borders. US gun lobbyists actively work against international attempts to halt the spread of illicit weapons. US guns end up in the hands of the very terrorists the governments claims to oppose. The NRA whips up fear in its members by harping on about psycho killers and rogue governments, terrorists, criminals, burglars, rapists - and yet the very guns they champion are in the hands of those monsters. Gun control laws in states bordering Mexico and Canada have a direct impact on homicide rates in those countries - strict gun control, fewer deaths. And the US is almost the only country in the world where the response to gun massacre is not tighter gun control, but relaxation and expansion of existing legislation.
One cannot help but feel, reading this book, that nothing in the world will change until America does. Until America, with its might and power and its ability to be a force for real change in the world, decides that the sheer weight of death and destruction is simply not worth the 'right to bear arms', it is unlikely that any real global gun control could ever succeed. One wonder just how many playground massacres have to take place before that happens...
May 10, 2022
Book Notes:
Guns are 12 times more likely to kill another person then any other means available
Assault weapons kill on average 16 people in mass shootings - $123% more fatalities than other gun types
While it takes tremendous time and effort to nurture a life, guns make life cheap terminating life with just a flick of a metacarpal
2010 ATF contract with Smith & Wesson and Glock for 80 million sidearm production. 2012 contract to buy 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition over the course of 5 years.
Civilian gun owners in America spend 9.9 billion dollars per year on firearms and accessories - about $500 per person
Guns account for 60 to 90% of all direct casualties in war.
The United States has 270 million private firearms. Removing Germany, India and China from the equation the US has more guns than the rest of the world combined
Over 1,000 people are accidentally shot by hunters in the US and Canada each year - 80% are fatal.
The odds of a man holding a gun in the United States is three times higher than a woman.
Women are 11 times more likely to be shot with a gun than in the United States than in any other developed nation
Having a gun in the home in the United States increases the chance of someone living there being murdered by a gun by 41%, for women specifically it's an increase of 300%
80% of all recorded sharpshooter police events in the United States are reported fatal - half hit the head as they are trained to shoot the head and the chest
At nearly 300,000 there are 10 times as many federally licensed firearm dealers in the United States than there are McDonald's restaurants. By contrast, Mexico has only 1.
8 presidents have been NRA lifetime members
US gun manufacturers crank out 6 million guns annually
US companies supply half of global small arms production
7 of the top 10 global gun brands are made in US
Guns are 12 times more likely to kill another person then any other means available
Assault weapons kill on average 16 people in mass shootings - $123% more fatalities than other gun types
While it takes tremendous time and effort to nurture a life, guns make life cheap terminating life with just a flick of a metacarpal
2010 ATF contract with Smith & Wesson and Glock for 80 million sidearm production. 2012 contract to buy 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition over the course of 5 years.
Civilian gun owners in America spend 9.9 billion dollars per year on firearms and accessories - about $500 per person
Guns account for 60 to 90% of all direct casualties in war.
The United States has 270 million private firearms. Removing Germany, India and China from the equation the US has more guns than the rest of the world combined
Over 1,000 people are accidentally shot by hunters in the US and Canada each year - 80% are fatal.
The odds of a man holding a gun in the United States is three times higher than a woman.
Women are 11 times more likely to be shot with a gun than in the United States than in any other developed nation
Having a gun in the home in the United States increases the chance of someone living there being murdered by a gun by 41%, for women specifically it's an increase of 300%
80% of all recorded sharpshooter police events in the United States are reported fatal - half hit the head as they are trained to shoot the head and the chest
At nearly 300,000 there are 10 times as many federally licensed firearm dealers in the United States than there are McDonald's restaurants. By contrast, Mexico has only 1.
8 presidents have been NRA lifetime members
US gun manufacturers crank out 6 million guns annually
US companies supply half of global small arms production
7 of the top 10 global gun brands are made in US
February 8, 2016
This is a book that all gun owners and politicians should read. Iain Overton gives a frightening account about the use of guns in modern times. The book is full of chilling statistics and at the same time it is a rattling good read. The author describes a worldwide odyssey during which he sought to uncover the story behind each statistic.
I came across Iain Overton at the The Folkestone Book Festival in November when I heard him described his journey into the dark world of the gun (see https://peatmore.wordpress.com/2015/1... ) and bought a signed copy from his own hand. I spoke to him briefly about my astonishment that a gun factory in the United States called Kalashnikov USA had just been established in 2015. A fact I discovered while researching the novel I am currently writing. I should not have been surprised because despite the many accounts of mass shootings of civilians in the USA the influence of the pro gun lobby prevails. Unfortunately, lack of time prevented me talking with him longer but the information contained in this extremely well crafted book more than makes up for that.
It is a work that is well worth the read and I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to know more about the lethal weapons used by loan or small groups of mass killers.
I came across Iain Overton at the The Folkestone Book Festival in November when I heard him described his journey into the dark world of the gun (see https://peatmore.wordpress.com/2015/1... ) and bought a signed copy from his own hand. I spoke to him briefly about my astonishment that a gun factory in the United States called Kalashnikov USA had just been established in 2015. A fact I discovered while researching the novel I am currently writing. I should not have been surprised because despite the many accounts of mass shootings of civilians in the USA the influence of the pro gun lobby prevails. Unfortunately, lack of time prevented me talking with him longer but the information contained in this extremely well crafted book more than makes up for that.
It is a work that is well worth the read and I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to know more about the lethal weapons used by loan or small groups of mass killers.
March 14, 2017
It's been a while since my opinion of a book has declined so much while reading it. I'm inclined to be sympathetic to the author's viewpoint, but this one disappointed me increasingly as it went along.
I was impressed by the beginning; I appreciated the perspective of trying to supersede the gun debate by looking at their global impact as well as many different spheres in which guns play a role. I noticed some mistakes and carelessness in the third chapter, but still thought it could be a strong book on the subject.
But then in chapter eight, the author blitzes through interviews with soldiers in Iraq, militants in Israel, and former child soldiers in East Africa. Each one of those deserves serious attention, but he gives them all of a few pages and then moves on with a few careless generalities. This chapter was the worst for this, but the whole book is skimming over the surface of topics.
Then by chapter eleven, he goes to a porn convention in Vegas just to meet an actress who was in a film in which she was a sniper. He goes, she says it was just a job and there's absolutely no insight on the subject, and then that's that. The book doesn't pull up from there.
I was impressed by the beginning; I appreciated the perspective of trying to supersede the gun debate by looking at their global impact as well as many different spheres in which guns play a role. I noticed some mistakes and carelessness in the third chapter, but still thought it could be a strong book on the subject.
But then in chapter eight, the author blitzes through interviews with soldiers in Iraq, militants in Israel, and former child soldiers in East Africa. Each one of those deserves serious attention, but he gives them all of a few pages and then moves on with a few careless generalities. This chapter was the worst for this, but the whole book is skimming over the surface of topics.
Then by chapter eleven, he goes to a porn convention in Vegas just to meet an actress who was in a film in which she was a sniper. He goes, she says it was just a job and there's absolutely no insight on the subject, and then that's that. The book doesn't pull up from there.
September 30, 2015
A well-written and interesting read.
June 15, 2017
This is a very powerful and disturbing account of the havoc and destruction the gun has wreaked on humans (and animals) since its invention. Overton travels the world to research the background of the weapons, but this is no dry history of the development of the gun. The book grabs you because of the interest in the people who carry a gun, be they criminals, soldiers, policemen, hunters or civilians. And the author has a real knack, if that's the word, of picking out the horribly fascinating scene or story to illuminate or give depth to his point. When he visits a fresh murder scene in South America, for example, he describes how he nearly treads on a lump of intestine blown from the body of an innocent victim by a high powered bullet. You feel that the author is struggling to be dispassionate about his subject, but in the face of endless sorrow, cruelty, suicides, mass shootings and random carnage, you feel he, and you, are losing this battle. Guns. What are they good for? Very, very little.
October 2, 2019
In reading this book, I am grateful to the author for bringing different perspectives or groups of persons who are involved with firearms on a regular basis. I am also glad that the author brings exposes both good and bad arguments on different outlooks.
When it boils down to it, the only outlook that concerns the author is the number of deaths a year the gun has killed. He asks what the world would be like without guns. I would tell him the same as it was before they were invented. People were still murdered, suicides continued, wars would still be fought, chaos would still ensue.
If there is one improvement I would recommend, is a chapter or two on about cases and persons who used the gun in defense of their lives and were justified in using deadly force in such cases.
Still a good read. Would recommend it.
When it boils down to it, the only outlook that concerns the author is the number of deaths a year the gun has killed. He asks what the world would be like without guns. I would tell him the same as it was before they were invented. People were still murdered, suicides continued, wars would still be fought, chaos would still ensue.
If there is one improvement I would recommend, is a chapter or two on about cases and persons who used the gun in defense of their lives and were justified in using deadly force in such cases.
Still a good read. Would recommend it.
January 9, 2019
I am not encouraging to read this book. I advise not to spend any penny on this writer.
He could had been probably an expert of investigative journalism, but he failed in the banality of writing for business, forgetting what is the real nature on investigative journalism.
Iain Overton, then head of Bureau of Investigative Journalism, was forced to quit his job when his team mismatched the name of a powerful politician with that (homonym) of a pedophile, in the Lord Savile scandal, Ending his career to be a lecturer in the only university who would had accepted him, the Birkbeck College, which is not qualified to release a Journalism Certificate.
The university also used as lecturer Silkie Carlo, expert in cyber security and girlfriend of a well known YouTube activist Charles Veitch.
He could had been probably an expert of investigative journalism, but he failed in the banality of writing for business, forgetting what is the real nature on investigative journalism.
Iain Overton, then head of Bureau of Investigative Journalism, was forced to quit his job when his team mismatched the name of a powerful politician with that (homonym) of a pedophile, in the Lord Savile scandal, Ending his career to be a lecturer in the only university who would had accepted him, the Birkbeck College, which is not qualified to release a Journalism Certificate.
The university also used as lecturer Silkie Carlo, expert in cyber security and girlfriend of a well known YouTube activist Charles Veitch.
March 12, 2019
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, I liked the way it was written and how the author chose to show his research. Being that the author went to various countries and areas across the world that have been infected with massive amounts of the gun violence it makes the reader feel as if they are going to these places and seeing it all first hand. It might be visiting funeral homes, interviewing gang members, or even going to real crime scenes, and this all bring the reader into the reality of the situation of gun violence anywhere.
May 11, 2022
This is a sprawling book. A bit of everything, and it's good to have tidbits from across the world on the various dimensions of gun violence.
However, that's also it's weakness - the book feels more like a rich white man traveling around the world and writing about his interactions. It becomes more about him than really looking at any single issue in depth. Feels like a set of well-written blog posts, perhaps.
However, that's also it's weakness - the book feels more like a rich white man traveling around the world and writing about his interactions. It becomes more about him than really looking at any single issue in depth. Feels like a set of well-written blog posts, perhaps.
October 18, 2017
Bit jumbled and reads more like a newspaper article than a book itself but interesting read. Fairly neutral on its topic since it neither glorifies or denounces guns outright. Mostly focuses on places that guns are plenty, namely the Western half of the globe but also talks about plenty of places we don't normally associate with gun ownership like Iceland, Switzerland and other places.
June 23, 2018
Overly broad look at gun culture. Issues that have consumed whole books get a couple of pages, and much of those are taken up by mundane first-person details that add nothing to the narrative. Some compelling anecdotes and images, but in the end a tribute mostly to the value of a skilled editor.
August 15, 2022
以槍枝為主題的報導文學，盡可能以「與槍枝有關的人類身分」作為故事脈絡，逐一爬梳。
除了比較典型的警察、幫派等等，印象比較深刻的反而是射擊項目的運動競技，因為在此之前我的腦中並未把這項運動賽事與槍枝做實際的連結。
雖然對於槍枝議題無法得出一個心中的解答，但是能對槍枝的世界有更全面且接近現實的理解，算是非常好看。
對了，中文的書名翻作「血色的旅途」是非常精準的翻譯，不過我還是不知道為何原本的書名是gun baby gun？？？
除了比較典型的警察、幫派等等，印象比較深刻的反而是射擊項目的運動競技，因為在此之前我的腦中並未把這項運動賽事與槍枝做實際的連結。
雖然對於槍枝議題無法得出一個心中的解答，但是能對槍枝的世界有更全面且接近現實的理解，算是非常好看。
對了，中文的書名翻作「血色的旅途」是非常精準的翻譯，不過我還是不知道為何原本的書名是gun baby gun？？？
March 4, 2017
Morbidly enthralling.
March 9, 2017
ehhh. didn't read the whole book. Too slow.
November 1, 2019
Bijzondere rondreis langs de plekken waar vuurwapens sporen achterlaten. Van de straten van El Salvador tot Utoya.
February 21, 2024
Really good, and really dark.
March 19, 2017
Amazing! I loved it
September 17, 2016
Overton's book is made up of stories about guns, buyers, gun culture and violence. Written in a light, breezy journalistic style it is a pastiche that jumps across the globe and time and space.
"In essence, this is what this book is about. It is an attempt to understand the world of the gun, without getting caught up in the endless debate in America about the right to bear arms."xiv
"Guns cause suicide. Of course, other sorrows play their part. Suicides are driven by depression, loneliness and broken hearts, but guns helped transform a moment of crisis into a final act." 62
"The modern mass shooter and the modern media are intrinsically linked." 70
"Whereas terrorists use guns and the media to promote political or religious beliefs, mass shooters use guns and the media to highlight their own personal grievances." 75
"The outcome of this decline has been well documented: a pervasive insecurity about a man's role in the world..,and, for those men who feel their status has been eroded and confused by ever changing world, The gun is the one thing they can cling onto. It will redressed their sense of manliness and imparts the illusion of strength, status and power." 202
"I think Vivo Rio understood something that many gun control lobbyists elsewhere filter. That simply imposing gun laws without a cultural shift in attitudes two guns is not going to work; that you have to look at hard psychological truths." 204
"The simple fact is this: all the major gun companies rely on the second amendment to maintain profits. The right to bear arms is more than a matter of principle-it's serious business." 224
"In essence, this is what this book is about. It is an attempt to understand the world of the gun, without getting caught up in the endless debate in America about the right to bear arms."xiv
"Guns cause suicide. Of course, other sorrows play their part. Suicides are driven by depression, loneliness and broken hearts, but guns helped transform a moment of crisis into a final act." 62
"The modern mass shooter and the modern media are intrinsically linked." 70
"Whereas terrorists use guns and the media to promote political or religious beliefs, mass shooters use guns and the media to highlight their own personal grievances." 75
"The outcome of this decline has been well documented: a pervasive insecurity about a man's role in the world..,and, for those men who feel their status has been eroded and confused by ever changing world, The gun is the one thing they can cling onto. It will redressed their sense of manliness and imparts the illusion of strength, status and power." 202
"I think Vivo Rio understood something that many gun control lobbyists elsewhere filter. That simply imposing gun laws without a cultural shift in attitudes two guns is not going to work; that you have to look at hard psychological truths." 204
"The simple fact is this: all the major gun companies rely on the second amendment to maintain profits. The right to bear arms is more than a matter of principle-it's serious business." 224
June 29, 2018
Une enquête très complète, parfois choquante, souvent édifiante. Pour mieux comprendre les intérêts des vendeurs d'armes aux quatre coins de la planète.
September 21, 2016
This is a detailed a thoroughly documented investigation into the world of firearms. Although there is some historical information, most of the text focuses on the multiple facets of guns in America and the world today. It is s somewhat dense inventory, but is made readable by the sectional divisions.
The first facts: there are almost a billion guns in the world. America is the most dangerous place in the world's developed nations. It is the country with the most gun suicides. There are more Americans killed by guns per capita (ten times more) in the US that in Britain, France or Japan, among others. In the decade between 2004 and 3013, 4207 children were killed by guns in the US.
Overton traveled around the world in his quest for information on arms manufacture, arms trade, violent cities (San Pedro Sula in Honduras, Rio, slums of Capetown and many more locales.)
He visited emergency rooms and morgues, people suffering paralysis and other permanent scars of gun injuries. He saw the link between depression and despair and the availability of guns-leading to suicides. He found that although every Swiss man does a stint in the army and was permitted to keep their weapons afterwards, new laws preventing this access to weapons resulted in a very significant drop in suicides. He met with criminals, gang members and law enforcement.
The section on gun shows and the use of sex to sell guns was particularly enlightening! Overton also connects the carrying of guns with a feeling of being in control, being bigger, bolder, sexier, etc. He found that in some cases advertisement indicating that gun-toting thugs were substituting forearms for small penises actually decreased the numbers of men carrying guns!
He discusses the need for guns for law enforcement and the military and the use of guns for collecting, pleasure and hunting.
He comes down hard on efforts to denigrate the violence in places like northern Mexico, when most of the firearms there are American made and have been easily smuggled across the border.
He also has little time for the gun lobbyists who make every attempt to create fear and paranoia, instilling the idea that you are not safe unless you have a gun. (Clearly not true!)
I can't recount all the interesting points he makes in the book, but I would highly recommend it to readers who would like to learn more about the gun culture in general and the American fascination with fire power!
The first facts: there are almost a billion guns in the world. America is the most dangerous place in the world's developed nations. It is the country with the most gun suicides. There are more Americans killed by guns per capita (ten times more) in the US that in Britain, France or Japan, among others. In the decade between 2004 and 3013, 4207 children were killed by guns in the US.
Overton traveled around the world in his quest for information on arms manufacture, arms trade, violent cities (San Pedro Sula in Honduras, Rio, slums of Capetown and many more locales.)
He visited emergency rooms and morgues, people suffering paralysis and other permanent scars of gun injuries. He saw the link between depression and despair and the availability of guns-leading to suicides. He found that although every Swiss man does a stint in the army and was permitted to keep their weapons afterwards, new laws preventing this access to weapons resulted in a very significant drop in suicides. He met with criminals, gang members and law enforcement.
The section on gun shows and the use of sex to sell guns was particularly enlightening! Overton also connects the carrying of guns with a feeling of being in control, being bigger, bolder, sexier, etc. He found that in some cases advertisement indicating that gun-toting thugs were substituting forearms for small penises actually decreased the numbers of men carrying guns!
He discusses the need for guns for law enforcement and the military and the use of guns for collecting, pleasure and hunting.
He comes down hard on efforts to denigrate the violence in places like northern Mexico, when most of the firearms there are American made and have been easily smuggled across the border.
He also has little time for the gun lobbyists who make every attempt to create fear and paranoia, instilling the idea that you are not safe unless you have a gun. (Clearly not true!)
I can't recount all the interesting points he makes in the book, but I would highly recommend it to readers who would like to learn more about the gun culture in general and the American fascination with fire power!
May 24, 2016
Poignant, thoughtful, and surprisingly balanced, which isn't something you see very often with a topic as divisive as guns. Author Iain Overton travels around the world to understand the gun from the many, many different people whose lives it has affected: victims, killers, traders, creators, hunters, enthusiasts, and doctors. He doesn't hold anything back; if the best way to understand hunting is to be a hunter, he goes out and does that. His expression of remorse and regret after killing an animal on a hunting trip in Africa was particularly emotional and heartfelt.
This is a book I would absolutely recommend to people who want to dive into the discussion about firearms and their place in the world. Overton doesn't hold back on any aspect; he acknowledges that guns are power incarnate and that shooting them can feel very, very fun. He acknowledges that they can be collected and can be valuable and historical. But he also faces what they do to people, what they do to bodies and lives. And the result of his experiences are a decidedly less sanguine feeling about them as a whole, even as he understands them.
Unfortunately, Overton's experiences tell us that guns aren't going away. Not soon, maybe not ever (or if they do, it's only because something more powerful replaced them). Nevertheless, understanding them can help come to terms with their role in shaping our world and for that reason alone, this is a book I think you should read.
This is a book I would absolutely recommend to people who want to dive into the discussion about firearms and their place in the world. Overton doesn't hold back on any aspect; he acknowledges that guns are power incarnate and that shooting them can feel very, very fun. He acknowledges that they can be collected and can be valuable and historical. But he also faces what they do to people, what they do to bodies and lives. And the result of his experiences are a decidedly less sanguine feeling about them as a whole, even as he understands them.
Unfortunately, Overton's experiences tell us that guns aren't going away. Not soon, maybe not ever (or if they do, it's only because something more powerful replaced them). Nevertheless, understanding them can help come to terms with their role in shaping our world and for that reason alone, this is a book I think you should read.
April 27, 2016
Iain Overton writes a comprehensive and fascinating view of the world of firearms. It's grim reading; it should be. The book comes with statistics but they're little more than footnotes. Overton writes about his experiences as he becomes consumed with such a massive project. He visits the most violent places on earth. He converses with the world's most violent people. It's dangerous. As a seasoned war correspondent, Overton enters his milieu with his eyes open. I haven't finished the book yet but I've been with the author to cities in Honduras, Brazil, Guatemala, where the homicide rate is skyrocketing. When I commit to a book, I do so for a reason. It's readable. That may be the best thing I can say about a book. There are, to my tastes, so many unreadable books in the world that merely finding one that I can enjoy from start to finish is rare and worth noting.
November 23, 2016
This is one of the most informative,scary,depressing, well researched, well written,and interesting non-fiction books I have ever read. This is a must read for those who are concerned about the violence in our world and its accelerating pace. The author explores all aspects of guns, especially handguns, from their manufacture, sale, protection of gun makers, to the places they are used with devastating effect. He spends a lot of time on the Second Amendment, both the good and the bad qualities of Americans obsession with firearms and the worldwide reach of the fierce defense of 'the right to bear arms'. It is very interesting to me that the author is English and able to look at the problem from outside the heated atmosphere in the U.S. Overton's inescapable conclusion? Guns do indeed kill.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2016
An interesting book that looks at gun culture not solely from a US based standpoint, but on a more international scale. The content was quite interesting and shocking as one can imagine, but Overton's writing style wasn't necessarily my favorite. I can't quite put my finger on the reason why, but maybe seemed just a little bit pretentious. But I wasn't reading this book for the writing style, I was reading it for the information and it certainly did not disappoint in the category. It stays pretty fair on a hot button subject, but basically shows that American gun laws are having huge negative ramifications globally. Worth the read.
April 24, 2016
The first half was drowsy and even pointless at times, but things got markedly better in the second half. Once the topic switched in earnest to the international market, the book switched from meditative to informative. However, there's no escaping that this is principally a travel memoir written in a journalistic vein, rather than a heavily researched exposé or comprehensive history.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews