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Lethal Passage
This devastating book begins with an account of a crime that is by now almost on December 16, 1988, sixteen-year-old Nicholas Elliot walked into his Virginia high school with a Cobray M-11/9 and several hundred rounds of ammunition tucked in his backpack. By day's end, he had killed one teacher and severely wounded another.
In Lethal Passage Erik Larson shows us how a disturbed teenager was able to buy a weapon advertised as "the gun that made the eighties roar." In so doing, he not only illuminates America's gun culture -- its manufacturers, dealers, buffs, and propagandists -- but also offers concrete solutions to our national epidemic of death by firearm. The result is a book that can -- and should -- save lives, and that has already become an essential text in the gun-control debate.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
In Lethal Passage Erik Larson shows us how a disturbed teenager was able to buy a weapon advertised as "the gun that made the eighties roar." In so doing, he not only illuminates America's gun culture -- its manufacturers, dealers, buffs, and propagandists -- but also offers concrete solutions to our national epidemic of death by firearm. The result is a book that can -- and should -- save lives, and that has already become an essential text in the gun-control debate.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
665 people are currently reading
5857 people want to read
About the author
Erik Larson
43 books70.1k followersErik Larson is the author of nine books and one audio-only novella. His latest book, The Demon of Unrest, is a non-fiction thriller about the five months between Lincoln’s election and the start of the Civil War. Six of his books became New York Times bestsellers. Two of these, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz and Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, both hit no. 1 on the list soon after launch. His chronicle of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, The Devil in the White City, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and won an Edgar Award for fact-crime writing. It lingered on various Times bestseller lists for the better part of a decade and is currently in development at Disney Studios. Erik’s In the Garden of Beasts, about how America’s first ambassador to Nazi Germany and his daughter experienced the rising terror of Hitler’s rule, is currently in development with StudioCanal and Playtone.
Erik’s first book of narrative nonfiction, Isaac’s Storm, about the giant hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas, in 1900, won the American Meteorology Society’s prestigious Louis J. Battan Author’s Award. The Washington Post called it the “Jaws of hurricane yarns.” Erik is particularly pleased to have won the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 2016 Carl Sandburg Literary Award for Non-Fiction.
His audio novella, No One Goes Alone, while a work of fiction, is a ghost story based on real-life events and characters, including famed 19th-century psychologist William James. Erik refers to it as a ghost story with footnotes.
He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Russian history, language and culture; he received a masters in journalism from Columbia University. After a brief stint at the Bucks County Courier Times, Erik became a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal, and later a contributing writer for Time Magazine. His magazine stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, and other publications.
He has taught non-fiction writing at San Francisco State, the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, the University of Oregon, and the Chuckanut Writers Conference in Bellingham, Wash., and has spoken to audiences from coast to coast. A former resident of Seattle, he now lives in Manhattan with his wife, a neonatologist, who is also the author of the nonfiction memoir, Almost Home, which, as Erik puts it, “could make a stone cry.” They have three daughters in far-flung locations and professions. Their beloved dog Molly resides in an urn on a shelf overlooking Central Park, where they like to think she now spends most of her time.
Erik’s first book of narrative nonfiction, Isaac’s Storm, about the giant hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas, in 1900, won the American Meteorology Society’s prestigious Louis J. Battan Author’s Award. The Washington Post called it the “Jaws of hurricane yarns.” Erik is particularly pleased to have won the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 2016 Carl Sandburg Literary Award for Non-Fiction.
His audio novella, No One Goes Alone, while a work of fiction, is a ghost story based on real-life events and characters, including famed 19th-century psychologist William James. Erik refers to it as a ghost story with footnotes.
He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Russian history, language and culture; he received a masters in journalism from Columbia University. After a brief stint at the Bucks County Courier Times, Erik became a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal, and later a contributing writer for Time Magazine. His magazine stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, and other publications.
He has taught non-fiction writing at San Francisco State, the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, the University of Oregon, and the Chuckanut Writers Conference in Bellingham, Wash., and has spoken to audiences from coast to coast. A former resident of Seattle, he now lives in Manhattan with his wife, a neonatologist, who is also the author of the nonfiction memoir, Almost Home, which, as Erik puts it, “could make a stone cry.” They have three daughters in far-flung locations and professions. Their beloved dog Molly resides in an urn on a shelf overlooking Central Park, where they like to think she now spends most of her time.
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August 4, 2011
In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't make it all the way through this book. I really like the author's other books but this one was not what I expected. I was more interested in hearing the story of this kid and the school shooting but that turned out to just be mentioned for maybe one graf per chapter if that. The rest is just facts and dates about gun production and gun laws. It might have been interesting still, but it was just so incredibly biased and one-sided. I felt insulted as a reader - like Larson just used this one shooting as an excuse to cram his agenda on gun control down my throat and didn't expect me to notice. I don't really have a firm stance on gun control issues but I definitely think that the arguments used in this book are unfair and seem more like scare tactics than reason-based logic. One of my major gripes with Larson in this book is that for all of his amazing research skills as an author, he seems to completely misrepresent the issue at hand. If I were going to write a book about gun control in America, I would have at least sought to acquire a basic understanding of what the 2nd amendment is about. Because even I know it's not about hunting as the book suggests.
September 17, 2020
I have decided to embark on a mission to read a number of books on subjects that will be of great importance to the upcoming 2020 US Presidential Election. Many of these will focus on actors intricately involved in the process, in hopes that I can understand them better and, perhaps, educate others with the power to cast a ballot. I am, as always, open to serious recommendations from anyone who has a book I might like to include in the process.
This is Book #2 in my 2020 US Election Preparation Challenge.
While the gun debate in the United States Has long been making headlines, it takes on new dimensions when Erik Larson is at the helm. Larson uses his strengths in pulling history together and offering intense analysis to provide the reader with something about which to think before making a decision on a matter. Using a little known school shooting in December 1988 as a launching point, Larson looks at some of the factors Around how Nicolas Elliot could bring a gun to school and end up killing a teacher. However, it is so much more than this, as Larson explores the history of guns in America and how they became 'the cool thing to have' as well as being so readily accessible. Larson discusses how guns made their way into American Western literature and movies, as well as many television shows from as far back as the medium was an option. As Larson posits, guns have become something society is so accustomed with that it is hard to see a United States without them. Even toy commercials marking something as seemingly innocent as ‘the super soaker water gun’ as being a weapon to permit retribution for a committed wrong.
Larson also explores the politics of guns, which is itself a murky venture. From a discussion of the many pieces of legislation—both state and federal—to the emergence of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), much has been done create an apparent government presence in the discussion of gun ownership. Larson effectively argues that laws about the sale of guns are still flimsy and ATF agents are not 'gun police' but rather enforcement after a violation has taken place. Issues around straw purchasers (people who purchase guns for others) prove the central issue and tie in directly with the aforementioned Elliot school shooting, where the boy's cousin purchased the gun for him, in front of a dealer who feigned ignorance. All while the National Rifle Association (NRA) stood by and used their pithy catchphrases to point the blame elsewhere, a stance that came into effect when the group politicised themselves in the latter part of the 20th century. At present, politics is surely not on the side of protecting the citizenry, but rather keeping guns in the hands of those who want them (even if they are not entitled to them, under the law). Larson offers the reader some great ideas about how one might help create a buffer to ensure rules are tightened to protect the victim, while not impeding the rightful owner of guns from exercising their inherent 'right to bear arms'. While Larson does not discuss this, it is clear that many who beat the drum on their 2nd Amendment right are as deluded as the politicians who cite their hands are tied while funnelling NRA monies into their own coffers. An eye-opening look into the world of guns for the curious reader and surely another winner by Erik Larson. Recommend to those who enjoy learning about some of the controversial topics floating around the American political world these days, as well as the reader who enjoys Larson's in-depth exploration of history and tragic events.
I always come away with something stellar when I finish an Erik Larson tome, feeling myself better educated on the subject and ready to engage in a thorough discussion. This was a different type of Larson book for me, seeking not to retell the intricate details of a single historical event, but rather to offer a 'soap box' presentation of an issue as a whole. I applaud Larson for his detailed research on the matter and found that the presentation was done in such a way as to make it highly impactful. Layering facts about gun sales and violence between portions of the Nicholas Elliot story was masterful, permitting the reader to see the parallels where they do exist, as well as using a single event to tie the discussion together. This frank discussion of events offers a sobering look at the issue while also forcing the reader to take a side, or at least pushing them to feel something related to the matter at hand. The other books penned by Larson that I have enjoyed were more focussed on a single historical event, making this one quite unique. I learned as much, if not more, as I traversed the world of guns and their role in the American psyche. While the book may be somewhat dated, its information is still relevant and offers the needed 'call to arms' (if you pardon the poor pun) to make a difference. While perhaps not a key presidential issue in 2020, one ought to understand where the two candidates stand on gun control and how their leadership will shape the approach to control and violence over the next four years. Think about it and choose wisely!
Kudos, Mr. Larson, for another great piece of historical analysis. I can always count on something that gets to the heart of the matter.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
This is Book #2 in my 2020 US Election Preparation Challenge.
While the gun debate in the United States Has long been making headlines, it takes on new dimensions when Erik Larson is at the helm. Larson uses his strengths in pulling history together and offering intense analysis to provide the reader with something about which to think before making a decision on a matter. Using a little known school shooting in December 1988 as a launching point, Larson looks at some of the factors Around how Nicolas Elliot could bring a gun to school and end up killing a teacher. However, it is so much more than this, as Larson explores the history of guns in America and how they became 'the cool thing to have' as well as being so readily accessible. Larson discusses how guns made their way into American Western literature and movies, as well as many television shows from as far back as the medium was an option. As Larson posits, guns have become something society is so accustomed with that it is hard to see a United States without them. Even toy commercials marking something as seemingly innocent as ‘the super soaker water gun’ as being a weapon to permit retribution for a committed wrong.
Larson also explores the politics of guns, which is itself a murky venture. From a discussion of the many pieces of legislation—both state and federal—to the emergence of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), much has been done create an apparent government presence in the discussion of gun ownership. Larson effectively argues that laws about the sale of guns are still flimsy and ATF agents are not 'gun police' but rather enforcement after a violation has taken place. Issues around straw purchasers (people who purchase guns for others) prove the central issue and tie in directly with the aforementioned Elliot school shooting, where the boy's cousin purchased the gun for him, in front of a dealer who feigned ignorance. All while the National Rifle Association (NRA) stood by and used their pithy catchphrases to point the blame elsewhere, a stance that came into effect when the group politicised themselves in the latter part of the 20th century. At present, politics is surely not on the side of protecting the citizenry, but rather keeping guns in the hands of those who want them (even if they are not entitled to them, under the law). Larson offers the reader some great ideas about how one might help create a buffer to ensure rules are tightened to protect the victim, while not impeding the rightful owner of guns from exercising their inherent 'right to bear arms'. While Larson does not discuss this, it is clear that many who beat the drum on their 2nd Amendment right are as deluded as the politicians who cite their hands are tied while funnelling NRA monies into their own coffers. An eye-opening look into the world of guns for the curious reader and surely another winner by Erik Larson. Recommend to those who enjoy learning about some of the controversial topics floating around the American political world these days, as well as the reader who enjoys Larson's in-depth exploration of history and tragic events.
I always come away with something stellar when I finish an Erik Larson tome, feeling myself better educated on the subject and ready to engage in a thorough discussion. This was a different type of Larson book for me, seeking not to retell the intricate details of a single historical event, but rather to offer a 'soap box' presentation of an issue as a whole. I applaud Larson for his detailed research on the matter and found that the presentation was done in such a way as to make it highly impactful. Layering facts about gun sales and violence between portions of the Nicholas Elliot story was masterful, permitting the reader to see the parallels where they do exist, as well as using a single event to tie the discussion together. This frank discussion of events offers a sobering look at the issue while also forcing the reader to take a side, or at least pushing them to feel something related to the matter at hand. The other books penned by Larson that I have enjoyed were more focussed on a single historical event, making this one quite unique. I learned as much, if not more, as I traversed the world of guns and their role in the American psyche. While the book may be somewhat dated, its information is still relevant and offers the needed 'call to arms' (if you pardon the poor pun) to make a difference. While perhaps not a key presidential issue in 2020, one ought to understand where the two candidates stand on gun control and how their leadership will shape the approach to control and violence over the next four years. Think about it and choose wisely!
Kudos, Mr. Larson, for another great piece of historical analysis. I can always count on something that gets to the heart of the matter.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
January 13, 2013
Erik Larson, in 1993, wrote Lethal Passage, and asked his audience what would it take for America to recognize the need for gun regulation. 20 years later, the book is still relevant, although gun violence has only continued to increase.
On page 228, Larson writes, "In discussing this book with my editor and her marketing associates, we all came to the same conclusion. This book would never lack for a promotional tie to a national news event because a new massacre was bound to occur within the viable lifetime of the book, and this massacre would be more horrifying than the last." Sadly, this statement has proven to be accurate beyond measure. Larson targets gun dealers as primarily responsible for arming individuals who otherwise shouldn't possess a weapon, and he uses the story of Nicholas Elliot to illustrate his point.
If you are a defender of the Second Amendment, I ask you to read this book and answer one question - is Larson's Life and Liberty Preservation Act truly unreasonable?
On page 228, Larson writes, "In discussing this book with my editor and her marketing associates, we all came to the same conclusion. This book would never lack for a promotional tie to a national news event because a new massacre was bound to occur within the viable lifetime of the book, and this massacre would be more horrifying than the last." Sadly, this statement has proven to be accurate beyond measure. Larson targets gun dealers as primarily responsible for arming individuals who otherwise shouldn't possess a weapon, and he uses the story of Nicholas Elliot to illustrate his point.
If you are a defender of the Second Amendment, I ask you to read this book and answer one question - is Larson's Life and Liberty Preservation Act truly unreasonable?
November 30, 2016
As coming from a diehard pro-second amendment hunting family (the stereotypical one that "clings to guns and religion") I am reading this to better understand the perspective of the pro gun control position. For better memory retention, I'm summarizing the chapters as I read:
Chapter one: Introduction. In brief, the author tells the condensed version of the crime, against a backdrop of the social forces of our American gun culture and the disenfranchisement of urban black youth. Next he points out how the dissemination of guns to consumers is largely untraced and untraceable under the current status quo. He lays out in brief the deeply polarizing nature of the gun control debate. As we know, this has only escalated since this book was written.
Chapter two: In this chapter the author reflects on the gun culture in the US and how this came to be. Initially, he explores his own biases in relation to the debate over guns; in an effort to be objective, he acquires a federal firearm dealer's license, attends gun shows, and takes a beginner course in self-defense shooting. The bulk of the middle portion of this chapter is devoted to statistics; ones on firearms related deaths, both intentional and accidental, statistics on guns and children, them as victims of mostly accidental shootings, them as the shooter, as well as statistics on access to firearms they or their parents own. He further writes of the arming of the nation in the 1960's due to the tumultuous, fearful nature of the times. The arms manufactures exploited this fear to sell more of their product. This marketing strategy has proved effective and has only continued since. Having saturated the male market, the newest demographic they target is women. This dovetailed nicely with feminism and the concepts of equality, liberation, and independence for women who no longer need to or even can depend on men for protection. Why do we place so much trust in guns to solve our problems? Erik answer his own question by exploring the place of the wild West in our national psyche. The West as most Americans perceive it to have been is largely the product of Hollywood, fiction writers, and Bill Cody. Did guns really tame the West? That version of history sells: books, movies, and entertainment in general. The glorification of gun violence as an tool in the struggle of good against evil continues to this day. A closing question, "In some measure our gun culture owes it's origins to the needs of an agrarian society and to the dangers and terrors of the frontier, but for us the central question must be why it has survived into an age in which only about 5 percent of the population makes it's living from farming and from which the frontier has long since gone"?
Chapter four: Erik is a storyteller. This very short chapter just build suspense; in it Nicholas taking his recently acquired weapon to school for the purpose of scaring Billy Cutter, his antagonist.
Chapter five: This chapter is about the gun: a Cobray M-11/9 and it's predecessor, the MAC 10. He shared the history of the weapon, specifically how it has been used, both in crime and in entertainment since it's development. It was originally a submachine gun designed for military use. Later, it was modified to make it semi automatic and legal for consumer purchase. It achieved widespread publicity in a 1974 movie starring John Wayne. This particular weapon was manufactured by numerous companies before finally being bought by S.W Daniel Inc. By this point it had lost it's semi automatic status due to the ease of modifying the mechanism to make it fully automatic. S.W Daniel then introduced the current M-11/9 version, which was harder to convert to auto. Erik then probes the history of S.W Daniel and their unethical and at times illegal business practices, particularly in regards to the sale on manufacture and silencers. Erik closes the chapter with his experienced with actually firing the gun at a shooting range.
Chapter six: Back to Nicholas again, he gives a blow by blow account of the events of the day of the shooting. The scene is in a modular unit apart from the main building. Two of Nicholas' teachers were in the room at the time. When they see him holding the weapon, their initial reaction is disbelief-that it's a toy or replica. His French teacher, Sam Marino confronts him and repeatedly asks Nicholas to hand it over. Nicholas refuses and keeps backing up until he's in a corner. With nowhere else to go, he aims his weapon...
Chapter seven: In this chapter the author reverses chronologically and tells the story of how a sixteen year old came to possess the firearm and ammunition. Nicholas has his second cousin go with him to the gun store and William ultimately purchases it for him. By inventing a story about a planned trip to a gun range, Nicholas gets his mother to buy ammo for him.
Chapter eight: This chapter is dedicated to discussing the particular dealer where Nicholas bought his weapon, Guns Unlimited. The author interviews the owner of the establishment who ran it with his father. Erik Larson goes into the business side of operating a gunshop, and the particular way of doing it in that part of Virginia. At that time Virginia had rather lax guns laws, at least compared to other states, so much so that interstate 95 became known as the Iron Road because of the arms trafficking to cities in the north. Erik then gives numerous stories of the criminal acquisition of weapons, both from Guns Unlimited and from other area gun shops. Guns Unlimited actually had a good working relationship with the ATF but numerous failures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals seem to be indicative of systemic problems in the way guns were sold and transfered, not criminal behavior on the part of the gun shops.
Chapter nine: The scene is switched back to the modular building behind the main school. I won't spoil the story for anyone. This chapter is indicative of Larson's talent; that of interleaving suspenseful, action packed chapters with ones of in-depth macro analysis.
Chapter ten: This chapter traces the turbulous history of the ATF. First, the author applies for and receives his federal firearms license, describing that experience in detail. The ATF was created in 1791 as an enforcer of the tax on distilled spirits. In 1862, Congress created the Office of Internal Revenue and the ATF became an arm of the Treasury Department. The ATF's influence in American life really increased exponentially in 1919, with the passage of the Prohibition Act. Their primary role was not only pursing bootleggers but but also combating the gangsters in major cities like New York and Chicago. Because of the gangsters use of automatic weapons like the "tommy gun" machine guns became illegal for most Americans in 1934 and enforcement of that restriction fell to the ATF. With technological advances in firearms, Congress saw the sense in keeping military style weapons out of the hands of the general public. In 1938, they required the licensing of gun dealers; in the tumultuous 60's they passed the Gun Control Act increased record keeping requirements, banning the sale of guns to felons, and banning mail order firearms to individuals. Erik next talks about the power struggle between the NRA and the ATF which climaxed with the election of Reagan, who promised to shut down the ATF. The administration had to backpedal and the ATF survived, albeit in a more impotent form. There was a shift away from firearms regulation enforcement to narcotics enforcement. The remainder of the chapter is about ATF-dealer relations; the investigation of crooked dealers, the traces of firearms used in crimes to their respective sources. In summary, the ATF was mostly reactive instead of proactive in these type of investigations.
Chapter eleven: Back to the scene where Nicholas is pointing the gun as his nemesis, Billy Cutter. By sheer coincidence, or an act of God, the particular magazine clip that he is using is dysfunctional and jams. Hutch Matteson, the teacher of the classroom tackles Nicholas, thus ending his reign of terror.
Chapter twelve: In this chapter, the author further probes the modern gun culture in America. This seems irrevocably intertwined with homicide, or rather the homicide fantasy. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that firearms and gun paraphernalia acquisition feed the fantasies of those that already have violent, psychopathic, tendencies rather than the other way around. However, those with a financial stake in the game, arms manufactures, distributors, and dealers, will continue to push their product by whatever means is most efficacious. He also spends a good portion of the chapter talking about how magazines and mail order organizations feed the fantasies of their clientels. One of these, Paladin Press is especially egregious in the content of the publications it offers. Books on how to build flamethrowers, land mines, how to construct booby traps, how to kill and torture are just a sampling. The author is NOT stereotypes gun owners as having anarchist or sadistic tendencies. However, there is a substantial subculture that thrives on this kind of subject material, particularly young men. Additionally, the entertainment industry has figured out that gratuitous violence drives viewership, and not just among young men. They deliver the genre that America wants. It seems there is in human nature, a fundamental love of violence that nearly all men have. Most are content with the fantasy world of violence that Hollywood creates; a few actually act out their fantasies in the real world with tragic results.
Chapter thirteen: This chapter is about the shooting's aftermath. The details emerged through eyewitness accounts and detective interviews with Nicholas. The state of Virginia quickly charged Nicholas and brought him to trial. He pleaded guilty and received a life sentence. The husband of one of the victims brought a negligence lawsuit against Guns Unlimited, the gun shop that sold the weapon. The plaintiff actually won, although the jury awarded him a smaller settlement than expected.
Chapter fourteen: This chapter is different than all the other ones, in it the author lays aside his previous level of objectivity and presents a much more personal view of the gun and violence problem in America and what to do about it. Nearly everyone with a sense of morality and a conscience will agree that the ubiquity of violence in America is alarming and destructive to any society. What will doubtless be most polarizing for most readers is the author's particular views on how to solve the problem. Erik lays out a hypothetical five point bill that would "fix" America's gun problems by restricting distribution, exerting a greater control of purchasing, and regulating the design of firearms. As he said himself, it don't have a slightest chance of every being implemented as law. In the afterword, he waxes optimistic, citing the Clinton administration's 1994 ban on nineteen assault weapons and the activation of the Brady law.
Hindsight is 20/20, and we know that the assault weapons ban has since expired and violence in America has gotten worse, not better. I personally don't see anything substantial changing anytime soon. While I don't agree with all the author's positions, the book as a whole does give me pause. None of us are immune to propaganda and marketing; this is true in matters of state, in the entertainment and fashion industries, the food industry, and really nearly every commodity that can be marketed to the general public. If a manufacturer has a product that appeals to man's basest urges-pride, lust, and murder-then marketing the product become so much easier. The real root problem undergirding violence in America has been both the entertainment industry and organizations like the NRA peddling violence as the answer to our problems. Greater gun control would reduce the scale and scope of shootings to be sure, but violence will always find an outlet. Our government may be deeply flawed, but the real problem is our culture.
Chapter one: Introduction. In brief, the author tells the condensed version of the crime, against a backdrop of the social forces of our American gun culture and the disenfranchisement of urban black youth. Next he points out how the dissemination of guns to consumers is largely untraced and untraceable under the current status quo. He lays out in brief the deeply polarizing nature of the gun control debate. As we know, this has only escalated since this book was written.
Chapter two: In this chapter the author reflects on the gun culture in the US and how this came to be. Initially, he explores his own biases in relation to the debate over guns; in an effort to be objective, he acquires a federal firearm dealer's license, attends gun shows, and takes a beginner course in self-defense shooting. The bulk of the middle portion of this chapter is devoted to statistics; ones on firearms related deaths, both intentional and accidental, statistics on guns and children, them as victims of mostly accidental shootings, them as the shooter, as well as statistics on access to firearms they or their parents own. He further writes of the arming of the nation in the 1960's due to the tumultuous, fearful nature of the times. The arms manufactures exploited this fear to sell more of their product. This marketing strategy has proved effective and has only continued since. Having saturated the male market, the newest demographic they target is women. This dovetailed nicely with feminism and the concepts of equality, liberation, and independence for women who no longer need to or even can depend on men for protection. Why do we place so much trust in guns to solve our problems? Erik answer his own question by exploring the place of the wild West in our national psyche. The West as most Americans perceive it to have been is largely the product of Hollywood, fiction writers, and Bill Cody. Did guns really tame the West? That version of history sells: books, movies, and entertainment in general. The glorification of gun violence as an tool in the struggle of good against evil continues to this day. A closing question, "In some measure our gun culture owes it's origins to the needs of an agrarian society and to the dangers and terrors of the frontier, but for us the central question must be why it has survived into an age in which only about 5 percent of the population makes it's living from farming and from which the frontier has long since gone"?
Chapter four: Erik is a storyteller. This very short chapter just build suspense; in it Nicholas taking his recently acquired weapon to school for the purpose of scaring Billy Cutter, his antagonist.
Chapter five: This chapter is about the gun: a Cobray M-11/9 and it's predecessor, the MAC 10. He shared the history of the weapon, specifically how it has been used, both in crime and in entertainment since it's development. It was originally a submachine gun designed for military use. Later, it was modified to make it semi automatic and legal for consumer purchase. It achieved widespread publicity in a 1974 movie starring John Wayne. This particular weapon was manufactured by numerous companies before finally being bought by S.W Daniel Inc. By this point it had lost it's semi automatic status due to the ease of modifying the mechanism to make it fully automatic. S.W Daniel then introduced the current M-11/9 version, which was harder to convert to auto. Erik then probes the history of S.W Daniel and their unethical and at times illegal business practices, particularly in regards to the sale on manufacture and silencers. Erik closes the chapter with his experienced with actually firing the gun at a shooting range.
Chapter six: Back to Nicholas again, he gives a blow by blow account of the events of the day of the shooting. The scene is in a modular unit apart from the main building. Two of Nicholas' teachers were in the room at the time. When they see him holding the weapon, their initial reaction is disbelief-that it's a toy or replica. His French teacher, Sam Marino confronts him and repeatedly asks Nicholas to hand it over. Nicholas refuses and keeps backing up until he's in a corner. With nowhere else to go, he aims his weapon...
Chapter seven: In this chapter the author reverses chronologically and tells the story of how a sixteen year old came to possess the firearm and ammunition. Nicholas has his second cousin go with him to the gun store and William ultimately purchases it for him. By inventing a story about a planned trip to a gun range, Nicholas gets his mother to buy ammo for him.
Chapter eight: This chapter is dedicated to discussing the particular dealer where Nicholas bought his weapon, Guns Unlimited. The author interviews the owner of the establishment who ran it with his father. Erik Larson goes into the business side of operating a gunshop, and the particular way of doing it in that part of Virginia. At that time Virginia had rather lax guns laws, at least compared to other states, so much so that interstate 95 became known as the Iron Road because of the arms trafficking to cities in the north. Erik then gives numerous stories of the criminal acquisition of weapons, both from Guns Unlimited and from other area gun shops. Guns Unlimited actually had a good working relationship with the ATF but numerous failures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals seem to be indicative of systemic problems in the way guns were sold and transfered, not criminal behavior on the part of the gun shops.
Chapter nine: The scene is switched back to the modular building behind the main school. I won't spoil the story for anyone. This chapter is indicative of Larson's talent; that of interleaving suspenseful, action packed chapters with ones of in-depth macro analysis.
Chapter ten: This chapter traces the turbulous history of the ATF. First, the author applies for and receives his federal firearms license, describing that experience in detail. The ATF was created in 1791 as an enforcer of the tax on distilled spirits. In 1862, Congress created the Office of Internal Revenue and the ATF became an arm of the Treasury Department. The ATF's influence in American life really increased exponentially in 1919, with the passage of the Prohibition Act. Their primary role was not only pursing bootleggers but but also combating the gangsters in major cities like New York and Chicago. Because of the gangsters use of automatic weapons like the "tommy gun" machine guns became illegal for most Americans in 1934 and enforcement of that restriction fell to the ATF. With technological advances in firearms, Congress saw the sense in keeping military style weapons out of the hands of the general public. In 1938, they required the licensing of gun dealers; in the tumultuous 60's they passed the Gun Control Act increased record keeping requirements, banning the sale of guns to felons, and banning mail order firearms to individuals. Erik next talks about the power struggle between the NRA and the ATF which climaxed with the election of Reagan, who promised to shut down the ATF. The administration had to backpedal and the ATF survived, albeit in a more impotent form. There was a shift away from firearms regulation enforcement to narcotics enforcement. The remainder of the chapter is about ATF-dealer relations; the investigation of crooked dealers, the traces of firearms used in crimes to their respective sources. In summary, the ATF was mostly reactive instead of proactive in these type of investigations.
Chapter eleven: Back to the scene where Nicholas is pointing the gun as his nemesis, Billy Cutter. By sheer coincidence, or an act of God, the particular magazine clip that he is using is dysfunctional and jams. Hutch Matteson, the teacher of the classroom tackles Nicholas, thus ending his reign of terror.
Chapter twelve: In this chapter, the author further probes the modern gun culture in America. This seems irrevocably intertwined with homicide, or rather the homicide fantasy. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that firearms and gun paraphernalia acquisition feed the fantasies of those that already have violent, psychopathic, tendencies rather than the other way around. However, those with a financial stake in the game, arms manufactures, distributors, and dealers, will continue to push their product by whatever means is most efficacious. He also spends a good portion of the chapter talking about how magazines and mail order organizations feed the fantasies of their clientels. One of these, Paladin Press is especially egregious in the content of the publications it offers. Books on how to build flamethrowers, land mines, how to construct booby traps, how to kill and torture are just a sampling. The author is NOT stereotypes gun owners as having anarchist or sadistic tendencies. However, there is a substantial subculture that thrives on this kind of subject material, particularly young men. Additionally, the entertainment industry has figured out that gratuitous violence drives viewership, and not just among young men. They deliver the genre that America wants. It seems there is in human nature, a fundamental love of violence that nearly all men have. Most are content with the fantasy world of violence that Hollywood creates; a few actually act out their fantasies in the real world with tragic results.
Chapter thirteen: This chapter is about the shooting's aftermath. The details emerged through eyewitness accounts and detective interviews with Nicholas. The state of Virginia quickly charged Nicholas and brought him to trial. He pleaded guilty and received a life sentence. The husband of one of the victims brought a negligence lawsuit against Guns Unlimited, the gun shop that sold the weapon. The plaintiff actually won, although the jury awarded him a smaller settlement than expected.
Chapter fourteen: This chapter is different than all the other ones, in it the author lays aside his previous level of objectivity and presents a much more personal view of the gun and violence problem in America and what to do about it. Nearly everyone with a sense of morality and a conscience will agree that the ubiquity of violence in America is alarming and destructive to any society. What will doubtless be most polarizing for most readers is the author's particular views on how to solve the problem. Erik lays out a hypothetical five point bill that would "fix" America's gun problems by restricting distribution, exerting a greater control of purchasing, and regulating the design of firearms. As he said himself, it don't have a slightest chance of every being implemented as law. In the afterword, he waxes optimistic, citing the Clinton administration's 1994 ban on nineteen assault weapons and the activation of the Brady law.
Hindsight is 20/20, and we know that the assault weapons ban has since expired and violence in America has gotten worse, not better. I personally don't see anything substantial changing anytime soon. While I don't agree with all the author's positions, the book as a whole does give me pause. None of us are immune to propaganda and marketing; this is true in matters of state, in the entertainment and fashion industries, the food industry, and really nearly every commodity that can be marketed to the general public. If a manufacturer has a product that appeals to man's basest urges-pride, lust, and murder-then marketing the product become so much easier. The real root problem undergirding violence in America has been both the entertainment industry and organizations like the NRA peddling violence as the answer to our problems. Greater gun control would reduce the scale and scope of shootings to be sure, but violence will always find an outlet. Our government may be deeply flawed, but the real problem is our culture.
October 19, 2025
Larson examines the American gun culture in light of a school shooting where a 16 year old had his uncle buy him a semi-auto assault weapon. Larson's basic thesis is that licensed gun dealers have few constraints, little supervision, and the profit incentive to sell lots of guns, many of which end up in the wrong hands. The book was written in 1994, so it misses the assault-rifle debate of today, but otherwise is sharply on point. Federally licensed firearms dealers are not better regulated today; gun shows continue to resell weapons person-to-person without limits, documentation, or consequences. His argument is well supported, with evidence from police confiscations that show that a state that limits gun sales to one-per-person-per-month suddenly is no longer the source of criminals' confiscated firearms. NRA supporters make the argument that we have enough laws, if only they were enforced. This is not really true; the plan to keep guns away from criminals and psychos relies on thousands of FFL dealers magically recognizing suspicious purchases and CHOOSING not to make the sale when there are no consequences for guessing wrong. Perhaps the good news from Larson's expose is that the quick reaction of the market (disappearance of a particular state's guns after a change in the law) implies that nationwide sensible restrictions on dealers could cause a large reduction in gun deaths in a few months. The bad news, of course, is that the NRA and their lackeys in the Republican party will not permit the slightest hint of common sense to become law.
December 4, 2018
I think given the passage of time, I would consider this book to be... Quaint. Yes, that's a good word. Quaint. It harkens back to a wistful time when school shootings only happened a few times a year and when body counts rarely exceeded a half dozen... You know... Stories that were a big deal in the early 90's but barely cause a ripple in national news today. The fact the this book ends on a positive and hopeful note, yet was published five years before Columbine, is just so very... Depressing.
Well written, well researched. Not the best Larson book maybe, but still worth reading.
Well written, well researched. Not the best Larson book maybe, but still worth reading.
October 19, 2017
scary, educational and engrossing
August 22, 2018
An excellent read. The author traces the progress of a single semi-automatic pistol from its point of origin to the scene of a school shooting, using the stops along the way to illustrate what is wrong with a system that allows anyone to buy a gun and use it any old way, as one dealer, distributor, engineer and government office after another steps up to deny any responsibility in the mayhem that follows.
February 3, 2023
This book is disturbing and infuriating. Also informative.
March 30, 2024
In true Erik Larsen style, he educates us through history and facts, exposes the underlying motives of all the players and paints a logical path in the best interests of all affected stakeholders. As always there is a lot of necessary detail to plough through in order to understand what drives all parties that play a role in the “out of control” level of guns deaths in the USA. The 2nd amendment does not justify any deaths of innocent adults and children. I have a better understanding of the complexity of the gun issue and some solutions seem very simple to me, it just needs some strong politicians to lead the way. There would be a lot of supporters of their vision. This is a must read.
January 19, 2020
Five Stars here, for Erik Larson: Minus values for the American public, the American legal system and if there were justice, a death penalty for our legislatures. Larson begins with the school shooting and killing in 1989. Then he traces the manufacture of the gun, the sale of the gun, the laws regulating gun sales. Larson keeps a level head, joins the NRA, goes to gun shows, takes firearm training. In the end he offers a recipe for laws and regulations which he thinks would save countless lives and he also knows there isn't a chance in hell of anything like it ever seeing passage.
I joined the NRA in my early 20s, after having almost ten years of experience with firearms. I own them. And I have been reading the horrible crap that the NRA and other 'rights' organization peddle to stifle 'gun control' for years. They have no logic, no sound reasoning. They spew nonsense and fools suck it up. (Noted: many NRA members, myself among them, obviously, disagree.) We do not stand behind bans, not confiscation, merely rational guides to keep firearms away from the crazy and the incompetent.
Twenty years after the events described by Larson, there was ANOTHER mass school shooting in Virginia Beach. We have seen horrors unfold in our papers and TV screen but we continue to let a few greedy, insane individuals run roughshod over our lawmakers and ourselves. We are idiots.
Highly Recmmended.
I joined the NRA in my early 20s, after having almost ten years of experience with firearms. I own them. And I have been reading the horrible crap that the NRA and other 'rights' organization peddle to stifle 'gun control' for years. They have no logic, no sound reasoning. They spew nonsense and fools suck it up. (Noted: many NRA members, myself among them, obviously, disagree.) We do not stand behind bans, not confiscation, merely rational guides to keep firearms away from the crazy and the incompetent.
Twenty years after the events described by Larson, there was ANOTHER mass school shooting in Virginia Beach. We have seen horrors unfold in our papers and TV screen but we continue to let a few greedy, insane individuals run roughshod over our lawmakers and ourselves. We are idiots.
Highly Recmmended.
July 24, 2019
First of all, I don't personally like guns and I never have. I do understand why people want them and enjoy shooting them. I like that this is not an anti-gun or a pro-gun book. With this book being 25 years old and me never having any interest in buying a gun, I don't know if it's as easy now as it was then, but I can see no reason why a person should be allowed to buy more than 1 of the same gun at once or more than 2 different guns at one time. I also agree with the author on some of his suggestion. If we are going to make a person demonstrate they can safely operate a car and follow the requisite laws of the road, and make people obtain a license to hunt or fish or sail a boat, why aren't we making them demonstrate they can safely operate a gun and have basic gun safety knowledge? It doesn't infringe on anyone's "rights" to have some regulation.
Furthermore, if a bartender can be held personally liable for the later actions of a person they served a drink to, why can't a gun dealer? (Let me be clear, I don't think either of those is fair or just but where is the consistency?)
Furthermore, if a bartender can be held personally liable for the later actions of a person they served a drink to, why can't a gun dealer? (Let me be clear, I don't think either of those is fair or just but where is the consistency?)
January 4, 2008
Larson provides an unbiased view of current U.S. firearms regulations and the ATF. He brings up numerous problems and loopholes, which allow the proliferation of firearms to reach the streets. Larson addresses numerous issues throughout the book. Instead of just bringing these issues to light, he actually provides what he feels would be solutions. He investigates all angles of the gun problem in America by following the stories of a school shooting, gun manufactures, gun dealers, and the NRA gun culture.
Like Larson’s other books, this is a quick read that keeps you interested. Timely information and incite with the rash of public shooting over they past few years. After hearing about the Virginia Tech shooting, I could not help but think about some of the problems and solutions this book addresses. The underlining school shooting that the book follows was not far from Va Tech. It’s sad that some of the solutions Larson creates could have stopped some of the recent shootings.
Like Larson’s other books, this is a quick read that keeps you interested. Timely information and incite with the rash of public shooting over they past few years. After hearing about the Virginia Tech shooting, I could not help but think about some of the problems and solutions this book addresses. The underlining school shooting that the book follows was not far from Va Tech. It’s sad that some of the solutions Larson creates could have stopped some of the recent shootings.
September 13, 2011
This is the story of American gun culture told through the story of bullied schoolboy Nicholas Elliot, who plots his revenge by acquiring a handgun and then opening up on his teachers and classmates in a private Christian school in Virginia in December, 1988. Larson traces the history of the Cobray M-11/9 from its creation to its arrival in the hand of an angry young man in the context of (deliberately) lax legislation that makes it easier to get a gun than to get a driver's license in the United States.
Larson challenges the myths that suggest that gun ownership is part and parcel of the American character by citing statistics that show how our permissive gun culture undermines the safety and security we crave.
Larson does his research and tells one compelling story.
Larson challenges the myths that suggest that gun ownership is part and parcel of the American character by citing statistics that show how our permissive gun culture undermines the safety and security we crave.
Larson does his research and tells one compelling story.
June 8, 2021
A lot of the reviews for this Larson were disparaging. This isn’t my favorite Larson book but I really enjoyed it. Additionally, I highly recommend this read to anyone interested in learning more about gun violence in America. I feel it important that instead of relaying hearsay in discussions about guns that we focus on self education and kindness.
October 21, 2016
Larson, as usual is very readable and holds your interest. Still, his draw to me is the depth of knowledge he has and research he does. This book doesn't have that. He's basically taken one side of an issue and presented it without any consideration of the other side. The preachiness wears thin.
April 19, 2019
Like the previous reviewer stated this is still relevant, unfortunately. People who want to argue the second amendment are missing the point, besides being clueless.
August 13, 2022
Like his later works, a masterpiece. However, this one tears at the heart because we know the ending.
May 23, 2025
In Lethal Passage, Erik Larson shares his research on the history of the gun Cobray M-11 (Mac-11), highlighting it's use in crime. Interspersed between American gun history facts, is the story of Nicholas Elliot's school shooting. The author mentions the ease with which Nicholas acquired his gun and ammunition and his knowledge of how to kill, and how easily anyone else could, as well. He also includes the evolution of the NRA and the ATF intp what they are today, and their relations with each other. This book was written before I was born, but still felt relevant. The author claims not to take sides in the heated gun control debates, but at the end of the book he includes his proposal to erase some ineffective regulations. "...but replace them with a formal rational federal code that at last recognizes guns for what they are: the single most dangerous, socially costly, culturally destabilizing, consumer product marketed in America."
May 6, 2019
This was a difficult book to read, both because the writing is not as tight as Erik Larson's more recent books and because of the subject. Written in 1994, in one story strand this book follows the case of a school shooting and the journey the gun took, from manufacturing and subsequent sales etc. to the ultimate hands of the young shooter; in the other story strand, the book details American gun culture, laws, policies. It is painful to read about Larson's concerns in a book written five years before Columbine redefined how we view school shootings, changed the stereotype of the typical school shooter, and transitioned into two more decades of terrible shootings. The book ends on a hopeful epilogue, which seems quaint in retrospect, about how the passage of the Brady Bill could signify sea-change in American gun policy. As much as Larson's book sounds alarm bells, I wager that even he is shocked to see how the 25 years since writing his book have unfolded. He mentions that maybe if the number of gun violence cases had more rapidly spiked they would have caused more outrage; however, they have gradually, steadily, perniciously seeped into our culture and gained a place of casual acceptance (or, at least, a lack of broad-based national outrage) such that we know no other reality.
September 22, 2025
One of the most interesting books I have read so far this year. The author basically acts as a sort of detective and explores the American gun culture, every other chapter he explains a real life school shooting case and takes the information he got from that to explore what happened and how easy it is for a kid to even get a gun in the states. I would not describe him as complete anti-gun but he definitely criticises the laws that are in place and even states that he himself is not a gun owner even though he occasionally likes to shoot them. A good book for everyone that is just as confused as I am about the gun culture in the states.
March 20, 2021
Unfortunately, this book is mostly outdated. It was written in 1993, and most of the facts in the book on gun laws and procedures for purchasing them have changed (thankfully). However, the crimes that continue to be committed with guns is still as concerning as it was in 1993.
It appears that new gun laws have not really made that much of a difference in 25 + years. That is not said because I don't think we should have laws to make it more difficult, it is said because I believe there is a larger issue that needs addressing. Still a valuable book to read and consider.
It appears that new gun laws have not really made that much of a difference in 25 + years. That is not said because I don't think we should have laws to make it more difficult, it is said because I believe there is a larger issue that needs addressing. Still a valuable book to read and consider.
August 21, 2020
Like everything I've read from Erik, this is a super interesting and well written read. It is worsened slightly simply due to its age (and the fact that not everything covered is the exact same 26 years later). Hence the 4/5. Despite that, it gives an interesting and well examined look into what is still an ongoing issue.
May 9, 2020
An in depth investigation into guns and the gun issues in the USA, written in the context of a shooting by a young boy at a school in the early 1990's. The sad part is that the issues were pretty much exactly the same back then as they are today, only there are a lot more guns today. Scary!
August 26, 2025
Terrifying, outrageous, sickening, heartbreaking.
August 20, 2022
This might be my least favorite Erik Larson, it just didn't have the grip that all the other books had. Still, I think it has critical points, especially these last years in America but it didn't bring more points of view.
May 9, 2025
Well researched.
June 17, 2011
This somewhat dated book (1992) provides much scary information about American society’s gun culture. Author intersperses story of how a deranged teenager was able to carry out an assault on a Virginia Beach school using an automatic pistol with facts about how gun dealers and the National Rifle Association have intimidated legislators into legal irresponsibility. Even weak existing restrictive laws have many loopholes. Mentioned also is how the NRA distorts the U.S. Constitution’s 2nd Amendment; they scoff at the qualification that the right to keep and bear arms applies only to members of a well regulated militia. Book was written before the infamous Columbine, Virginia Tech and Tucson assaults. The chilling, creepy gun culture remains with us.
February 8, 2020
I have to admit when I picked this book up, I had no idea the copyright was 1994. That was the middle of my years in law enforcement. So much of it was so familiar and rang true for that period of time. Sadly, if Erik Larson would do an updated version of this book, how much more needless death and carnage that has happened since, could be reported. This book chronicles the journey of a gun, traces that gun, and how it got into the hands of a 16 year old boy who shot up his school in Virginia Beach December 16, 1988 killing one teacher and critically wounding another, traumatizing the school and students forever.
There is a constant debate going on all around us about the need or not for gun control. I wish everyone on both sides of the coin would read this book. Just a few inside notes from the book: "The lack of uniform system of federal regulations allow traffickers to shop jurisdictions for the easiest commercial conditions..." Erik Larson; What this means that if you say for instance: "Chicago or Washington DC have the strictest gun controls and the highest level of gun violence," what you're not telling your listeners is how many of the guns used in those crimes were easily obtained outside of those jurisdictions. "Buying a gun should be the most difficult consumer ritual in America. instead of one of the easiest.......The right laws moreover can even give gun buffs a greater appreciation for the dangers inherent in the weapons they buy and demonstrate society's conviction that owning gun imparts a monumental rersponibity to the owner." Erik Larson;
Personally I hear these three arguments ALL the time about why we should NOT consider better legislation for keeping guns out of the wrong hands and they go like this: 1 If they take our guns, they will take everything from us. 2 If they would enforce the laws they have, then guns would be controlled and bad guys wouldn't have them. 3 It's my God given right to own a gun.
With regard to #1: We have to stop linking gun control measures to socialism. We have largely the NRA to thank for this. Their propaganda with regard to this matter has been going on since the early 20th century. I'm conservative and not for socialism in healthcare or education or gun control for that matter. Socialism in government is reckless and dangerous. It is on its face not characteristic of a free country. Period.. Oh my could we talk about this for hours? However, even so, I practice good common sense when I look at the carnage of loosey goosey gun laws allowing minors, the unstable, criminals and the like to get a gun easier than they can get a pack of cigarettes for God's sake. Let's take our heads out of the sand and try to save lives while not taking guns away from legal owners. Can we already?
#2 You have no idea what you're talking about. The laws as they exist, are simply not comprehensive enough and do not allow for unstable individuals to be prevented from getting guns. The private dealers are equal to or far outweigh the federally licensed dealers, not that the FLL's are following guidelines above board. It's as easy to become an FLL as it is to get a drivers license. (Both should be much harder than they are in this country) And private sellers are absolutely prolific. Do you honestly believe that legal gun owners making private sells of weapons are corporately following the rules and practicing good ethics in that affair with regard to who they are selling their weapons? Maybe a handful at best.
#3 It's my God given right to have a gun. This isn't in the bible. Quit already. And when you have time, read Micah 6:8 Please quit mixing your religion with politics. It points people away from Jesus.
In case you are wondering, the author does thankfully address both Americans’ and the Entertainment Industry's obsession with violence, blood spilling and carnage both on prime time tv and movies. Ironically some of the largest voices for gun control come from individuals in the entertainment industry. But much like manufacturers and distributors and FLL’s they claim 0 responsibility for the amount of violence happening in communities across this land. As well as the young children who are drinking up their relentless and copious amounts of tv and movie violence. Larson did not discuss video games but let's face it, kids younger than 10 are exposed to so much violence through these media sources that it is extremely disturbing. And I would ask, where are parents in all of that? Are parents screening their kids screening time? I’m afraid not. Not nearly enough.
What bothered me the most in this book, is the lack of responsibility or accountability that anyone is willing to accept for their part in the death and dying and violence that happens as a result of major fire power being easily delivered into the hands of those with evil intentions. From manufactures, to distributors to FLL's to private sellers, (and less you think that these three goups are all above reproach and adhering to the letter of the law, think again. Some of them are of course, but there are 1000s of them who are not) and also down to us, me, the person who simply lives here in this great country. We have become so accustomed to gun violence that we only take a minute to move on to the next thing in our life, unless of course it happens to us.
There is a constant debate going on all around us about the need or not for gun control. I wish everyone on both sides of the coin would read this book. Just a few inside notes from the book: "The lack of uniform system of federal regulations allow traffickers to shop jurisdictions for the easiest commercial conditions..." Erik Larson; What this means that if you say for instance: "Chicago or Washington DC have the strictest gun controls and the highest level of gun violence," what you're not telling your listeners is how many of the guns used in those crimes were easily obtained outside of those jurisdictions. "Buying a gun should be the most difficult consumer ritual in America. instead of one of the easiest.......The right laws moreover can even give gun buffs a greater appreciation for the dangers inherent in the weapons they buy and demonstrate society's conviction that owning gun imparts a monumental rersponibity to the owner." Erik Larson;
Personally I hear these three arguments ALL the time about why we should NOT consider better legislation for keeping guns out of the wrong hands and they go like this: 1 If they take our guns, they will take everything from us. 2 If they would enforce the laws they have, then guns would be controlled and bad guys wouldn't have them. 3 It's my God given right to own a gun.
With regard to #1: We have to stop linking gun control measures to socialism. We have largely the NRA to thank for this. Their propaganda with regard to this matter has been going on since the early 20th century. I'm conservative and not for socialism in healthcare or education or gun control for that matter. Socialism in government is reckless and dangerous. It is on its face not characteristic of a free country. Period.. Oh my could we talk about this for hours? However, even so, I practice good common sense when I look at the carnage of loosey goosey gun laws allowing minors, the unstable, criminals and the like to get a gun easier than they can get a pack of cigarettes for God's sake. Let's take our heads out of the sand and try to save lives while not taking guns away from legal owners. Can we already?
#2 You have no idea what you're talking about. The laws as they exist, are simply not comprehensive enough and do not allow for unstable individuals to be prevented from getting guns. The private dealers are equal to or far outweigh the federally licensed dealers, not that the FLL's are following guidelines above board. It's as easy to become an FLL as it is to get a drivers license. (Both should be much harder than they are in this country) And private sellers are absolutely prolific. Do you honestly believe that legal gun owners making private sells of weapons are corporately following the rules and practicing good ethics in that affair with regard to who they are selling their weapons? Maybe a handful at best.
#3 It's my God given right to have a gun. This isn't in the bible. Quit already. And when you have time, read Micah 6:8 Please quit mixing your religion with politics. It points people away from Jesus.
In case you are wondering, the author does thankfully address both Americans’ and the Entertainment Industry's obsession with violence, blood spilling and carnage both on prime time tv and movies. Ironically some of the largest voices for gun control come from individuals in the entertainment industry. But much like manufacturers and distributors and FLL’s they claim 0 responsibility for the amount of violence happening in communities across this land. As well as the young children who are drinking up their relentless and copious amounts of tv and movie violence. Larson did not discuss video games but let's face it, kids younger than 10 are exposed to so much violence through these media sources that it is extremely disturbing. And I would ask, where are parents in all of that? Are parents screening their kids screening time? I’m afraid not. Not nearly enough.
What bothered me the most in this book, is the lack of responsibility or accountability that anyone is willing to accept for their part in the death and dying and violence that happens as a result of major fire power being easily delivered into the hands of those with evil intentions. From manufactures, to distributors to FLL's to private sellers, (and less you think that these three goups are all above reproach and adhering to the letter of the law, think again. Some of them are of course, but there are 1000s of them who are not) and also down to us, me, the person who simply lives here in this great country. We have become so accustomed to gun violence that we only take a minute to move on to the next thing in our life, unless of course it happens to us.
October 12, 2021
I wasn't raised around guns. I wasn't raised to hate them or love them. I was wholly indifferent to them. Guns entered my world through an accident involving my brother and a toy gun...or what he thought was a toy gun. Fortunately, the accident didn't end in death or even serious injury but all of a sudden everyone in our family was a little more aware of guns. Then, in my home state of Colorado, on April 20, 1999 the Columbine High School shooting occurred. With each subsequent mass shooting my awareness of guns was heightened. I didn't even know, until this month when reading this book, about the December 16, 1988 shooting that happened at a school and resulted in one death and one critical injury. It's that shooting that caught the attention of author Erik Larson and gave him the idea to trace the life of the gun that 16-year-old Nicholas Elliot used.
Nicholas obtained a Cobray M-11/9 and several hundred rounds of ammunition because he was fed up with the bullying he was receiving at school. He didn't really know what he was going to do with the gun and ammo but he was sure he wanted to scare the boy who was bullying him and show everyone else that he should be feared. What he ended up doing was critically injuring one teacher and killing the one teacher who had been kind and generous with him. His bully, and everyone else, was spared due to consistent jamming of the gun and its trigger.
Larson didn't write this book because he's anti-gun. He wrote it because the topic of gun control, in the early 1990s as it is now, was contentious. And he was curious about those against gun control and those for it. In an effort to do due diligence, Larson obtained a federal license to sell guns, joined the NRA, started attending gun shows, and began seeking out and interviewing gun advocates. He also researched the history of firearms in America and the journey our nation has traveled from the implementation of Amendment 2 to "today" (today being 1994 when this book was published). Larson told the story of Nicholas Elliot, what drove him to obtain a gun (illegally), and the day of the shooting.
I find other reviews of this book that claim that Larson is biased and one-sided on the issue of gun control baffling. And yet, those against gun control of any kind would find Larson's thorough book exactly that due to the fact that they can't see beyond their "personal" right to carry AK47s and other military-issue weaponry. Ridiculous. What Larson does, after doing due diligence to understand and enter into the side of those who are against gun control of any kind, is propose really reasonable, logical, and smart requirements. It is beyond my understanding how proposing such requirements is a restriction of personal liberty etc. While Larson kept an even tone and a neutral position (and he truly did keep neutral in issue overall) I couldn't help but say several times, aloud, "what in the actual fuck is wrong with these people?" Listen. Nobody and I really mean NOBODY, needs to carry the kind of weapons anti-gun control people say people would be allowed to freely carry and wave around. Seriously. Larson was able to stay neutral so I'll say what he didn't. What the fuck is wrong with people?
Nicholas obtained a Cobray M-11/9 and several hundred rounds of ammunition because he was fed up with the bullying he was receiving at school. He didn't really know what he was going to do with the gun and ammo but he was sure he wanted to scare the boy who was bullying him and show everyone else that he should be feared. What he ended up doing was critically injuring one teacher and killing the one teacher who had been kind and generous with him. His bully, and everyone else, was spared due to consistent jamming of the gun and its trigger.
Larson didn't write this book because he's anti-gun. He wrote it because the topic of gun control, in the early 1990s as it is now, was contentious. And he was curious about those against gun control and those for it. In an effort to do due diligence, Larson obtained a federal license to sell guns, joined the NRA, started attending gun shows, and began seeking out and interviewing gun advocates. He also researched the history of firearms in America and the journey our nation has traveled from the implementation of Amendment 2 to "today" (today being 1994 when this book was published). Larson told the story of Nicholas Elliot, what drove him to obtain a gun (illegally), and the day of the shooting.
I find other reviews of this book that claim that Larson is biased and one-sided on the issue of gun control baffling. And yet, those against gun control of any kind would find Larson's thorough book exactly that due to the fact that they can't see beyond their "personal" right to carry AK47s and other military-issue weaponry. Ridiculous. What Larson does, after doing due diligence to understand and enter into the side of those who are against gun control of any kind, is propose really reasonable, logical, and smart requirements. It is beyond my understanding how proposing such requirements is a restriction of personal liberty etc. While Larson kept an even tone and a neutral position (and he truly did keep neutral in issue overall) I couldn't help but say several times, aloud, "what in the actual fuck is wrong with these people?" Listen. Nobody and I really mean NOBODY, needs to carry the kind of weapons anti-gun control people say people would be allowed to freely carry and wave around. Seriously. Larson was able to stay neutral so I'll say what he didn't. What the fuck is wrong with people?
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