Glock: The Rise Of America's Gun

by Paul M. Barrett

An alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.

Based on fifteen years of research, Glock is the riveting story of the weapon that has become known as American’s gun. Today the Glock pistol has been embraced by two-thirds of all U.S. police departments, glamorized in countless Hollywood movies, and featured as a ubiquitous presence on prime-time TV. It has been rhapsodized by hip-hop artists, and coveted by cops and crooks alike.

Created in 1982 by Gaston Glock, an obscure Austrian curtain-rod manufacturer, and swiftly adopted by the Austrian army, the Glock pistol, with its lightweight plastic frame and large-capacity spring-action magazine, arrived in America at a fortuitous time. Law enforcement agencies had concluded that their agents and officers, armed with standard six-round revolvers, were getting "outgunned" by drug dealers with semi-automatic pistols. They needed a new gun.

When Karl Water, a firearm salesman based in the U.S. first saw a Glock in 1984, his reaction was, “Jeez, that’s ugly.” But the advantages of the pistol soon became apparent. The standard semi-automatic Glock could fire as many as 17 bullets from its magazine without reloading (one equipped with an extended thirty-three cartridge magazine was used in Tucson to shoot Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others). It was built with only 36 parts that were interchangeable with those of other models. You could drop it underwater, toss it from a helicopter, or leave it out in the snow, and it would still fire. It was reliable, accurate, lightweight, and cheaper to produce than Smith and Wesson’s revolver. Made in part of hardened plastic, it was even rumored (incorrectly) to be invisible to airport security screening.

Filled with corporate intrigue, political maneuvering, Hollywood glitz, bloody shoot-outs—and an attempt on Gaston Glock’s life by a former lieutenant—Glock is at once the inside account of how Glock the company went about marketing its pistol to police agencies and later the public, as well as a compelling chronicle of the evolution of gun culture in America.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Business, Military Fiction, Politics, Biography, Audiobook

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

PAUL M. BARRETT I'm an assistant managing editor and senior feature writer at Bloomberg Businessweek. I've written two other books: American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion and The Good Black: A True Story of Race in America. I'm currently writing my 4th book about the fascinating legal battle in Ecuador pitting big oil against indigenous people and campesinos, not to mention a one of a kind American plaintiffs lawyer. Coming from Crown in winter 2014.

I live in Brooklyn with my wife Julie and our excellent dachshund Beau.

Reviews

[JD · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book about the development and marketing of Glock pistols from it's early days in the 1980's by Gaston Glock who was not a gunsmith. It gives great background about what brought about the demand for semi-auto pistols for law-enforcement and the civilian market that followed. Glocks were developed just at the right time when the need was most for such a weapon and Gaston Glock was ingenious when developing it, as he got experts to guide him in what they most wanted from a pistol and it had many new innovations that put it way above the rest and brought many other companies to imitate it. The way Glock promoted it's weapons and how they swooned law-enforcement and other potential customers is very interesting and after all their hard work during the early days a Glock sells itself by now all across the world.

The book also bring to light the never-ending fight between the NRA and the Second Amendment versus the pro gun-controllers and how both these sides can never find common ground as neither are willing to give into any ideas from the other. This book is neither pro gun or pro gun control, but shows how both sides uses the narratives which best suits their arguments and by this the author shows just how dumb some of these arguments are on both sides of the fence.

I myself am a Glock owner and it is truly a magnificent weapon and a true feat of engineering that has changed the way the world sees personal firearms. The book is recommended for people interested in firearms.

[Bonnie E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It doesn't matter where you fall in the ongoing debate about gun safety vs Second Amendment rights to appreciate this book. The author of Glock presents an unbiased and objective story about the creation of the Glock pistol and its emergence onto the American scene to become its most famous handgun. The book is at its best describing the ways in which the Glock enterprise entered and eventually commanded the market. It is a fascinating business case study as much as anything else. The book is exceedingly well-written, and the author does not preach for, or against, the gun business.

The book provides glimpses into the ways in which politics played a role in the success of the manufacturer, and the company's shrewd maneuvers to get ahead of all manner of political moves through the years. It is fascinating to learn how Glock handled the product liability lawsuits which it encountered along the way, especially the public nuisance litigation which was filed against gun manufacturers and distributors by a host of municipalities across America. Glock's top legal counsel developed strategies that put Glock out ahead of the competition time and time again. The company might not have taken the higher moral ground on most occasions but it always seized opportunities to achieve the highest financial ground, which is another reason it presents as such an interesting case study.

The book also goes into detail describing Gaston Glock, the founder of the company, as well as some of his executives. From humble and parochial beginnings as an Austrian manufacturer of household goods like curtain rods, Glock eventually became a billionaire who harassed employees, fired his entire family including his wife and three children, took on a string of mistresses, and became involved in byzantine money laundering schemes. Several of Glock's top level employees don't fare very well on a personal level either although overall, Glock's key operatives are portrayed as multi-dimensional individuals whose business savvy was often remarkable.

The book also does a good job handling the tone and nuances of the American way of life, especially the passionate and raging debate about guns, and how the culture has been influenced by events through the years. The author does not diminish nor does he advance the arguments as presented by advocates in any of the camps. He presents readers with various points of view, and masterfully interweaves the Glock story throughout.

Highly recommended.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked the e-book version of this book from the library, thinking I was selecting a fiction, junk novel to pass the time during a long flight. Whoops -- turns out it is a non-fiction book about the gun, its inventor, its rise in popularity in the US, the NRA, the politics of guns and much more! Great book, worth reading.

But am I the only person in the US who doesn't own a handgun?

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book covers the development and rise of one of the greatest pistols in recent history, the Glock. This semi-automatic pistol is in use in a number of countries around the world with military, para-military, police and other law enforcement agencies. This book mainly covers its early development and reception in the United States, going into detail about how it gained massive sales and how it is perceived within American gun culture.

The first chapter of the book offers a brief account of the Miami shootout in 1986 between the FBI and two armed robbers which was later made into a TV movie; "In the Line of Fire: The FBI Murders". This incident appeared to highlighted the fact that maybe revolvers where no longer fit for front line Policing duties due to the issues of reloading and amount of rounds that could be fired and carried. It seemed at the time that the FBI was out gunned with over 140 rounds fired leaving the FBI with two killed, three permanently crippled and two others injured. It has been suggested that in this case the FBI had sufficient firepower but were not prepared adequately for the confrontation that took place. Either way, this incident opened the door for the adoption of a semi-automatic pistol to replace the current issue revolvers that most police agencies carried.

Gaston Glock was an Austrian curtain-rod manufacturer who also made pressed metal items and knifes for the Austrian Army, but had never designed or manufactured a firearm before. The book offers a brief account of how Glaston Glock designed his pistol. When Gaston Glock first began working on his pistol he tested crude early versions in a basement firing range; He shot alone, using only his left hand. If the gun blew up on him, he would still have his good right hand to do mechanical drawings.

The book follows the introduction of the Glock into American police forces and how the weapon was received by mainstream law enforcement with a few funny and not so funny accounts. I found this story from the book quite funny, although serious, it came down to lack of training with the new Glock:

In some places, the arrival of the Glock almost certainly contributed to a surge in unintentional firing. When the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, GC, switched to the Austrian pistol in 1989, Gary Hankins, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police labor committee, announced: “We’ve got the right gun … This is going to make all of us feel better out there on the streets.” Almost immediately, however, Washington cops began shooting themselves and each other.

The book surprised me with quite a few interesting facts, for example the company’s annual revenue hit $100 million in the late 1990’s and after 9/11 the American government bought more than 200,000 Glocks for distribution to Afghan and Iraqi police, national guardsmen, and soldiers. Further; The American military eventually lost track of some 190,000 small arms in Iraq, including 80,000 pistols – mostly Glocks, according to US congressional investigators. I found the politics behind firearms in American quite disturbing and for a non-American reader it was a bit of an eye-opener.

The down side to this book is the lack of any photographs of the various models of the Glock or its competitors or any of the major players involved in the story and no diagrams of the weapon or its variants except a basic line drawing at the beginning of the book. I would have liked to see a few photos and drawings. Overall an interesting tale and well worth reading if you are interested in this pistol or gun culture in the United States in general.

[Arthur · Rating 3 out of 5]

An 8 hour unabridged audiobook.

A semi auto firearm in the 1980s with less than 40 parts? Yes, please.

Takeaways on Glocks expansion- Even bad press is good press- numerous news articles falsely promoting a myth that the polymer frame on a Glock makes it undetectable in metal detectors functioned as assisting in brand recognition. As is often the case when government regulation creates a scarcity for an item, people will rush to buy it before a ban is enacted.

Product placement in movies helped as well.

Law enforcement agency duty weapon trade in helped turn law enforcement agencies into being curious about the brand, to the point of testing, and in many cases, adopting it for their agency.

This is a fairly objective book- lots of stuff that males Glock look bad as well- generally related to the companies financial practices (avoiding taxation).

I liked this book overall.

[Charles Haywood · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Glock” is that rarest of beasts—a mainstream writing in which the author makes zero errors about guns, and takes almost no political positions with respect to guns. This is the most neutral book on the topic I have ever seen, which is surprising given that the author, Paul Barrett, worked and works for the violently and maliciously anti-gun Michael Bloomberg. It is not true, as several other reviewers claim, that “Glock” is pro-gun control. It is a history book, not a book of politics, or, for that matter, a technical book on Glock handguns.

The book is a straight chronological history interwoven with personality profiles of all the leading players. The one personality looming over everything, of course, is Gaston Glock—sometime machinist of car radiators, door hardware, and knives. The latter led to contacts with the Austrian Ministry of Defense, and when the Austrian military began searching for a new handgun, Glock designed a revolutionary gun from the ground up. The rest, as they say, is history—and a history well covered by this book.

“Glock” is suitable for pretty much any reader. If you want a basic primer on handgun manufacture and use, this is your book. If you want a cultural history of handgun sales and marketing in America in the past three decades, this is your book. If you want an accurate view on the competing political views of gun control proponents and defenders of gun rights, this is your book. And if you just want an interesting story with interesting (and mostly flawed) characters, this is also your book.

Very, very occasionally Barrett (whose name, ironically, is the same as the main brand of .50 caliber, that is, very powerful, rifles sold today) slips in his understanding. “Why, gun-control advocates ask, do civilians need a variant of the military rifles carried by American troops? The answer relates to aesthetics and psychology.” Maybe it does, but more directly, it relates to the reason that the Second Amendment exists—so that citizens can, if necessary, fight American troops in a possible future tyranny with weapons that give them a chance in skirmish warfare and the ability to acquire heavier weapons. Barrett doesn’t grasp this. For the same reason, he sees no reason not to limit magazine capacity, ignoring both the military necessity of large magazines and that even in civilian (police and citizen) armed self-defense large capacity magazines have frequently proven necessary. But he does grasp, for the correct technical and practical reasons, the silliness of modern arguments over so-called “assault weapons.” And these slips are few and far between; they do not detract from the book.

In 2013, when this book was published, Barrett saw correctly that the Left had “abandoned gun control.” Like the dog returning to his vomit, the Left has since latched onto gun control again. As they say, gun control is like crack to Democrats—they know it’s bad for them, but they can’t help themselves. We’ll see how that plays out in two months, in November 2016. But whatever the future holds for gun grabbers, this book will stand for a long time as a readable, fair, and interesting summary exposition of the modern American handgun industry and culture.

[Cameron Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

GLOCK – The Rise of America’s Gun – Paul M. Barrett
This was a fun book to delve into. It was a real treat and a real surprise. It was not what I expected at all. Perhaps, this is probably why I enjoyed the book so much. Now, granted, looking at the title, it is clear that the book is not for everyone. However, I strongly suspect that a surprisingly large audience will enjoy this book. Please allow me to explain further.
Most books of this type that are written tend to paint a fairly pretty picture of the subject matter. The good things about the content are strongly emphasized against the negative content. This is not the case with GLOCK. Paul Barrett has written a book, that while it does write kind words of the family taking on this adventure, and all of the good deeds and positive efforts and hard work with perhaps some naïve intentions due to lack of exposure to their new enterprise. (and I could go on and on about this aspect of the book) However, Mr. Barrett puts plenty of research and writing about the negative parts of the Glock company, the family, and the employees, whether it be the extravagant parties, the shell companies, or the dirty dealings among the people. (and I could go on and on about this aspect of the book) It all makes for very interesting reading and I would have to say that it does not read like a non-fiction biography of a gun company.
I really do not want to give any more of the book away. GLOCK reads very quickly and is not an overly long book. I think that this book would appeal to a very wide audience, and not just the preconceived audiences. I do not like to label or judge people. But, men and women alike would enjoy GLOCK. Give it a shot. 3.8 stars.

[Joseph Ribera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read. Covers both the story of how an appliance parts manufacturer became a billionaire by designing a pistol for the Austrian Army and the history, culture and politics of handguns in the U.S. A very balanced picture, unlike the NRA (pro) or gun-control lobby (con) views.

What was so remarkable was that Gaston Glock had no prior experience with guns, so he had no vested interest in any particular approach. Also, he asked experts what they would look for in the ideal firearm and incorporated those features in his design. For one thing, the Glock has built in safety features, so an external safety (which can be forgotten or damaged) was not necessary.

Since he had experience with molded composite materials, he chose to make the frame from a polymer, rather than from metal, reducing weight. He used CAD to make composite parts, thereby cutting the individual components to half the normal number and increasing standardization thereby reducing maintenance costs.

Not only did the Austrian Army buy his gun, it became the defacto standard for all U.S. law enforcement agencies. The U.S. DOD, however, in its wisdom, chose the Berretta 92 as its standard. A weapon which is almost impossible to control in use. Elite units, however, like the Seals and special forces who have latitude to select their own sidearms, almost unanimously chose the Glock.

[Edward Sanchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good insight into the company and the cultural impact of the Glock on American culture.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

It started out interesting enough until I realized the things I did know, as a gun enthusiast, were lazily researched by the author. The problem got worse and worse towards the end. I wanted to read this book to learn more about the quirky Gaston Glock and how he came to influence the firearm world. I found that it was more of a WEAK introduction to the gun world from an author who clearly has limited experience in it. This aggravation of mine peaked towards the end. The author makes a firm stance on magazine capacity limits saying they make perfect sense... as an experienced shooter, I can firmly tell you, his methodology for this argument is beyond lazy. I think this book was an attempt to spread some propaganda and disguise it as research. It fulfills neither very well. Unfortunately, there is little in here about Glock that you cant learn from a few clicks of your mouse. For those of you who think this book is a fair look at both sides of the gun debate, which it is NOT advertised to be, find the book "Gun Fight" by Adam Winkler - that book actually has deep and nuanced research instead of the allusion of nuanced research and does a MUCH better job of respectfully representing both sides. Paul Barrett wrote a LAZY book.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

a decent and fair look at a brand that has become very ingrained into American culture. Written by someone unfamiliar with firearms for an audience also unfamiliar with firearms, the emphasis is on the rise of the company rather than the details of the product. There are numerous factual errors scattered through the book but the average reader would never notice them, nor are they of any great consequence. For the most part it is well written, with a smooth style. Chapter 19 is a bit non sequitur and should have been removed.

[Ronald Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The odyssey of Glock, the man, the pistol and the company from Austria to the US is well-chronicled here. I own a Glock 22, the .40 cal model, and am planning to get the 9mm Glock 17 or 19 version. This book reinforces what I already know about the best pistol design ever, in my opinion, and shares a lot more details, which a gun nut would appreciate. This story of an inanimate object brought to life by Paul Barrett is nothing short of extraordinary.

[Luke Keegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really a good book because it really shows how one man can change an entire industry, even when he is not very knowledgeable on a product. It shows how if someone thinks outside of the box, they can make a very innovative product, and be successful. It also shows how you (or your product) can be advertised through positive, and through negative media attention.

[Marvin Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just purchased my G17, love the design of the gun. Simple to operate and shoot. Now I feel like I am part of the Glock family.

[Luis Cervantes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book. It’s important being knowledgeable in gun laws and safety. Touches on key points for responsible gun ownership. And history.

[Lawleyenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an easy, quick read. "Glock" offers a comprehensive business history of Glock GmbH, as well as an examination of the politics surrounding firearm ownership and sales in the US. My largest takeaway from this novel is that Gaston Glock capitalized on technological advancements in manufacturing (computer rendering + plastics) to design a better pistol initially for the Austrian army and then the world. Today, this pistol is known as the Glock. Likewise, this superior product broke into the US oligopolistic firearm industry and was essentially able to undercut all competition. They priced competitively but not to the floor, initially capturing eyewatering ~70% margins on sales to their retail customers. Innovative marketing techniques like selling discounted products to government officials and Hollywood helped the firearm gain traction in the US. This momentum continues to today, where Glock has around a 65% share in US handguns and is priced at ~500 bucks.

Business takeaways:
1) If you do not have equity ownership in the company, you cede your rights to future profits or success. The salesperson who brought and built up Glock in the US market was ultimately ousted from the company over pay.

2) Trust but verify.

Gaston Glock designed a product that filled a controversial need, and the product sold itself.

[The Busta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impeccably researched and honest look into the Glock empire and its impact on American gun culture, with a bit of corporate meddling and intrigue toward the end. As someone familiar with firearms including the Glock, Barrett did an excellent job with the terminology that most people from outside the firearms circle tend to stumble with. This book presents a microcosm of American pop culture and the country’s political landscape from the late 80s through the 90s and many of the topics presented are even more relevant today especially those concerning law enforcement use of firearms and gun violence. Barrett does not come down on one side or the other and approaches the topic as impartially as possible. Great read for anyone interested in politics, pop culture, or business.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what an unexpectedly enthralling read. I did expect to get some enjoyment out of this one, but this went above and beyond.

A history of the iconic eponymous handgun, Glock tells the story of a clever Austrian engineer and factory worker who, by being in the right places at the right times with a unique frame of mind, secured a government contract to supply a handgun to the Austrian military, edging out established industry players like Beretta, SIG Sauer, Heckler&Koch, FN Herstal, and Austria's own Steyr -- without any prior firearm knowledge. Glock offered a completely fresh implementation on the decades-old concept of the semiautomatic pistol and achieved near perfection the first time around -- as did the Barrett M82 later on (at least I think it was the M82. Don't quote me on that.)

The book explores not only Glock the man, but also Glock GmbH and Glock, Inc., his Austrian and American companies, respectively. It does an extraordinary job of highlighting the good, the bad, as well as the ugly. With his retinue of savvy partners, Gaston Glock moved his "Plastic Perfection" to the USA, the Land of the Firearm, at precisely the right time to dethrone deep-rooted, American-blooded companies like Colt and Smith&Wesson.

Glock admits he knew little to nothing about "the Americans", so his expansion can be largely attributed to timing; nevertheless, he absolutely pioneered and cornered the American handgun market. Just as the FBI, in the wake of its deadliest shootout, was reconsidering the standard-issue six-shot .38 and .40 S&W revolvers -- Glock showed up with an ergonomically perfect, compact, and maneuverable semiautomatic with an astounding 17-round magazine capacity.

With the help of some partners more intimately acquainted with gun culture in America, Glock employed brilliant sales tactics and business models to entrench his pistol in the US. Focusing on law enforcement and military, all Glock had to do was put his pistol in the hands of the top brass - and the pistol sold itself. Add to that huge-scale trade-in and gun-replacement programmes to police nationwide, and soon LE all across America was patrolling with a Glock on the hip.

(An interesting point here, which makes a fair bit of sense but which I had also never considered, is that by offering to replace entire police forces' outdated and/or inferior handgun arsenals with new Glocks and offsetting the cost by reselling to wholesalers who would turn around and resell on the civilian market, Glock indirectly caused a giant surge of ex-police revolvers and pistols to hit the streets of America.)

There is a lot I learned through this book about American gun culture and tradition. Of note: police and federal agents were issued revolvers until Glock came along in the '80s and changed the dynamic over a decade or so. That's insane to me. Semiautomatic pistols have been around since the year 1900, at least. It would seem a no-brainer to issue high-caliber semiautos to absolutely everyone; yet it took an Austrian radiator-maker and his plastic pistol to change the game. The author attributes this overwhelming prevalence of the revolver to Colt and S&W's brilliant marketing, which Glock turned around just as readily as Sam Colt implemented in the first place.

Another point, as a consequence of the above, is that officers were at first weary and unaccustomed to this strange, light, low-caliber pistol with no external safety mechanism. Even highly trained veteran officers would see higher cases of negligent/accidental discharge with the Glock. Every Glock, starting with the first Glock 17 (so named as it was Gaston Glock's 17th patent), has a trigger safety, and it is all but common sense nowadays to 'keep your booger-hook off the bang-switch'. Turns out, that was not gospel even as recently as the 1995(!!!). "The FBI [...] instructed recruits to keep their index finger on the trigger of their handgun anytime they had it drawn. The idea was that the agent should be ready to shoot. Of course, it was safer to rest your finger on a revolver trigger that provided twelve pounds of resistance..." That baffled me when I read it, but again, it makes sense when you think about it, I guess.

Asides aside, this book covers the journey of Glock the man and Glock the company, mainly focusing on the American markets. It delves into the personal lives of many involved, the various legislative battles fought against gun-control proponents, and intracompany scandals. It paints the picture of a once-humble man who let his success get to his head, at the same time having been taken advantage of by the very people he trusted implicitly. From his rise to his demise, Gaston Glock's journey was truly extraordinary. (The man is still alive, but enjoys nowhere near the amount of glory he once did; his company, on the other hand, continues to thrive.)

All in all, if you're thinking, "should I give this book a go?" my answer is a resounding yes. I went in prepared for a hyperfactual, no-nonsense history of Glock, something like The Gun by CJ Chivers was to the AK-47. Instead I got technical details, action, intrigue, corporate betrayal, and a deep look at America's firearms culture. So yes, definitely give it a go.

[Jurij Fedorov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter 1: SHOOTOUT IN MIAMI
6,5/10

1986 FBI Miami shootout that made law enforcement look at alternatives to revolvers and outdated guns as they needed more firepower. I've seen the movie and several docs and Youtube videos about it. The chapter just mentions the shooting.

Chapter 2: “PISTOL OF THE FUTURE”
7/10

Gaston Glock doesn't know how to make guns. But because he doesn't know what is too hard he tries to do it. His company already works with metal and they have great ideas for making a cheap and simple gun.

Chapter 3: “ONE UGLY AND ALL-BUSINESS-LOOKING PIECE OF SELF-DEFENSE HARDWARE”
7/10

The Glock 17 is ugly. Initially it looks off so some people are not too interested in even testing it. But once you test it you right away see that the gun is very special. Doesn't break and shoots fairly precisely.

Chapter 4: “PLASTIC PERFECTION”
7/10

Glock is popular in Austria where it's made and the army adopts it as it's very reliable and they want a local gun as most armies do. When an American tests it he sees the idea in it and wants to set up a US manufacturing plant too as he feels it will sell. It's ugly, but very simple to use. Especially the safety mechanism is impressive and simple which is essential for law enforcement. And getting cops to use it is how it becomes popular. It's just a simple gun made of few pieces and metal sheets. Few parts to break. So a safe, reliable, and cheap gun. Since law enforcement and armies don't care too much about how a weapon looks like it's seemingly much easier to sell them on the Glock.

Chapter 5: “HIJACKER’S SPECIAL”
9/10

Glock is also cheap as it's a computerized design. He initially wants to sell it cheaper, but is told not to as it would look like a cheap gun then. He controls everything in his plant, but lets other people do business deals where he just sits and looks on as he's too nervous.

As Glock is made of plastic many fear it would be used for airplane hijackings by Palestines/Gaddafi and other terrorist groups. A journalist writes about this story trying to ban Glocks by using a critical Pentagon source. This actually makes Glock a known gun in USA. Also, the story is fake. Airport security and ATF looked into it a year prior and found that it did show up on x-ray images. Which is why the congressional hearing doesn't find much when they investigate the gun. But many anti-gun states use this opportunity to ban plastic guns and Glock by name. Since there are no plastic guns in existence the ban on these guns is totally pointless. All this debate just increases sales as the gun is never banned and later the Pentagon guy who initially started the story even buys a Glock. All these "we will ban guns" debates always increase sales. So talking about the danger of a gun makes it sell out. This is why NRA uses this fear tactic too.

Chapter 6: “SUPER GUN”
8/10

Comparison to Colt. Colt also sold his guns to cops. Shows how Glock actually acted like an American company catering to all American needs more so than actual American companies that were still focusing on outdated guns.

Chapter 7: GOING HOLLYWOOD
8/10

Glock rhymes with many words so many rappers like 2 Pac use it in their songs. But criminals actually don't use Glocks yet. They use cheap revolvers. The chapter also talks about marketing like hiring a hot blonde to market the gun at a big gun show. They also have Glock parties for cops with strippers, drugs, prostitutes. All this is amazing marketing. Glock himself is also a star in USA meeting actors and politicians.

Chapter 8: THE MARK OF CAIN
8/10

Small story about a family that owns guns. A story about a sad mistake where a clueless guy tries to empty the Glock he was meant to transport and shoots his son. But he heals well over time. This gets into why liberals claim the Glock should be banned. It has "too many bullets" and it fires very easily as the safety mechanism is on the trigger itself.

Chapter 9: “COPY THE MOTHERFUCKER”
8/10

Glock is copied as no one can make a similar quality pistol. American companies are outdated, make low quality products and refuse to acknowledge that Glock is more than a short fad so their researchers don't want to work on these type of guns.

Chapter 10: MASSACRE IN KILLEEN
8/10

Media like NYT attack the Glock and name it "the killer gun" because of how many bullets it has. A mass shooting also ignites the debate on gun bans. Others feel like crime and mass shootings are a reason to get a gun.

Chapter 11: LAWYERS, GUNS, AND MONEY
8/10

Anti-gun activists want to ban all guns in USA. But they settle on creating a new term, assault rifles, and focus their bans on this. Like banning Glocks for having more than 10 rounds. This has an extreme effect on gun sales as the guns sold or made prior to the law taking effect are still legal.

Chapter 12: “KA-BOOM”
8/10

A ton of lawsuits. Faulty guns, misused guns, and overall shootings. Faulty guns are essential for Glock to get home and destroy. So they settle most lawsuits so that no one will see these guns. Gaston Glock himself refuses to admit that any Glock can be faulty whatsoever. The Austrian headquarter follows his lead as Gaston hates Americans and their ideas. So any complaint is ignored.

Chapter 13: POCKET ROCKETS
7/10

Glock becomes a household item. Shotguns and rifles don't sell as well anymore as hunting goes out of style. And many states start to implement shall issue gun laws where everyone who is not a criminal seeking a gun shall be allowed to own one. Glock sells out with all their new models it seems. They replace all old Glocks in some police departments. Largely to make sure their guns are safe and simple to use as many cops are new and untrained and misfire the old models. It also becomes more popular to train with your gun as prior to this cops could go decades without firing a shot. Also, Glock replaces other gun models too in police departments for free. The older pistols and revolvers are easy to resell so it can actually still be profitable.

Chapter 14: “MY WAY”
8/10

Gaston Glock himself is quite creepy. Constantly mocks Americans as he speaks in German. Hits on a young woman he hires for HR. She was cleaning hotel rooms for a living before he invited her to USA. He is angry at employees spending too much money, but often spends lavishly on his mistresses that his wife doesn't know about.

Chapter 15: GLOCK CULTURE
7/10

The author learns to use a gun and competes in a hostage rescue competition and does fairly fine.

Chapter 16: GLOCK GOES TO THE WHITE HOUSE
8/10

Bill Clinton and Andrew Cuomo wants to ban guns. Coumo threatens gun companies. 30% of Glock income in USA comes from police stations so he tells them that he has a lot of mayor contacts and can make them buy Smith & Wesson instead. Smith & Wesson agree to a ton of gun control regulations like spending 1% of their budget on a electronic gun lock. NRA and gun buyers don't like how Clinton has bullied these gun companies into being anti-gun so they stop buying these gun models. Meanwhile the police chiefs still buy Glocks. It's just much cheaper so no bigshot mayor can change much. Glock listens to Clinton, but at the end does nothing. So Glock wins even more of the market share. Smith & Wesson are sold and the new owners dismiss the old Clinton deals so gun shops start selling the guns again. Glock also sets up a lot of shell companies to not pay taxes.

Chapter 17: AN ASSASSIN’S ATTACK
8/10

A high ranking Glock company manager hires an assassin to kill Glock. He has already stolen money, but now tries to steal the company by killing Glock.

Chapter 18: “MONOPOLY MONEY”
7,5/10

The guy who runs Glock USA starts dating the HR woman Glock hired and still touches and flirts with. The guy gets angry and threatens Glock with ruining the company if he doesn't get a huge settlement deal while quitting the company. This guy and a coworker were stealing from the company via the fake shell companies. This story comes out after the coworker admits it all. Gaston Glock doesn't prosecute the HR husband yet. He's a violent drunkard who beats his HR wife after they both quit the company. He's also bad at business. A few years later Gaston Glock does prosecute him. He could sell out the Glock shell company secrets to FBI to stay out of prison. Instead he flees the country.

Chapter 19: THE IMPACT OF THE AUSTRIAN PISTOL: GOOD FOR AMERICA?
6,5/10

The author explains why both the gun activists and anti-gun activists use bad stats. Anti-gun activists think criminals use Glocks and that Glocks with their extra bullets have made the country more dangerous. But criminals use cheaper guns. And cops also don't shoot that much more bullets even though they can now. And Democrat anti-gun laws removing guns from areas don't do much. There is only a small effect on shootings and murders. Meanwhile gun activists don't have much data to show that guns are making homes safer.

Chapter 20: EPILOGUE
6,5/10

Small epilogue. Not too much here.

My final opinion on the book

Honestly as good as you can expect it to be. Goes over the history of Glock from Glock 17 in the 1980's till today where Glock has developed... slightly different versions of Glock 17. Gaston Glock gets quite a few pages. But he's a super curious guy so it's all fascinating. He remarried a woman 50 years younger than him. Pretty interesting. Also, he used to be timid and careful with money. But with women he splashed cash around. His children used to have smaller jobs in the company and whined about it. Since then he has promoted them to top leadership positions. They were just angry about how slowly it took I guess as you'd expect to just lead your dad's company from day one.

With the corruption, murder plot, love interests, and his children it's always very engaging. And at times the author also buds in with his own gun experience while writing the book. The book is a very short historical overview written like a fun article that's not quite a full book, but too short to be a single article. Of course I do wish we had more info. Like how much did Glock make what year? How many guns were sold each year and of what model? What countries bought the gun? What guns are similar to a Glock and compete with it? How expensive it is? Who invented what at Glock? It just seems like the company invented the Glock pistol and then people got filthy rich from it. But who did what and when? How come this random company invents a pistol in the 1980's and then basically don't update it at all and it's still the best pistol money can buy? And how come these ultra geniuses could never invent a single other thing even close to this good? They didn't even try their hand at rifles or other weapons. How does this even happen? I would love a movie showing how Glock was invented. Step by step and all details explained with little focus on characters as it's about the technology. That would be fun.

The book is very short. The audiobook is frankly perfect for the format. Simple, very fun, short, to the point. It does repeat a few points a time too much like mentioning the NY ban of Glock overall by name. And as it's short it does feel like it could have gone into more details about how the economy and gun works. Maybe mention more stories about how other companies went wrong. Glock clearly invented a gun out of nowhere. They produced shower curtain rods before this. There were gun companies over 100 years old even in the 1980's who had giant crews just trying to improve and invent guns. Many in USA where people are mad about guns and throw millions at any gun company. So some random guy from outside the industry in Austria outdoing them seems practically impossible. I still don't get it. The book didn't explain the magic clearly whatsoever. Maybe it's just not possible to explain.

[Book Shark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glock: The Rise of America's Gun by Paul M. Barrett

"Glock" is the fascinating "biography" of America's favorite pistol. A surprisingly well balanced account of the Austrian-made pistol that is known for its high performance, ability to hold more ammunition than the standard revolver and simplicity of design. This riveting yet accessible book provides insights behind the inventor, the design and why it's favored by law enforcement. It also includes many interesting stories involving Glock pistols and even touches upon the combustible topic of gun control in an even-handed manner. This mesmerizing 306-page book is composed of the following twenty chapters: 1. Shootout in Miami, 2. "Pistol of the Future", 3. "One Ugly and All-Business-Looking Piece of Self-Defense Hardware", 4. "Plastic Perfection", 5. "Hijacker's Special", 6. "Super Gun", 7. Going Hollywood, 8. The Mark of Cain, 9. "Copy the M3#$@^", 10. Massacre in Killeen, 11. Lawyers, Guns, and Money, 12. "Ka-Boom", 13. Pocket Rockets, 14. "My Way", 15. Glock Culture, 16. Glock Goes to the White House, 17. An Assassin's Attack, "Monopoly Money", 18. "Monopoly Money", 19. The Impact of the Austrian Pistol: Good for America?, and 20. Epilogue.

Positives:
1. Excellent story-telling, engaging and accessible.
2. Fascinating history.
3. A well-balanced, even handed book that covers every aspect of the Glock: its invention, design, use, marketing, rise, and the people behind it.
4. This book has it all! Engineering, suspense, greed, betrayal, murder, sex, the incendiary issue of gun control and pop culture.
5. The impetus behind the need for a better gun for law enforcement.
6. The fascinating story behind the idea behind the Glock and its prototype. Engineers like myself salivate! "All of the guns had slides made from steel; only the Glock's was machined from a solid rolled-steel bar, with no welding or riveting. The slide is the long rectangular component that sits atop the frame. The firing of a pistol causes the slide to move rearward against a strong spring, ejecting the spent cartridge."
7. The introduction of the Glock 17. "The Glock's barrel sits relatively low, closer to the hand than the barrels of comparable handguns. That also improves what some shooters call "pointability." The grip angle and the low bore combine with the flex of the polymer frame to diminish the recoil the shooter feels, which makes the Glock more controllable and accurate."
8. The Glock and law enforcement.
9. The Glock, Hollywood, marketing and pop culture.
10. The Glock in perspective, was it the gun of choice on the streets?
11. The incendiary topic of gun control versus the NRA. Even-handed treatment of an hot-topic issue. "Gun skeptics who want to push measures that actually might slow a crazed killer should focus on ammunition capacity, not the superficial appearance of firearms."
12. The economics of imported weapons. "In the first half of the twentieth century, imports accounted for less than 5 percent of all firearms purchased in the United States. By the mid-1990s, with the advent of globalization and the enterprise of Glock and other foreign brands, that figure had grown to more than 33 percent."
13. The man behind the Glock, Gaston Glock. Mesmerizing.
14. Glock culture. "No brand of modern firearm commands greater loyalty than Glock. "Glockmeisters" see themselves as rugged, un-romantic, and above all, lethally effective--like the gun they love."
15. The tension between the NRA and Glock.
16. A story of betrayal...I won't spoil it.
17. Glock, politics and greed.
18. The characters and where are they now? Excellent afterword.
19. Excellent bibliography.
20. Insightful notes.

Negatives:
1. There is just one Glock diagram in the entire book. An appendix with all the Glock pistols would have added value.
2. This is not a book intended for "Glockmeisters". If you are a Glock fan and are looking for constant praise and the like this is not that kind of book.
3. More stories involving the Glock...granted the book did reach 300 pages.
4. Specs and even more details would have been welcomed.

In summary, what a surprisingly good book this turned out to be! It has it all: mystery, suspense, betrayal, sex, engineering, guns, politics, greed, and pop culture. In short, this was better than a mystery movie. Everything you wanted to know about the Glock and then some. Well balanced book that was a treat to read. The author even treated the landmine topic of gun control with expertise and fairness. I highly recommend this book even for non-gun enthusiasts!

Further suggestions: "Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry" by Massad Ayoob, "The Gun Digest Book of the Glock, 2nd Edition" by Patrick Sweeney, and "Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist" by Richard Feldman.

[TΞΞL❍CK Mith!lesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be a successful security operator in America, one needs to have an astute awareness of the country’s gun culture. Barret’s chronology of weaponry in the United States is invaluable. The guide provides detailed analysis on the use of firearms. The historical information provides helpful perspective in discerning responsible gun ownership. The book ingeniously promotes the obligation of conscientious firearm awareness while simultaneously deflecting the notion of collective recklessness.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked reading about the history behind this invitation. I also liked how deep the author went into the inventors life.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glock : The Rise of America’s Gun (2012) by Paul M. Barrett is a history of how the Glock pistol became such a huge success and in particular how it became so successful in the United States.

Gaston Glock founded a business that initially made curtain rods in the 1960s and then went on to make knives and other tools for the Austrian Army. The Austrian Army was looking for a new pistol and Glock sought to create a weapon to submit. In one year his firm designed a very effective, simple weapon that used plastic extensively. The Glock pistol was more effective than pistols submitted by Steyr Aug and Heckler and Koch among others. This gave Glock a contract for tens of thousands of pistols.

Karl Walter was an Austrian born weapon salesman in the US. He quickly recognised the potential of the Glock and started selling it to US police agencies. The gun took off. Even with US manufacturers engaging in shenanigans to try and get the gun banned with the help of US politicians the gun became a huge seller to police agencies.

The book then details how weapons restrictions failed, and even helped the Glock sell more, how Glock used savvy marketing using unorthodox sales representatives and giving police expensive entertainment when they came to visit the Glock headquarters in the US. Hollywood also promoted the gun inadvertently and sometimes deliberately.

The book also describes a number of the mass shootings that the Glock was involved in.

Toward the end of the book the crazy happenings in the Glock company due to the high profits earned is described. Glock used Charles Ewert, a Luxembourg based financial adviser in order to minimize tax. Ewert attempted to assassinate Glock. This assassination attempt was foiled and Ewert was jailed. Paul Jannuzzo was a lawyer for Glock in the US who had been very successful and useful for the company but who then embezzled money with some associates. It’s all pretty crazy.

Gaston Glock died in December 2023. This is not in the book but it just a note.

Glock is an interesting book that describes how a remarkably well made pistol defied the odds, became incredibly successful and how strange the company became in later years.

[Ailith Twinning · Rating 2 out of 5]

It opened with the story in brief, which was one of those typical fun stories - with a surprising inclusion of a reframe of the same facts to change the colour of the story (take it out of the genius inventor myth and into something realistic) -- and then it starting some really ignorant historical BS and I got bored and stopped reading. It's just boring listening to people repeat the most bland and ridiculous propaganda because they flatly don't know any better -- like saying the origin of American gun crime was basically Prohibition era gangs and outlaws which is just. . . *sighs*

Dude's apparently an editor at a business magazine. So, it's really not surprising he's not at all competent to the task at hand -- but that doesn't make it any less boring and, not even wrong, actually - just parroting the nationalist myth. I dunno how much of the story is built on background knowledge he didn't research and went with 'common knowledge', I dropped out pretty fast -- but, if you're not a historian, you have to write an incredibly focused book to avoid the "not even wrong" situation, you just can't absorb enough of the context in the 6 months to 3 years it takes to write most books. The main advantage historians have is knowing to trust experts (and how to spot one) rather than 'received wisdom'.

And my problem with the book isn't that it's pro-gun, btw. For one, I don't know that it is (I didn't read far enough), and for two, I'm Texan.

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about the history of the Glock. Not only does it give you an insight into one of the most famous guns ever, but it also shows you what a first class marketing plan can do for a company. It also dabbles into the past guns such as Colt.

This book shows you how mass hysteria and miss information has the possibility of crushing a great product but sometimes that backfires and the free market does what they want anyhow.

Mr. Glock started off making knives and then moved on to making the Glock 17. His marketing genius gave the D.C. police department free Glock 17s for the trade-in of the old outdated Smith and Weson being used at the time. This gave him an "inside-man" in the market he was trying to penetrate. Mr. Glock opened a huge US Office in GA where he installed multi-lane shooting range where law enforcement agencies could visit and shoot new guns for free. In addition, he would take these Law Enforcement officers to a gentlemen's club where they had their own VIP section. Drugs, Hot Girls and Sex; perfect combination to entice the predominantly male dominated industry.

Later on, the media and government's attempt to ban the gun by name, made "glock" a household name. Mr. Glock is now worth billions of dollars and was able to oust the Colt and S&W brand name as the de-facto brand of guns.

[Joe Chernicoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began my working interest in firearms in 1953, as a competition shooter, hunter, and most of the time as an instructor, trainer of instructors, and law enforcement and security forearm trainer, publication editor, private detective, etc. The only 'popular' handgun I never fired is the Glock. Although I was well aware of this pistol when it first arrived on the market, I usually stayed with with either Colt and Taurus pieces for carrying.

So when I Paul M. Barrett's presentation on book.tv about "Glock - the rise of America's gun', it piqued my interest to add same to my library.

Here's a fine book on one influential firearm - but not only for gun owners, but for everyone interested in marketing. The story about what Gaston Glock created in 1982, and how the company was/is run, is one that should be read by , at least, MBA or marketing students. That the Glock, in all of its iterations, is a heck of a firearm, the business end of the company story is, at last to me, the more interesting one.

[Gábor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rags (or at least from middle class existence of manufacturing curtain rods and the occasional military knife :) to riches story of Gaston Glock, and a good peek into the gun loving American psyche. An outsider creating a great product based on customer feedback would be the quintessential American success story if one ignores the various dark edges, as the dislike and distrust of American Glock employees by the Austrian brass, Mr. Glock's strange political leanings, and tendencies to minimize (or possibly evade) taxes. To be able to survive a contract killing attack by an ex-French Legionnaire just adds a certain sheen. Readers for or against guns, ones interested in American politics (including the influence of gun policies and of the NRA, in strange lawsuits and their outcomes or in how to sell to government and prosper by building a secretive company, will enjoy this book.

[Toby Fee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strangely, this book covers the rise of the Glock, and the story of the American handgun industry at the same time, with almost zero political consciousness. The popularity of handguns is covered, the relationship between the gun press, the gun lobby, and the gun manufacturers, is well explicated, but very basic questions are left to the side like 'who do these guns end up shooting?'
Even the tale of a gun-rights advocate whose mis-handling of a gun left her relative with permanent orthopedic damage to his leg is related outside of any political or practical context.
I know the remit of the book is not to explore every aspect of guns and gun violence, but the author does such a great job of stripping away the BS around famous gun-related incidents (the florida FBI shootout most notably) it's jarring that he chose to avoid the basic question of 'is having all these guns a good or a bad idea?

[Rick Helmuth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never would have read this book based on its title, its cover, its subject matter or its author. But boy am I glad I heard the Terry Gross interview of Paul Barrett or I would have missed this one. Barrett, an assistant managing editor and senior writer at Bloomberg Businessweek, writes with the tone of a reporter that sticks to the facts objectively, allows the conclusions to logically present themselves and it is up to the reader make his or her value judgments.

This is the story of how Austrian Gaston Glock invented the worlds first plastic gun (without an external safety) and, through politics, an inventive salesman, payoffs, and lap dances turned it into the gun of choice for our military, police organizations, Hollywood and rappers.

This book is especially timely (again) within the context of the current gun control conversation. Highly recommended, each page is informative and entertaining.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely interesting as a study of the development of the company, of the gun itself, of the politics and business, and of some of the people involved.
Looking at the gun from a strictly technological point of view, it is a remarkable piece of engineering for its time. Its design and manufacture are examples of the phenomenon of someone coming to an industry without a lot of preconceptions about how things are supposed to be done and thereby creating something more original than they might have been able to conceive otherwise.
It's also a story of both shrewd and lucky business dealings by a person who was in the right place when an opportunity came along, recognized that opportunity, and grabbed it.
Finally, it's also a fairly grubby and disheartening story of amorality, hubris, greed, and clay feet on the parts of several of the key figures involved.
Well worth reading on all the grounds above.