Pamela’s Reviews > Gun: A Visual History > Status Update

Nonetheless, I always found myself feeling very tense when British detectives were being stealthy. I found myself automatically thinking, "they need guns so they can be safe." And that is when I got a flash of my own Americanized view of safety. I caught myself out, so to speak.

First, they use their considerable social skills, and emotional intelligence to interact effectively, and their mental acuity to think on their feet, for investigation. They used their kegs to give chase, and tackled to apprehend. Of course, most of the criminals did not carry guns then.

You see, British detectives and policemen do not carry handguns. They get guns out of lockup when it is determined that they are required for apprehension. In other words, when all other means had been used. Last resort.

For my dad, who was a great shot, and had a fondness for sport, it was a means of providing meat for his family. Once, in my mid-twenties, I asked my dad whether he still hunted. His response was, "No, your mom and I don't need the meat any more."

I grew up in Montana, where guns are endemic; for my family, the rifle and the shotgun were necessary instruments of life. For some they were the over-masculinized instrument of sport, with hunting being a way to 'get away' and drink and bring back the kill, whether you ate it or not.

This book is a visual resource for those who want to know more about guns. Why would I want this, I ask? The curious part of me has been piqued by my husband's comments, reactions, raves, and criticisms of the accuracy of visual media in their use of guns as a part of their stories.