What do you think?
Rate this book
Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA
A blistering expos� of the National Rifle Association, revealing its people, power, corruption, and ongoing downfall, from acclaimed NPR investigative reporter Tim Mak
The NRA once compelled respect--even fear--from Republicans and Democrats alike. Once a grassroots club dedicated to gun safety, the NRA ballooned into a powerful lobbyist organization that maintained an iron hold on gun legislation in America. The executives of this influential nonprofit raised millions in small fees from members across the country, which funded hidden, lavish lifestyles of designer suits, private jets and yachts, martini lunches and Champagne dinners--while the group manipulated legislators and flirted with a Russian spy.
Yet in 2012, the NRA's grip on Washington began to loosen in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. Facing nationwide outrage, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre gave a speech claiming the solution was not fewer guns, but more guns, in schools. The group's rhetoric only escalated from there, a misstep that sparked a backlash and invited the scrutiny of the government.
Unveiled here for the first time ever are surprising, revelatory details spotlighting decades of poor leadership and mismanagement by LaPierre; the NRA's long association with marketing firm Ackerman-McQueen; NRA executives' 2015 trip to Moscow, a by-invitation affair packed with meetings with Russian government officials, diplomats, and oligarchs seeking influence in American politics; as well as the power struggle between LaPierre and former NRA president Oliver North that fractured the organization.
Misfire is the result of a four-year investigation by journalist Tim Mak, who scoured thousands of pages of never-before-publicized documents and cultivated dozens of confidential sources inside the NRA's orbit to paint a vivid picture of the gun group's rampant corruption and slow decline, marking a sea change in the battle over gun rights and control in America.
The NRA once compelled respect--even fear--from Republicans and Democrats alike. Once a grassroots club dedicated to gun safety, the NRA ballooned into a powerful lobbyist organization that maintained an iron hold on gun legislation in America. The executives of this influential nonprofit raised millions in small fees from members across the country, which funded hidden, lavish lifestyles of designer suits, private jets and yachts, martini lunches and Champagne dinners--while the group manipulated legislators and flirted with a Russian spy.
Yet in 2012, the NRA's grip on Washington began to loosen in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. Facing nationwide outrage, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre gave a speech claiming the solution was not fewer guns, but more guns, in schools. The group's rhetoric only escalated from there, a misstep that sparked a backlash and invited the scrutiny of the government.
Unveiled here for the first time ever are surprising, revelatory details spotlighting decades of poor leadership and mismanagement by LaPierre; the NRA's long association with marketing firm Ackerman-McQueen; NRA executives' 2015 trip to Moscow, a by-invitation affair packed with meetings with Russian government officials, diplomats, and oligarchs seeking influence in American politics; as well as the power struggle between LaPierre and former NRA president Oliver North that fractured the organization.
Misfire is the result of a four-year investigation by journalist Tim Mak, who scoured thousands of pages of never-before-publicized documents and cultivated dozens of confidential sources inside the NRA's orbit to paint a vivid picture of the gun group's rampant corruption and slow decline, marking a sea change in the battle over gun rights and control in America.
391 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 2, 2021
85 people are currently reading
802 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
November 22, 2021
Like if the Coen Brothers did a biopic of Wayne LaPierre. Comical levels of incompetence, by him and others. The corruption, the willful ignorance, the weak paranoid leaders and vengeful advisors--it's like a tale of the Romanovs or the Habsburgs. One guy even accidentally discharges a firearm in his own bedroom and shoots a hole through a bunch of suits lined up in his closet. By the end, even I saw Oliver North (!!) as the most credible and heroic figure in the entire bunch.
I'm a little skeptical of the evil wife trope, I might have liked to know more about how ordinary NRA members reacted as the scandals became public, and I'm still not sure I understand why the NRA rejected reasonable positions after Sandy Hook and Parkland. Was it just hubris? Like European monarchs thinking the whole kerfuffle over the Archduke in Sarajevo could be wrapped up before Christmas? If the NRA had responded differently, if they hadn't seen themselves as the victims, then all of these executives could have kept raking in millions for doing nothing (and maybe some more people would be alive).
But I'm glad the author didn't try to sugarcoat how ridiculous (at best) LaPierre and some of the other principals are. It's a very readable takedown. The story isn't over yet--read this before the 2022 trial, to get ahead of the predictable bad takes on social media.
I'm a little skeptical of the evil wife trope, I might have liked to know more about how ordinary NRA members reacted as the scandals became public, and I'm still not sure I understand why the NRA rejected reasonable positions after Sandy Hook and Parkland. Was it just hubris? Like European monarchs thinking the whole kerfuffle over the Archduke in Sarajevo could be wrapped up before Christmas? If the NRA had responded differently, if they hadn't seen themselves as the victims, then all of these executives could have kept raking in millions for doing nothing (and maybe some more people would be alive).
But I'm glad the author didn't try to sugarcoat how ridiculous (at best) LaPierre and some of the other principals are. It's a very readable takedown. The story isn't over yet--read this before the 2022 trial, to get ahead of the predictable bad takes on social media.
November 15, 2025
I remember vividly where I was when I heard about the children killed at Sandy Hook elementary. The teenagers killed at Columbine. At Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school. And too many other slaughters of innocents at schools, concerts, dance clubs or movie theatres across the United States.
In my adult lifetime, it’s become “normal” for kids to grow up with active shooter drills at school. Today, the most common cause of death for children in the United States is a bullet.
Too often, the response from the gun lobby National Rifle Association when one of these unimaginable events happens is “This is not the time to discuss gun control.” Or, even worse: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
The NRA has had a profound impact on our society and in recent years chose to be a major player in the culture divide over ideological “freedom” that has split North America. So I guess I was expecting more from Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA. A lot more.
I read a lot of non-fiction and I can't remember an author ever beginning a text by saying that they offered anonymity to "many sources" to get the story they are telling. What a stunning admission. How to make sure the source has no need to be accountable to any truth. It's obvious in parts that there is no identified source for a story.
It seems terribly wrong to describe this book as "breezy" but that's accurate for large parts of what the author, an NPR reporter, heralds as an investigative book at the NRA.
Lots of chatty, biting bits are sprinkled throughout, but these are virtually the only source for most of the first two chapters where — I’m shocked to admit this — I actually felt sorry for Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s high-flying CEO, who is set out as weak-willed and cowardly with no redeeming qualities and who had to be cajoled into getting married on his wedding day. There are also are a lot of comments about LaPierre’s wife, who is described as a petty, vindictive dilettante with an expensive wardrobe.
These descriptions may be completely true. But it seems like an odd start for what essentially turns out to be a forensic accounting look at financial mismanagement of a non-profit organization.
This is written more like a podcast than a book and expects that the reader has been keeping track of the news for the last five years and will just fill in the blanks. There is lots of information here but it’s hard to follow and could benefit from stronger editing. I found myself flipping regularly to the notes in the back to find out if there was a source for the chatty and biting bits. Or the denser bits that ultimately were sourced in court documents.
The last 100 pages ramp up and are much more compelling, especially when Oliver North, the former U.S. marine who became the face of the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration in the 1980s, is called on to be NRA president and basically chair of the 76-person (!!) board of governors.
As a marine and a commander, North recognizes a mess and wants it cleaned up. As it turned out, LaPierre got way more than he bargained for in North’s leadership. Misfire ends with the NRA bankrupt but waiting for the next step. And what’s still missing? The real faces and humanity of the victims who never seem to have a voice in the gun violence debate. Misfire is a disappointment.
In my adult lifetime, it’s become “normal” for kids to grow up with active shooter drills at school. Today, the most common cause of death for children in the United States is a bullet.
Too often, the response from the gun lobby National Rifle Association when one of these unimaginable events happens is “This is not the time to discuss gun control.” Or, even worse: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
The NRA has had a profound impact on our society and in recent years chose to be a major player in the culture divide over ideological “freedom” that has split North America. So I guess I was expecting more from Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA. A lot more.
I read a lot of non-fiction and I can't remember an author ever beginning a text by saying that they offered anonymity to "many sources" to get the story they are telling. What a stunning admission. How to make sure the source has no need to be accountable to any truth. It's obvious in parts that there is no identified source for a story.
It seems terribly wrong to describe this book as "breezy" but that's accurate for large parts of what the author, an NPR reporter, heralds as an investigative book at the NRA.
Lots of chatty, biting bits are sprinkled throughout, but these are virtually the only source for most of the first two chapters where — I’m shocked to admit this — I actually felt sorry for Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s high-flying CEO, who is set out as weak-willed and cowardly with no redeeming qualities and who had to be cajoled into getting married on his wedding day. There are also are a lot of comments about LaPierre’s wife, who is described as a petty, vindictive dilettante with an expensive wardrobe.
These descriptions may be completely true. But it seems like an odd start for what essentially turns out to be a forensic accounting look at financial mismanagement of a non-profit organization.
This is written more like a podcast than a book and expects that the reader has been keeping track of the news for the last five years and will just fill in the blanks. There is lots of information here but it’s hard to follow and could benefit from stronger editing. I found myself flipping regularly to the notes in the back to find out if there was a source for the chatty and biting bits. Or the denser bits that ultimately were sourced in court documents.
The last 100 pages ramp up and are much more compelling, especially when Oliver North, the former U.S. marine who became the face of the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration in the 1980s, is called on to be NRA president and basically chair of the 76-person (!!) board of governors.
As a marine and a commander, North recognizes a mess and wants it cleaned up. As it turned out, LaPierre got way more than he bargained for in North’s leadership. Misfire ends with the NRA bankrupt but waiting for the next step. And what’s still missing? The real faces and humanity of the victims who never seem to have a voice in the gun violence debate. Misfire is a disappointment.
December 15, 2021
Gossipy, episodic story of a boom and bust for the NRA. The author is from NPR, and it shows: it's got a casual style (using mild profanities like "pissed off" when "angry" would be fine) and it reads like a bunch of punctuated articles.
The NRA and its leadership are so awful in this book that you start rooting for two of their antagonists, one of whom is a Russian spy, and the other who is a ruthless lawyer who sets out to ruin the last few years of his father-in-law's life.
The story about the Russian spy, Butina, was the most disappointing to me. I was expecting shocking behavior at the NRA, but it seemed like the only dupes that followed her around were just unprofessional and stupid, not really malicious.
Just as the book slowed down with Butina's exit, Oliver North shows up. He steals the show, quickly gets in over his head, and finally self-righteously complains about the whole thing as he exits the NRA with his tail between his legs. I was glad to see Oliver North leave his cushy Fox News job, hoping to get more money and prestige at the NRA, only to get dragged through the mud. He clearly cooperated with this book because he thinks he was the good guy in this story. One of the big problems with this book is that there really aren't any good people who show up. Unlike Bad Blood , which chronicled the efforts of brave whistle-blowers Theranos, even the whistle-blowers at the NRA were scumbags. It makes it a harder read.
Additionally, the book's main protagonists (Wayne LaPierre and his wife) don't get enough comeuppance. They have some bad times throughout the book, but not enough. Wayne LaPierre goes through the whole book complaining about how hard is life is while spending millions of the organization's dollars. You come away from the book still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The NRA and its leadership are so awful in this book that you start rooting for two of their antagonists, one of whom is a Russian spy, and the other who is a ruthless lawyer who sets out to ruin the last few years of his father-in-law's life.
The story about the Russian spy, Butina, was the most disappointing to me. I was expecting shocking behavior at the NRA, but it seemed like the only dupes that followed her around were just unprofessional and stupid, not really malicious.
Just as the book slowed down with Butina's exit, Oliver North shows up. He steals the show, quickly gets in over his head, and finally self-righteously complains about the whole thing as he exits the NRA with his tail between his legs. I was glad to see Oliver North leave his cushy Fox News job, hoping to get more money and prestige at the NRA, only to get dragged through the mud. He clearly cooperated with this book because he thinks he was the good guy in this story. One of the big problems with this book is that there really aren't any good people who show up. Unlike Bad Blood , which chronicled the efforts of brave whistle-blowers Theranos, even the whistle-blowers at the NRA were scumbags. It makes it a harder read.
Additionally, the book's main protagonists (Wayne LaPierre and his wife) don't get enough comeuppance. They have some bad times throughout the book, but not enough. Wayne LaPierre goes through the whole book complaining about how hard is life is while spending millions of the organization's dollars. You come away from the book still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
February 9, 2022
Very interesting and a great read. As someone who works at a nonprofit, I found the mismanagement and corruption particularly riveting.
March 11, 2022
Imagine that you run a nonprofit that you think might be getting bamboozled by a PR firm you have hired. So you hire a law firm. And that law firm starts charging your nonprofit $97,000 per day. And then it turns out that the guy who runs the law firm is the son-in-law of the guy who runs the PR firm. And they haaaate each other. And the son-in-law sues the father-in-law when the father-in-law is dying. And when the dust clears it turns out you have spent $70 million just on that law firm alone.
Imagine that you're a lawyer and you accidentally discharge a firearm into your closet, putting bullet holes through all your most expensive suits. Would you go to work for the National Rifle Association even though you're a Democrat? Of course you would! You need money for new suits!
Imagine firing an employee and then spending at least $6 million (possibly much more) to try to get out of paying the $2.5 million you owe him as part of his golden parachute. The "much more" part is because the guy's deal with you stipulates that your nonprofit is responsible for paying his legal fees.
Imagine you're the CEO of a nonprofit, and you declare bankruptcy, but you don't tell anyone at your nonprofit about it.
Misfire is full of stories like this—stories that are too preposterous for fiction. The author makes a solid case that despite decades of mismanagement, the NRA is likely to come back strong.
Imagine that you're a lawyer and you accidentally discharge a firearm into your closet, putting bullet holes through all your most expensive suits. Would you go to work for the National Rifle Association even though you're a Democrat? Of course you would! You need money for new suits!
Imagine firing an employee and then spending at least $6 million (possibly much more) to try to get out of paying the $2.5 million you owe him as part of his golden parachute. The "much more" part is because the guy's deal with you stipulates that your nonprofit is responsible for paying his legal fees.
Imagine you're the CEO of a nonprofit, and you declare bankruptcy, but you don't tell anyone at your nonprofit about it.
Misfire is full of stories like this—stories that are too preposterous for fiction. The author makes a solid case that despite decades of mismanagement, the NRA is likely to come back strong.
July 12, 2022
Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA by Tim Mak
“Misfire” is an interesting expose of the National Rifle Association. Investigative correspondent for NPR Tim Mak tells the story of how Wayne LaPierre turned his back on his closest confidants when it all started crashing down. This revealing 384-page book includes twenty-seven chapters.
Positives:
1. A well-written, well-researched book.
2. An interesting topic, corruption and scandal within the NRA.
3. Makes perfectly clear what this book is all about in the Introduction. “The NRA’s decline started with its greatest success: the election of President Donald Trump. It had spent tens of millions of dollars to ensure his election over Hillary Clinton but had no plan for what to do after it succeeded. The NRA sells fear: with Barack Obama gone and no imminent threat to fundraise off of, the cash began to dry up.”
4. Does a great job of describing the protagonist of the book, Wayne LaPierre. “Wayne was a remarkably weak-willed man, friends said, and could be counted on to yield to any demand if it was issued strenuously and loudly enough. This in itself might not have been so consequential if he hadn’t risen to head what would become a $400-million-a-year firearm advocacy organization.”
5. Wayne’s rise in the NRA. “Wayne’s salary jumped from $200,000 in the mid-1990s to $2.2 million in 2018. Of the more than six hundred nonprofit organizations tracked by CharityWatch, Wayne is the fifth-highest-paid nonprofit leader in the country. If you exclude health care nonprofits, Wayne is the second-highest paid. And that’s without counting the perks the LaPierres afforded themselves along the way: from 2013 to 2017, he was reimbursed for $1.2 million in expenses, according to the NY AG.”
6. Examines corruption. “The expenses at Landini’s is just one example of a much larger problem. The New York AG concluded that the millions of dollars in other NRA entertainment and travel expenses were paid for—and obfuscated from view—by routing expenses through Ackerman McQueen. This practice allowed NRA executives to avoid the prying eyes of judgmental accountants, their board, and the general public.”
7. History of the NRA. “The NRA is older than the American Red Cross or the Boy Scouts. It was formed in 1871 to improve the marksmanship of American soldiers.”
8. Interesting nuggets. “In May 1967, after dozens of Black Panther Party members moved through the California capitol building carrying firearms—legal under the law at the time—then-governor Ronald Reagan said there was no reason for Californians to be openly carrying loaded weapons in public. When he signed into law legislation banning open carry in California, the NRA supported him.”
9. How the NRA impacts gun policy. “Then two days before the Senate took up the bill, the NRA declared that it would score the vote in its annual assessments of senators, signaling that lawmakers who supported Manchin-Toomey would face political blowback from the gun rights group. Even the proposal’s architects knew that it was over.”
10. Examines the NRA hierarchy. “Multiple women who worked there reported a clubby, male-dominated culture revolving around smoking cigars. The men in leadership were rarely invested in the professional growth of their female subordinates.”
11. Examines the NRA-Russia connection. “A bipartisan report by the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Republicans, found that Butina and Torshin were “engaged in a multi-year influence campaign and intelligence-gathering effort targeting the NRA . . . for the benefit of the Russian government.””
12. NRA during the Obama years. “And as the NRA diverged from its stated aims, Wayne just kept racking up the big bucks. During the Obama era, his salary rose from around $970,000 to $1.4 million. By the end of the Obama administration, in 2017, eight NRA executives were paid more annually than the CEO of the American Red Cross, a nonprofit with ten times the revenue of the gun group.”
13. Contractors and the NRA. “For decades, Angus ran the public messaging behind the NRA, and Wayne meekly conceded to all of it. Ackerman McQueen built a cult around Wayne, writing his speeches, creating an image of a larger-than-life gun rights bulldog when he was anything but.”
14. More corruption. “Wayne began the practice of routing NRA expenses through Ackerman McQueen, which would then bill it back to the NRA. Internally at Ack-Mac, it was referred to as the “Out of Pocket” project—where Wayne would direct shady bills, such as questionable payments for meals and cigars and hotels. Charges were often routed to the account through American Express cards, like the one Wayne used to pay for his travels in Europe.”
15. Money and Russia. “The bottom line is that the National Rifle Association, for all its culture-war noise and reliance on patriotism as a selling point, was more than willing to meet with America’s designated adversaries for personal gain. And in doing so, it served as a conduit for a Russian government agent who was secretly trying to build back channels between Russian and U.S. officials in order to undercut American interests.”
16. NRA and the 2016 campaign. “In fact, the NRA spent $30.3 million on the Trump election effort, more even than the leading Trump super PAC, which spent a paltry $20.3 million. By comparison, the NRA spent $7.4 million on the McCain campaign and $12.3 million on the Romney campaign.”
17. Describes Butina’s downfall.
18. Examines the battle between contractors. “Bill Brewer and Angus McQueen butted heads because they were so similar. Both of them engender love and hatred—from the same people, at the same time.”
19. North and the NRA. “As he reflected on this moment, North thought of a Bible verse, Psalm 26, which reads in part: “I do not sit with the deceitful, nor do I associate with hypocrites / I abhor the assembly of evildoers, and refuse to sit with the wicked.””
20. Inside the battles for control of the NRA.
21. Notes included.
Negatives:
1. The story is still ongoing so there isn’t closure as of the publication of the book.
2. Lack of charts and graphs to compliment the narrative.
3. The notes are not linked from within the book to the notes.
4. The book feels a little rushed at the end.
In summary, this is a very interesting expose of the NRA. Tim Mak does a wonderful job exposing the corruption within the NRA. It’s a remarkable tale of greed and battle for power. I recommend it.
Further recommendations: “The Pros and Cons of the Gun Control Debate” by Danica Wallenberg "That’s Not What They Meant About Guns!” by Michael Austin, “Guns” by Stephen King, “Pack of Lies Volume One: Debunking the 40 Most Destructive Conservative Myths in America” by John-Paul Berbach and specifically Lie #8 Gun Control Laws are Unconstitutional, “A Well-Regulated Militia” by Saul Cornell, “Living with Guns: A Liberal’s Case for the Second Amendment” by Craig Whitney, and “America’s Constitution: A Biography” by Akhil Reed Amar.
“Misfire” is an interesting expose of the National Rifle Association. Investigative correspondent for NPR Tim Mak tells the story of how Wayne LaPierre turned his back on his closest confidants when it all started crashing down. This revealing 384-page book includes twenty-seven chapters.
Positives:
1. A well-written, well-researched book.
2. An interesting topic, corruption and scandal within the NRA.
3. Makes perfectly clear what this book is all about in the Introduction. “The NRA’s decline started with its greatest success: the election of President Donald Trump. It had spent tens of millions of dollars to ensure his election over Hillary Clinton but had no plan for what to do after it succeeded. The NRA sells fear: with Barack Obama gone and no imminent threat to fundraise off of, the cash began to dry up.”
4. Does a great job of describing the protagonist of the book, Wayne LaPierre. “Wayne was a remarkably weak-willed man, friends said, and could be counted on to yield to any demand if it was issued strenuously and loudly enough. This in itself might not have been so consequential if he hadn’t risen to head what would become a $400-million-a-year firearm advocacy organization.”
5. Wayne’s rise in the NRA. “Wayne’s salary jumped from $200,000 in the mid-1990s to $2.2 million in 2018. Of the more than six hundred nonprofit organizations tracked by CharityWatch, Wayne is the fifth-highest-paid nonprofit leader in the country. If you exclude health care nonprofits, Wayne is the second-highest paid. And that’s without counting the perks the LaPierres afforded themselves along the way: from 2013 to 2017, he was reimbursed for $1.2 million in expenses, according to the NY AG.”
6. Examines corruption. “The expenses at Landini’s is just one example of a much larger problem. The New York AG concluded that the millions of dollars in other NRA entertainment and travel expenses were paid for—and obfuscated from view—by routing expenses through Ackerman McQueen. This practice allowed NRA executives to avoid the prying eyes of judgmental accountants, their board, and the general public.”
7. History of the NRA. “The NRA is older than the American Red Cross or the Boy Scouts. It was formed in 1871 to improve the marksmanship of American soldiers.”
8. Interesting nuggets. “In May 1967, after dozens of Black Panther Party members moved through the California capitol building carrying firearms—legal under the law at the time—then-governor Ronald Reagan said there was no reason for Californians to be openly carrying loaded weapons in public. When he signed into law legislation banning open carry in California, the NRA supported him.”
9. How the NRA impacts gun policy. “Then two days before the Senate took up the bill, the NRA declared that it would score the vote in its annual assessments of senators, signaling that lawmakers who supported Manchin-Toomey would face political blowback from the gun rights group. Even the proposal’s architects knew that it was over.”
10. Examines the NRA hierarchy. “Multiple women who worked there reported a clubby, male-dominated culture revolving around smoking cigars. The men in leadership were rarely invested in the professional growth of their female subordinates.”
11. Examines the NRA-Russia connection. “A bipartisan report by the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Republicans, found that Butina and Torshin were “engaged in a multi-year influence campaign and intelligence-gathering effort targeting the NRA . . . for the benefit of the Russian government.””
12. NRA during the Obama years. “And as the NRA diverged from its stated aims, Wayne just kept racking up the big bucks. During the Obama era, his salary rose from around $970,000 to $1.4 million. By the end of the Obama administration, in 2017, eight NRA executives were paid more annually than the CEO of the American Red Cross, a nonprofit with ten times the revenue of the gun group.”
13. Contractors and the NRA. “For decades, Angus ran the public messaging behind the NRA, and Wayne meekly conceded to all of it. Ackerman McQueen built a cult around Wayne, writing his speeches, creating an image of a larger-than-life gun rights bulldog when he was anything but.”
14. More corruption. “Wayne began the practice of routing NRA expenses through Ackerman McQueen, which would then bill it back to the NRA. Internally at Ack-Mac, it was referred to as the “Out of Pocket” project—where Wayne would direct shady bills, such as questionable payments for meals and cigars and hotels. Charges were often routed to the account through American Express cards, like the one Wayne used to pay for his travels in Europe.”
15. Money and Russia. “The bottom line is that the National Rifle Association, for all its culture-war noise and reliance on patriotism as a selling point, was more than willing to meet with America’s designated adversaries for personal gain. And in doing so, it served as a conduit for a Russian government agent who was secretly trying to build back channels between Russian and U.S. officials in order to undercut American interests.”
16. NRA and the 2016 campaign. “In fact, the NRA spent $30.3 million on the Trump election effort, more even than the leading Trump super PAC, which spent a paltry $20.3 million. By comparison, the NRA spent $7.4 million on the McCain campaign and $12.3 million on the Romney campaign.”
17. Describes Butina’s downfall.
18. Examines the battle between contractors. “Bill Brewer and Angus McQueen butted heads because they were so similar. Both of them engender love and hatred—from the same people, at the same time.”
19. North and the NRA. “As he reflected on this moment, North thought of a Bible verse, Psalm 26, which reads in part: “I do not sit with the deceitful, nor do I associate with hypocrites / I abhor the assembly of evildoers, and refuse to sit with the wicked.””
20. Inside the battles for control of the NRA.
21. Notes included.
Negatives:
1. The story is still ongoing so there isn’t closure as of the publication of the book.
2. Lack of charts and graphs to compliment the narrative.
3. The notes are not linked from within the book to the notes.
4. The book feels a little rushed at the end.
In summary, this is a very interesting expose of the NRA. Tim Mak does a wonderful job exposing the corruption within the NRA. It’s a remarkable tale of greed and battle for power. I recommend it.
Further recommendations: “The Pros and Cons of the Gun Control Debate” by Danica Wallenberg "That’s Not What They Meant About Guns!” by Michael Austin, “Guns” by Stephen King, “Pack of Lies Volume One: Debunking the 40 Most Destructive Conservative Myths in America” by John-Paul Berbach and specifically Lie #8 Gun Control Laws are Unconstitutional, “A Well-Regulated Militia” by Saul Cornell, “Living with Guns: A Liberal’s Case for the Second Amendment” by Craig Whitney, and “America’s Constitution: A Biography” by Akhil Reed Amar.
December 16, 2021
Another reviewer said this book was “gossipy and petty” … uhhh, that’s one way to describe the NRA’s last three years. Good access to Cox and North let Mak sweep this all together. Books by journos are easy to read because they clip along like news reports.
November 15, 2021
Disappointment
I was really surprised by how shallow this book. It had little new to add to the story. And, the tone was glib and gossipy, surprising in a book by an NPR reporter.
I was really surprised by how shallow this book. It had little new to add to the story. And, the tone was glib and gossipy, surprising in a book by an NPR reporter.
February 15, 2022
I was taken aback by the corruption and infighting and especially the weakness and incompetence of Wayne LaPierre.
June 7, 2023
Some crazy stuff here. Pretty easy and enjoyable to read. I wish it felt a little more unbiased at times but overall it was worth the read. Another reminder to compost your CEOs.
January 16, 2024
I thought this book might be a dry rendering of the NRA’s business, but thought I would give it a go. I ended up learning about many aspects of the dealings of the nonprofit as well as its Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre and his wife Susan. What I learned was pretty disturbing on several levels. I think the last several pages summed it up the best—IF LaPierre had been a competent leader the NRA would be even stronger and more influential than it is today—kind of the same situation as with a former incompetent president. Even though some time has passed since the book was written, it feels current; the “Wayne’s World” trial has selected jurors and opening statements have been made in NYC. It will be interesting to see the outcome.
December 29, 2021
This book was definitely not boring! I read it in two days. It’s like a crazy soap opera where the main bad guy keeps getting away at the last minute. And then he’s back. How will this end? Stay tuned.
February 17, 2022
As if there was any proof needed that the National Rifle Association is actually a corrupt "non-profit" entity that hates and swindles its members.
I wasn't really aware of what a weak-willed pushover Wayne LaPierre really is, but this book tells a fascinating story about how Wayne got bullied into getting married ON HIS WEDDING DAY. What an awkward reception that must have been!
Oliver North, of all people, comes off better than anyone, because he's at the very least a man of principle, such as it is for any of these cretins.
It's too bad the NRA abandoned it's original mission of gun safety and sportsman's interests and pivoted to Second Amendment absolutism, common sense be damned. If they had any conscience whatsoever as an entity, they would have done something after Sandy Hook. Instead, they lay down in bed with the Trump Wing and entrenched themselves in the culture wars.
The fact that the NRA was trotting out human debris like Don Bongino and Dana Loesch on the disastrous failure that was NRATV shows how depraved and short-sighted they became.
The book seems a bit hastily written, as if the information is so timely that to delay it would have lost currency. But I would have liked to have seen it come out a few years later to see what the aftermath was of the Tish James investigation. I can't imagine much will happen, but if ever a pro-gun organization deserved to get broken up, Wayne's World of Gun-Obsessed Wackos should be the first to fall.
I wasn't really aware of what a weak-willed pushover Wayne LaPierre really is, but this book tells a fascinating story about how Wayne got bullied into getting married ON HIS WEDDING DAY. What an awkward reception that must have been!
Oliver North, of all people, comes off better than anyone, because he's at the very least a man of principle, such as it is for any of these cretins.
It's too bad the NRA abandoned it's original mission of gun safety and sportsman's interests and pivoted to Second Amendment absolutism, common sense be damned. If they had any conscience whatsoever as an entity, they would have done something after Sandy Hook. Instead, they lay down in bed with the Trump Wing and entrenched themselves in the culture wars.
The fact that the NRA was trotting out human debris like Don Bongino and Dana Loesch on the disastrous failure that was NRATV shows how depraved and short-sighted they became.
The book seems a bit hastily written, as if the information is so timely that to delay it would have lost currency. But I would have liked to have seen it come out a few years later to see what the aftermath was of the Tish James investigation. I can't imagine much will happen, but if ever a pro-gun organization deserved to get broken up, Wayne's World of Gun-Obsessed Wackos should be the first to fall.
December 19, 2021
The National Rifle Association was once an organization that advocated for policies that preserved the American tradition of hunting and gun ownership. But that changed over the years. The NRA was also known as one of the top legislative lobbying groups in the country. That, too, has changed.
In his book “Misfire: Inside The Downfall of the NRA," NPR correspondent Tim Mak exposes the group's shift towards a political agenda as well as corruption, fraud, and nepotism inside the organization. His reporting is based on more than 100 interviews with NRA staff and associates, as well as court and leaked documents, depositions, and publicly available news articles.
This well-researched and well-written book provides a case study into how a well-meaning organization changes when the leadership doesn't exercise its original mission and allows corruption to take over.
Among the key figures in the book are CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and LaPierre's wife, Susan. She gained significant power and influence once they married and began spending more time on their business.
Mak follows embezzlement, internal turmoil, clashing egos, and links to Russia. He shows how the organization moved from teaching marksmanship to soldiers and others to lead a pro-gun control movement and deny any links between gun laws and repeated school shootings.
We learn:
Wayne LaPierre, for example, isn't a fan of guns, doesn't like hunting, hates controversy, and is pushed around easily by other executives. His wife had to encourage others to take her husband on a shooting trip.
Once his wife entered the picture, he started wearing designer suits, using private planes, and spending money via illegal contracts. One quick trip to a Beverly Hills store resulted in $275,000 on suits, including $39,000 on one day in 2015.
Wayne's salary jumped from $200,000 in the mid-1990s to $2.2 million in 2018. Of the more than six hundred nonprofit organizations tracked by CharityWatch, Wayne is the fifth-highest-paid nonprofit leader in the country. If you exclude healthcare nonprofits, Wayne is the second-highest paid. And that's without counting the perks the LaPierre's received along the way. From 2013 to 2017, he was reimbursed for $1.2 million in expenses, according to the New York Attorney General.
The NRA benefitted from the Obama administration. Membership went up as people became concerned about gun control legislation. It didn't see that same growth during the Trump administration.
As Mak writes, "As the Parkland shootings reverberated across America's political landscape, further eroding the NRA's power and exacerbating Wayne's anxieties, the most urgent issue for the group was money. The foreseeable decrease in revenue during the Trump era had not been addressed, and every department within the organization resisted the cuts that Wayne sent Josh Powell to make. Meanwhile, the cost of NRATV continued to rise. The problem got so bad that by the end of 2018, the NRA struggled to pay staff salaries."
When confronted about charges made with an American Express card in his name during a trip to Italy, LaPierre "claimed not to know whether he had been issued a card" and then blamed hackers.
Even though wife Susan had such influence over her husband, their 1988 wedding almost didn't happen. Wayne tried to skip the ceremony until he was convinced otherwise by his bride-to-be and the officiating priest. Mak says this is "emblematic" of "a man is driven by fear and anxiety over all other forces … his reaction to these emotions is usually to flee and hide."
Between 2013 and 2018, over $13 million worth of travel expenses were routed through an outside vendor. They included trips to Lake Como, Budapest, the Bahamas, and Limos for trips to Italy and Hungary cost $18,000.
Convicted Russian spy Maria Butina used "relationships within the NRA to build an informal channel of diplomatic relations with Russia."
The NRA spent over $30 million to elect Donald Trump, which was more than Trump's own Super PAC contributed.
Problems for the organization began in August 2020 when the New York attorney general accused LaPierre of using the organization "for his financial benefit, and the benefit of a close circle of NRA staff, board members, and vendors.". She called for the group to dissolve.
In January of 2021, the NRA filed for bankruptcy.
LaPierre survived, even though the NRA is a smaller organization that remains dominant in American politics.
In his book “Misfire: Inside The Downfall of the NRA," NPR correspondent Tim Mak exposes the group's shift towards a political agenda as well as corruption, fraud, and nepotism inside the organization. His reporting is based on more than 100 interviews with NRA staff and associates, as well as court and leaked documents, depositions, and publicly available news articles.
This well-researched and well-written book provides a case study into how a well-meaning organization changes when the leadership doesn't exercise its original mission and allows corruption to take over.
Among the key figures in the book are CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and LaPierre's wife, Susan. She gained significant power and influence once they married and began spending more time on their business.
Mak follows embezzlement, internal turmoil, clashing egos, and links to Russia. He shows how the organization moved from teaching marksmanship to soldiers and others to lead a pro-gun control movement and deny any links between gun laws and repeated school shootings.
We learn:
Wayne LaPierre, for example, isn't a fan of guns, doesn't like hunting, hates controversy, and is pushed around easily by other executives. His wife had to encourage others to take her husband on a shooting trip.
Once his wife entered the picture, he started wearing designer suits, using private planes, and spending money via illegal contracts. One quick trip to a Beverly Hills store resulted in $275,000 on suits, including $39,000 on one day in 2015.
Wayne's salary jumped from $200,000 in the mid-1990s to $2.2 million in 2018. Of the more than six hundred nonprofit organizations tracked by CharityWatch, Wayne is the fifth-highest-paid nonprofit leader in the country. If you exclude healthcare nonprofits, Wayne is the second-highest paid. And that's without counting the perks the LaPierre's received along the way. From 2013 to 2017, he was reimbursed for $1.2 million in expenses, according to the New York Attorney General.
The NRA benefitted from the Obama administration. Membership went up as people became concerned about gun control legislation. It didn't see that same growth during the Trump administration.
As Mak writes, "As the Parkland shootings reverberated across America's political landscape, further eroding the NRA's power and exacerbating Wayne's anxieties, the most urgent issue for the group was money. The foreseeable decrease in revenue during the Trump era had not been addressed, and every department within the organization resisted the cuts that Wayne sent Josh Powell to make. Meanwhile, the cost of NRATV continued to rise. The problem got so bad that by the end of 2018, the NRA struggled to pay staff salaries."
When confronted about charges made with an American Express card in his name during a trip to Italy, LaPierre "claimed not to know whether he had been issued a card" and then blamed hackers.
Even though wife Susan had such influence over her husband, their 1988 wedding almost didn't happen. Wayne tried to skip the ceremony until he was convinced otherwise by his bride-to-be and the officiating priest. Mak says this is "emblematic" of "a man is driven by fear and anxiety over all other forces … his reaction to these emotions is usually to flee and hide."
Between 2013 and 2018, over $13 million worth of travel expenses were routed through an outside vendor. They included trips to Lake Como, Budapest, the Bahamas, and Limos for trips to Italy and Hungary cost $18,000.
Convicted Russian spy Maria Butina used "relationships within the NRA to build an informal channel of diplomatic relations with Russia."
The NRA spent over $30 million to elect Donald Trump, which was more than Trump's own Super PAC contributed.
Problems for the organization began in August 2020 when the New York attorney general accused LaPierre of using the organization "for his financial benefit, and the benefit of a close circle of NRA staff, board members, and vendors.". She called for the group to dissolve.
In January of 2021, the NRA filed for bankruptcy.
LaPierre survived, even though the NRA is a smaller organization that remains dominant in American politics.
March 31, 2024
A JOURNALISTIC STUDY AND CRITIQUE OF THE NRA
Journalist Tim Mak wrote in the Introduction to this 2021 book, “[NRA Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre] could have retired years ago, just before the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School … changed the trajectory of his life and the National Rifle Association forever. In the dark wake of the shootings at Sanday Hook, the NRA made a strategic choice: to double down. It took part in the negotiations over the … universal background check bill, only to withdraw at the last minute and mobilize NRA supporters against the legislation… It shifted further to the right, embracing Republicans entirely and abandoning even the pretense of outreach to Democrats… The NRA’s decline started with its greatest success: the election of President Donald Trump. It had spent tens of millions of dollars to ensure his election over Hillary Clinton but had no plan for what to do after it succeeded. The NRA sells fear: with Barack Obama gone … the cash began to dry up. Meanwhile, its opponents were mobilizing… Surrounded by the lavish lifestyles and elegant mansions of their wealthy donors and friends, Wayne and his wife… had for years tapped the NRA for personal gain… This is a story about how, when it all came crashing down, Wayne turned his back on his closest confidants. And carrying a great feeling of personal betrayal, his associates would share their stories: to congressional investigators … or to the investigative reporter writing this book.” (Pg. 3-4)
He notes, “The NRA’s board of directors is a seventy-six seat behemoth, making it unwieldy for oversight or governance of a nonprofit organization… The board has dozens of committees… but only a small number hold any real power… the vast majority of the board has no experience in nonprofit governance, and almost no one elected to the board is qualified to oversee a nonprofit that brings in hundreds of millions of dollars a year… Although board members are prohibited from receiving payment for serving on the board, a number are indeed paid handsomely by the NRA, purportedly for other purpose.” (Pg. 35-36)
He recounts, “Wayne’s rhetoric caused the loss of at least one Republican friend in 1995. One of his fundraising letters… referred to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents as ‘jack-booted government thugs’ and federal agents as ‘wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens.’ This letter caused George H.W. Bush to publicly resign his membership from the NRA.” (Pg. 51)
He notes that after Sandy Hook, “many Americans blamed the NRA for standing in the way of gun legislation that could reduce violence. From an organizational standpoint, the official word was silence… just silence in the fact of the NRA’s biggest existential threat in decades… The National Rifle Association had become a main target of national ire, and for all the crisis management and PR people it paid, the group had not even put out an empathetic word.” (Pg. 58-59) Ultimately, Wayne “called for armed guards in ‘every single school in this nation’ and argued that if there had been an armed guard on-site, lives would have been saved… ‘The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,’ he declared… He didn’t understand the tone he had to strike in order to manage the crisis his organization faced… as a result, much of his speech was cultural criticism, media scapegoating, and buck-passing.” (Pg. 62-63)
When the post-Sandy Hook Manchin-Toomey bill failed, “The episode… managed to add to the mythology of the NRA, suggesting that its power was beyond question… even the killing of innocent schoolchildren was not enough to summon the political will for so much as milquetoast legislation on gun control. But the outrage and frustration that this moment brought would lead to a rebirth of the American gun control movement.” (Pg. 81)
He recalls, “a story linking Russia and the National Rifle Association seemed too outrageous to be true… With the backing of a high-ranking Russian-government official named Alexander Torshin, [Maria] Butina infiltrated the NRA in order to promote Russian interests… Along her journey, NRA officials willfully facilitated and funded Butina and Torshin’s activities… Some NRA officials did this because they saw there was money to be made in Russia… others just learned not to think too hard about the whole thing… In the end, Butina and [Paul] Erickson would go to prison for felonies… And an NRA president names Pete Brownell would step down … forcing a succession that would ultimately imperil the National Rifle Association and Wayne LaPierre.” (Pg. 112-113)
He suggests, “Perhaps the most notorious [NRA ad agency] Ackerman McQueen product that Wayne … bought into was NRATV… [It] pitched its clients on the concept of branded news: bypassing the mainstream press by launching a news outlet catering directly to its target audience… Ackerman McQueen upsold Wayne… promising that an online media arm called NRATV would help create a more diverse NRA, draw in younger members, and eventually pay for itself with sponsorships… NRATV … came to be known for extreme rants on race wars, sharia law, immigration, and the media… It became totally unhinged---Newsmax without the viewers.” (Pg. 157-159) Later, he adds, “By August 2019, the gun rights group’s position was clear. After spending tens of millions of dollars on the collaboration, the NRATV project had bene an ‘abject failure,’ and NRA spokesman said.” (Pg. 279)
He points out, “The NRA’s politically minded members were absolutely head over heels for [Trump’s presidential] candidacy… [Their] endorsement was an early sign of support that the Trump campaign desperately needed… With their view of the stakes… the NRA had no other choice but to go all in on Trump and his party. And so they did… the NRA spent $30.3 million on the Trump election effort, more even than the leading Trump super PAC.” (Pg. 184-185) He continues, “A critical moment in the campaign was the release of the Access Hollywood tapes… the NRA‘s advertising was extremely effective in countering the fallout from that scandal… the Trump campaign needed to shore up support among women horrified by his conduct…” (Pg. 186)
When the NRA hired Oliver North, “North had lofty goals… he immediately realized that he had entered an organization in crisis… North’s interest ton investigating the root causes of the crisis met with immediate pushback. Wayne had expected him to bail him out of the crisis by crisscrossing the country and fundraising, not to get all nosy about why the crisis itself was happening.” (Pg. 236-237) Ultimately, “North was fired through an email.” (Pg. 263)
He concludes, “It is hard to argue that the NRA… is unsuccessful. After … Sandy Hook… the group was ruthlessly effective in torpedoing gun reform legislation… It is corruption and financial mismanagement that have threatened the NRA’s stability. But… its core strength---the passion of millions of members---will remain there to be mobilized if and when it does turn around… You might wonder how many more million members the NRA would have today if it’d had a minimally competent CEO over the past thirty years… To study the NRA is to see its remarkable resilience in the face of near bankruptcy, condemnation, scandal, and internal dissension. Wayne has also shown an unbelievable ability to hang on… somehow surviving despite his every character flaw.” (Pg. 296-297)
This book will be of great interest to those seeking critical perspectives on the NRA.
Journalist Tim Mak wrote in the Introduction to this 2021 book, “[NRA Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre] could have retired years ago, just before the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School … changed the trajectory of his life and the National Rifle Association forever. In the dark wake of the shootings at Sanday Hook, the NRA made a strategic choice: to double down. It took part in the negotiations over the … universal background check bill, only to withdraw at the last minute and mobilize NRA supporters against the legislation… It shifted further to the right, embracing Republicans entirely and abandoning even the pretense of outreach to Democrats… The NRA’s decline started with its greatest success: the election of President Donald Trump. It had spent tens of millions of dollars to ensure his election over Hillary Clinton but had no plan for what to do after it succeeded. The NRA sells fear: with Barack Obama gone … the cash began to dry up. Meanwhile, its opponents were mobilizing… Surrounded by the lavish lifestyles and elegant mansions of their wealthy donors and friends, Wayne and his wife… had for years tapped the NRA for personal gain… This is a story about how, when it all came crashing down, Wayne turned his back on his closest confidants. And carrying a great feeling of personal betrayal, his associates would share their stories: to congressional investigators … or to the investigative reporter writing this book.” (Pg. 3-4)
He notes, “The NRA’s board of directors is a seventy-six seat behemoth, making it unwieldy for oversight or governance of a nonprofit organization… The board has dozens of committees… but only a small number hold any real power… the vast majority of the board has no experience in nonprofit governance, and almost no one elected to the board is qualified to oversee a nonprofit that brings in hundreds of millions of dollars a year… Although board members are prohibited from receiving payment for serving on the board, a number are indeed paid handsomely by the NRA, purportedly for other purpose.” (Pg. 35-36)
He recounts, “Wayne’s rhetoric caused the loss of at least one Republican friend in 1995. One of his fundraising letters… referred to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents as ‘jack-booted government thugs’ and federal agents as ‘wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens.’ This letter caused George H.W. Bush to publicly resign his membership from the NRA.” (Pg. 51)
He notes that after Sandy Hook, “many Americans blamed the NRA for standing in the way of gun legislation that could reduce violence. From an organizational standpoint, the official word was silence… just silence in the fact of the NRA’s biggest existential threat in decades… The National Rifle Association had become a main target of national ire, and for all the crisis management and PR people it paid, the group had not even put out an empathetic word.” (Pg. 58-59) Ultimately, Wayne “called for armed guards in ‘every single school in this nation’ and argued that if there had been an armed guard on-site, lives would have been saved… ‘The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,’ he declared… He didn’t understand the tone he had to strike in order to manage the crisis his organization faced… as a result, much of his speech was cultural criticism, media scapegoating, and buck-passing.” (Pg. 62-63)
When the post-Sandy Hook Manchin-Toomey bill failed, “The episode… managed to add to the mythology of the NRA, suggesting that its power was beyond question… even the killing of innocent schoolchildren was not enough to summon the political will for so much as milquetoast legislation on gun control. But the outrage and frustration that this moment brought would lead to a rebirth of the American gun control movement.” (Pg. 81)
He recalls, “a story linking Russia and the National Rifle Association seemed too outrageous to be true… With the backing of a high-ranking Russian-government official named Alexander Torshin, [Maria] Butina infiltrated the NRA in order to promote Russian interests… Along her journey, NRA officials willfully facilitated and funded Butina and Torshin’s activities… Some NRA officials did this because they saw there was money to be made in Russia… others just learned not to think too hard about the whole thing… In the end, Butina and [Paul] Erickson would go to prison for felonies… And an NRA president names Pete Brownell would step down … forcing a succession that would ultimately imperil the National Rifle Association and Wayne LaPierre.” (Pg. 112-113)
He suggests, “Perhaps the most notorious [NRA ad agency] Ackerman McQueen product that Wayne … bought into was NRATV… [It] pitched its clients on the concept of branded news: bypassing the mainstream press by launching a news outlet catering directly to its target audience… Ackerman McQueen upsold Wayne… promising that an online media arm called NRATV would help create a more diverse NRA, draw in younger members, and eventually pay for itself with sponsorships… NRATV … came to be known for extreme rants on race wars, sharia law, immigration, and the media… It became totally unhinged---Newsmax without the viewers.” (Pg. 157-159) Later, he adds, “By August 2019, the gun rights group’s position was clear. After spending tens of millions of dollars on the collaboration, the NRATV project had bene an ‘abject failure,’ and NRA spokesman said.” (Pg. 279)
He points out, “The NRA’s politically minded members were absolutely head over heels for [Trump’s presidential] candidacy… [Their] endorsement was an early sign of support that the Trump campaign desperately needed… With their view of the stakes… the NRA had no other choice but to go all in on Trump and his party. And so they did… the NRA spent $30.3 million on the Trump election effort, more even than the leading Trump super PAC.” (Pg. 184-185) He continues, “A critical moment in the campaign was the release of the Access Hollywood tapes… the NRA‘s advertising was extremely effective in countering the fallout from that scandal… the Trump campaign needed to shore up support among women horrified by his conduct…” (Pg. 186)
When the NRA hired Oliver North, “North had lofty goals… he immediately realized that he had entered an organization in crisis… North’s interest ton investigating the root causes of the crisis met with immediate pushback. Wayne had expected him to bail him out of the crisis by crisscrossing the country and fundraising, not to get all nosy about why the crisis itself was happening.” (Pg. 236-237) Ultimately, “North was fired through an email.” (Pg. 263)
He concludes, “It is hard to argue that the NRA… is unsuccessful. After … Sandy Hook… the group was ruthlessly effective in torpedoing gun reform legislation… It is corruption and financial mismanagement that have threatened the NRA’s stability. But… its core strength---the passion of millions of members---will remain there to be mobilized if and when it does turn around… You might wonder how many more million members the NRA would have today if it’d had a minimally competent CEO over the past thirty years… To study the NRA is to see its remarkable resilience in the face of near bankruptcy, condemnation, scandal, and internal dissension. Wayne has also shown an unbelievable ability to hang on… somehow surviving despite his every character flaw.” (Pg. 296-297)
This book will be of great interest to those seeking critical perspectives on the NRA.
December 27, 2022
This was good, but in a kind of “what did you think was going on?” way.
I’m not American, and I think that the NRA is a perfect example of what people find inscrutable about it: an organization that actively acts against the wishes of its own members (ie. opposing Manchin-Toomey) and common sense (no citation required) still maintains widespread support.
Most would agree that the NRA lost its way after Sandy Hook. This book documents the descent from ‘advocate for responsible gun ownership’ to ‘bonkers even by Fox News standards’ well. Mak pulls no punches in his descriptions of the players and schemes - what Wayne LaPierre and his assorted collection of fraudsters and fools got up to was hardly criminal-mastermind level. The scams wouldn’t have worked if they were tried by teenage convenience store employees.
It’s all well-documented and very readable. It’s eye-rolling in its stupidity (the crimes, not the writing). Like in Glass Onion: “It’s so dumb it’s brilliant!” “No! It’s just dumb!”.
Maybe that’s why it feels kind of slight - the people involved are so dumb, and the organization has sunk to such a cynical place in American culture that it’s neither shocking or surprising.
A great book, but not exactly revealing.
I’m not American, and I think that the NRA is a perfect example of what people find inscrutable about it: an organization that actively acts against the wishes of its own members (ie. opposing Manchin-Toomey) and common sense (no citation required) still maintains widespread support.
Most would agree that the NRA lost its way after Sandy Hook. This book documents the descent from ‘advocate for responsible gun ownership’ to ‘bonkers even by Fox News standards’ well. Mak pulls no punches in his descriptions of the players and schemes - what Wayne LaPierre and his assorted collection of fraudsters and fools got up to was hardly criminal-mastermind level. The scams wouldn’t have worked if they were tried by teenage convenience store employees.
It’s all well-documented and very readable. It’s eye-rolling in its stupidity (the crimes, not the writing). Like in Glass Onion: “It’s so dumb it’s brilliant!” “No! It’s just dumb!”.
Maybe that’s why it feels kind of slight - the people involved are so dumb, and the organization has sunk to such a cynical place in American culture that it’s neither shocking or surprising.
A great book, but not exactly revealing.
February 19, 2022
I did not Like this book, I found it interesting. I'd heard the author interviewed on NPR one morning.
I was fascinated with what he had to say about the NRA as an organization as a whole, as well as Mr. La Pierre and his shenanigans.
I'd not been a fan of guns or any sort of "gun culture" other than my grandfather and uncles always went hunting and made spaghetti sauce with whatever they brought home. At least that was what I thought.
Then as I matured, I saw how guns were being idolized and misused in so many despicable ways. I wanted to see what this author's research might say about what I'd come to consider a vile part of the American story.
Interesting; corruption, horrible people that are held in esteem, the whole thing just disgusted me more than I was at the start. Too much, and we will never get out of this mess.
It just gives me more reasons to lose faith in a large part of the people in this country.
I was fascinated with what he had to say about the NRA as an organization as a whole, as well as Mr. La Pierre and his shenanigans.
I'd not been a fan of guns or any sort of "gun culture" other than my grandfather and uncles always went hunting and made spaghetti sauce with whatever they brought home. At least that was what I thought.
Then as I matured, I saw how guns were being idolized and misused in so many despicable ways. I wanted to see what this author's research might say about what I'd come to consider a vile part of the American story.
Interesting; corruption, horrible people that are held in esteem, the whole thing just disgusted me more than I was at the start. Too much, and we will never get out of this mess.
It just gives me more reasons to lose faith in a large part of the people in this country.
October 15, 2022
Not a follower of the NRA so I was only vaguely aware of legal/financial troubles at the NRA. The extent of the mismanagement, grift, etc. chronicled in this book is surprising, unless you're a cynic like me who is not easily shocked by the greed and amorality of some of the rich and powerful.
The struggle I had with the book is that it starts out telling you gleefully that the NRA is going down. But...is it? I'll believe it when I see it. Yes, membership is down but Wayne LaPierre, a corrupt and inept leader if ever there was one, is STILL the CEO. Still plenty of members happily donating money for the culture wars.
Maybe the more interesting take would be an explanation of why so many people give money and support to such a corrupt and morally bankrupt organization and leader.
The struggle I had with the book is that it starts out telling you gleefully that the NRA is going down. But...is it? I'll believe it when I see it. Yes, membership is down but Wayne LaPierre, a corrupt and inept leader if ever there was one, is STILL the CEO. Still plenty of members happily donating money for the culture wars.
Maybe the more interesting take would be an explanation of why so many people give money and support to such a corrupt and morally bankrupt organization and leader.
January 9, 2022
I 100% just picked this up because I've heard Tim Mak on the NPR Politics podcast and I think he's cool. The fact that someone who is not him narrated the audiobook when I'm so familiar with his voice was super weird. I think it is important to say that I know very, very little about the NRA organization, its history, and its recent struggles because someone with more knowledge might have a very different opinion on this book. Almost all of the information here was new to me or was much more revelatory on incidents I saw headlines about but didn't look into that closely. Mak also had access to several key players to help round out the stories, as well as being on the frontlines of reporting on what evolved into this book from the start. However, I was put off by the organization from the start. Listening to the audiobook, I can't say this for certain, but it started with some narrative, moved into 'important people profiles', and then went back into the narrative. While nominally moving forward in time, the weird organization of it made it seem like a lot of information was being repeated as if I didn't already know it. It also reads like a long-form radio piece, meaning that there is *attitude* in here instead of a straight nonfiction narrative, which I've seen in other reviews has put people off. Mak isn't trying to pretend to be neutral about his subject; I think as long as you go in knowing to expect that, you'll be fine (or don't pick it up if you don't want that). It reads SUPER fast because of the narrative style, though - I listened to the 9 hour audiobook in such a short period of time I would be sad to tell you, as it would prove how little I do with my weekends.
June 22, 2022
"I did not like it." - 1 out of 5 star rating.
This is the most hateful, slanderous rant I have ever been exposed to. Wow. Tim Mark has a lot of hate in his heart of the National Rifle Association (NRA), President Trump, and other things. So much, he decided to dedicate his time and energy to making a book that is page after page of bantha fodder talking.
This is not creative. This is not inspirational. This is just a shallow political temper tantrum gossip-fest presented in the form of a book. Just an endless wave of personal attacks against Wayne LaPierre, Maria Butina, Donald Trump, the NRA, etc.
To clarify and for what it is worth, I am not a member of the NRA. There is a lot of wrong that does exist within non-profit organizations, that is 100% true. Multi-million dollar salaries, yachts, mansions, private jets, 100k clothing allowances for suits and ties - this is corruption incarnate. The whole Russian relationship is very suspect, but the way the author screams in irrational left-ism, is not the way to communicate professionally. Lastly, I am strongly opposed with the NRA filing bankruptcy to slip through tax loopholes and exploit the system this way. This is in fact precisely when I decided to longer be a member as this is wrong and unacceptable.
Even though I am a non-supporter of the NRA, this book is worst in class. This is not how professionals and adults do business.
This is the most hateful, slanderous rant I have ever been exposed to. Wow. Tim Mark has a lot of hate in his heart of the National Rifle Association (NRA), President Trump, and other things. So much, he decided to dedicate his time and energy to making a book that is page after page of bantha fodder talking.
This is not creative. This is not inspirational. This is just a shallow political temper tantrum gossip-fest presented in the form of a book. Just an endless wave of personal attacks against Wayne LaPierre, Maria Butina, Donald Trump, the NRA, etc.
To clarify and for what it is worth, I am not a member of the NRA. There is a lot of wrong that does exist within non-profit organizations, that is 100% true. Multi-million dollar salaries, yachts, mansions, private jets, 100k clothing allowances for suits and ties - this is corruption incarnate. The whole Russian relationship is very suspect, but the way the author screams in irrational left-ism, is not the way to communicate professionally. Lastly, I am strongly opposed with the NRA filing bankruptcy to slip through tax loopholes and exploit the system this way. This is in fact precisely when I decided to longer be a member as this is wrong and unacceptable.
Even though I am a non-supporter of the NRA, this book is worst in class. This is not how professionals and adults do business.
February 23, 2022
*** This review addresses only the book, NOT a position on gun control or gun rights nor an opinion on Wayne LaPierre and / or the NRA. ***
2.5 stars
Disappointing book. This reads more like a gossip article than a book by an NPR journalist.
I’d hoped to read a book clearly laying out the facts around the issues with Wayne LaPierre and the administration of the National Rifle Association. I found the book, especially the earlier parts, full of almost juvenile character attacks on LaPierre and his alleged idiosyncrasies. I’ve highlighted more passages in this book than any other I’ve ever read because it was so pervasive. A further issue was that the Kindle edition oddly did not show the footnotes in the text. At the end of the book, the notes link back to the text. So, reading the book, you can’t see the source of alleged conversations or incidents. The author recounts private conversations between people who I do not believe were among his sources. He also seems pretty free in determining people's internal motivations.
There is some meat in the latter part of the book - but I only waded that far to see if Tim Mak (author) got past the name calling.
***Opinion- I think there is substantive evidence that LaPierre grossly abused his position. ***
I will be reading primary news sources (magazines and newspapers) to understand further.
2.5 stars
Disappointing book. This reads more like a gossip article than a book by an NPR journalist.
I’d hoped to read a book clearly laying out the facts around the issues with Wayne LaPierre and the administration of the National Rifle Association. I found the book, especially the earlier parts, full of almost juvenile character attacks on LaPierre and his alleged idiosyncrasies. I’ve highlighted more passages in this book than any other I’ve ever read because it was so pervasive. A further issue was that the Kindle edition oddly did not show the footnotes in the text. At the end of the book, the notes link back to the text. So, reading the book, you can’t see the source of alleged conversations or incidents. The author recounts private conversations between people who I do not believe were among his sources. He also seems pretty free in determining people's internal motivations.
There is some meat in the latter part of the book - but I only waded that far to see if Tim Mak (author) got past the name calling.
***Opinion- I think there is substantive evidence that LaPierre grossly abused his position. ***
I will be reading primary news sources (magazines and newspapers) to understand further.
December 1, 2021
If you could translate anger into book review stars, this book would rate an eleven. (Y'see most people's amps only go up to ten. This is one more)
Between clenching and unclenching my fists and shaking my head in amazement, there's no denying Misfire had a visceral impact on me. It is filled with jaw-dropping examples of venality, greed, stupidity, arrogance and criminality on the part of the NRA leadership and the vendors it employed to rip off the millions of well-meaning but gullible gun-lovers who contributed to their organization.
Regardless of how you feel about the 2nd amendment (I personally think it's misinterpreted and one of the causes of rampant gun-violence in America) you'd have to be blind and deaf to not acknowledge the abuse of power by the NRA and its total disdain for the welfare of its members. In some cases, its actions bordered on treason. Tim Max has immaculately documented the corruption, internal strife and idiocy that has led to the disintegration of the largest lobbying organization in American politics.
Between clenching and unclenching my fists and shaking my head in amazement, there's no denying Misfire had a visceral impact on me. It is filled with jaw-dropping examples of venality, greed, stupidity, arrogance and criminality on the part of the NRA leadership and the vendors it employed to rip off the millions of well-meaning but gullible gun-lovers who contributed to their organization.
Regardless of how you feel about the 2nd amendment (I personally think it's misinterpreted and one of the causes of rampant gun-violence in America) you'd have to be blind and deaf to not acknowledge the abuse of power by the NRA and its total disdain for the welfare of its members. In some cases, its actions bordered on treason. Tim Max has immaculately documented the corruption, internal strife and idiocy that has led to the disintegration of the largest lobbying organization in American politics.
January 7, 2022
This was a fascinating detailed look at the drift of the NRA from its Field & Stream base to embrace rightwing politics and hitch its money and direction to Trumpism. This led to bankruptcy and losing the faith of significant blocks of its members. Along the way there was an almost hysterical reaction to massacres such as that at Sandy Hook Elementary. In 2012, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre gave a speech claiming the solution was not fewer guns, but more guns, in schools. Wayne LaPierre comes across as a truly incompetent, spineless leader whose malleability was the tool for vendors, his wife, executives, etc. to access the wealth donated by members. Indeed, he seemed in this telling to have the best indication of a spine when his own comfort and privilege were threatened.
Former NRA president Oliver North is someone I did not necessarily have a high opinion of before, but is one of the most detailed stories here of someone trying to move the Association in the direction of its goals through legal, ethical means.
Former NRA president Oliver North is someone I did not necessarily have a high opinion of before, but is one of the most detailed stories here of someone trying to move the Association in the direction of its goals through legal, ethical means.
April 14, 2024
Wayne LaPierre is gonna go to jail, I just know it.
Otherwise, this book isn't about the downfall of the NRA - they're primed to win several Supreme Court cases, their membership levels have fallen but are still strong, they still fight the gun culture war and have money. Less than before, sure, but still rich. It's about the fall of Wayne - his lack of backbone, the men who took advantage and the money they made.
I wish this book had gone into more about the donors, the members... even more into Wayne's background and how he got to be such a milksop. How did these folks responded to the so called cataclysmic changes in the organization, the ties to Russia and more? It was hard to tell if they cared at all about money misuse and fraud - they kept signing up and donating, even when things got real dark. I also would have loved more NRA history - why the shift to the culture wars? Why the rebellion at a party function in the 1970s that only got two-three sentences?
All in all, this was a good overview that bounced through its timelines. Will any of it matter? We'll see.
Otherwise, this book isn't about the downfall of the NRA - they're primed to win several Supreme Court cases, their membership levels have fallen but are still strong, they still fight the gun culture war and have money. Less than before, sure, but still rich. It's about the fall of Wayne - his lack of backbone, the men who took advantage and the money they made.
I wish this book had gone into more about the donors, the members... even more into Wayne's background and how he got to be such a milksop. How did these folks responded to the so called cataclysmic changes in the organization, the ties to Russia and more? It was hard to tell if they cared at all about money misuse and fraud - they kept signing up and donating, even when things got real dark. I also would have loved more NRA history - why the shift to the culture wars? Why the rebellion at a party function in the 1970s that only got two-three sentences?
All in all, this was a good overview that bounced through its timelines. Will any of it matter? We'll see.
June 7, 2022
A jaw-dropping story of widespread corruption, greed, and mismanagement of the National Rifle Association over the past 20 years. Unknown to members sending their monthly dues, Wayne LaPierre, NRA's CEO over the past 30 years, has spent their funds on buying expensive suits, personal travel on private jets, bodyguards, and other expenses. Tim Mak's account shows that NRA senior personnel come in 3 basic types: corrupt, looking to milk the NRA for all the money they can; willfully oblivious to the corruption swirling around them; or grossly incompetent. Amazingly, LaPierre comes off as all three types simultaneously, first participating in setting up shady contracting deals, then professing ignorance when these come to light. At the writing of the book, it looked like NRA's ploy to declare bankruptcy in New York state, where it is chartered, to reestablish itself in Texas has failed, being dismissed as without merit. One hopes the whole corrupt organization goes away forever.
November 15, 2021
As a life member of the NRA, I become disillusioned with the organization many years ago. It's slide toward an entity using cultural divide and scaremongering tactics to raise money was apparent to me, and it came as no surprise when the Oliver North kerfuffle came to light and the allegations of corruption that ensued. To it's credit, this book went much further in showing what was going on behind the smoke and mirrors. From the financial improprieties, the Butina affair, and the bankruptcy filing, this book touches upon it all. I would have given the book 5 stars where it not for the author's somewhat obsessive description of Wayne LaPierre's personality defects, which at times, almost turned me off to finishing the book.
December 4, 2021
Who doesn’t enjoy a juicy Washington scandal? The schadenfreude over the downfall of the National Rifle Association is even better because it revolves around an organization that has so lost its way it deserves to fail. Of the several story lines in the book, I am not sure which is the seamiest. Is it the Russian entanglement? The consultant money laundering? The account of Col. Oliver North’s attempt to right the sinking ship of the NRA? I read this book with personal interest because of my career working for Washington non-profits, salacious interest in the ill fate of the detestable, and concern and sadness for the state of our politics and our gun-besotted country. Read more at bookmanreader.blogspot.com .
March 22, 2022
As I read this book, I wondered how the NRA became so powerful and influential given the ineptitude of its leadership. Mak artfully describes the greed, corruption, mismanagement and infighting within the organization. How did a wuss like Wayne LaPierre get his job much less retain it for so long? So easily manipulable and intimidated! Mrs. Susan LaPierre won’t like how she is described in the book either.
Easy read. Plenty of stories to keep the reader engaged and the pages fly by. I finished the book in less than two days.
I am not an Oliver North fan but he comes across well as someone who tried to do the right things to turn this dysfunctional organiszation around. This story could easily be made into a movie...
Easy read. Plenty of stories to keep the reader engaged and the pages fly by. I finished the book in less than two days.
I am not an Oliver North fan but he comes across well as someone who tried to do the right things to turn this dysfunctional organiszation around. This story could easily be made into a movie...
May 24, 2022
Very interesting read. However, his writing skils need to be looked at. He is all over the place as he writes. He relly adds charaters and changes time lines and it becomes confusing. So you are left after reading to try to figure the whole story.
He needs to read his own book, and I am sure he may rewite a coulple for chapters for clarity.
Will I read any of his future article or books. Probably not.
His agenda is so immersed in his writing, it pulls away from the facts.
I believe he got it basically correct, but as an investigative reporter. Not balanced.
But I did pass it on to fellow readers with my comments.
Sorry, Tim Mak. you need to reread some of your own writing for clarity.
He needs to read his own book, and I am sure he may rewite a coulple for chapters for clarity.
Will I read any of his future article or books. Probably not.
His agenda is so immersed in his writing, it pulls away from the facts.
I believe he got it basically correct, but as an investigative reporter. Not balanced.
But I did pass it on to fellow readers with my comments.
Sorry, Tim Mak. you need to reread some of your own writing for clarity.
December 6, 2021
Mostly this feels like a hatchet job on Wayne LaPierre. Which, okay, that's fair, but the first fifty percent of the book doesn't have much to say other than to go back to that refrain. It gets a bit more engaging in the second half, where it goes into more depth into the NRA's gross financial mismanagement and LaPierre's self-enrichment and how the organization began a slow death spiral triggered by Sandy Hook backlash, Trump's election, and the election of Ollie North to NRA presidency. None of which plays out the way you would expect.
Overall, it's fine. Readable with some interesting meat on its bones, but lacking narrative thrust.
Overall, it's fine. Readable with some interesting meat on its bones, but lacking narrative thrust.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews