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torpidcup's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
_zora_'s review
5.0
Highly readable and, more important, totally sane and rational book about gun culture in America--written by a liberal who happens to love guns. Especially good because it really takes on class issues.
jdgcreates's review
3.0
While this was interesting and very well written, I just wasn't in the mood for more non-fiction right now. I'd still highly recommend it, though, and if the library ever gets it on audiobook, I'm there!
satyridae's review against another edition
4.0
I'm astonished at how I feel about this book, frankly. Because I picked it up between two fingers, with my nose wrinkled up and my eyes rolling like the teenager I sometimes act like when my gun guy father tells me to read something like... well, like what I thought this was going to be.
What it was, however, was the story of a liberal Democrat guy who grew up liking guns and how he jumped feet-first into US gun culture to understand it from the inside. It didn't turn out the way Baum expected it to, either. He learned, and in turn explained to me, about what the average-guy-on-the-street-with-a-concealed-weapon was all about. And what hunters are doing out there. And the sports gun people. He talked to people who've been on both sides of guns, and if he told me the five rules of gun handling once, he told me a dozen times.
It's a fair opening salvo (ahem) in the quest to have a dialogue between the anti-gun people and the gun people. It's a tour of a United States that coexists invisibly with the one in which I've always lived. And it's given me an awful lot to think about, made me if nothing else a little more aware of my own prejudices and assumptions.
Highly recommended.
What it was, however, was the story of a liberal Democrat guy who grew up liking guns and how he jumped feet-first into US gun culture to understand it from the inside. It didn't turn out the way Baum expected it to, either. He learned, and in turn explained to me, about what the average-guy-on-the-street-with-a-concealed-weapon was all about. And what hunters are doing out there. And the sports gun people. He talked to people who've been on both sides of guns, and if he told me the five rules of gun handling once, he told me a dozen times.
It's a fair opening salvo (ahem) in the quest to have a dialogue between the anti-gun people and the gun people. It's a tour of a United States that coexists invisibly with the one in which I've always lived. And it's given me an awful lot to think about, made me if nothing else a little more aware of my own prejudices and assumptions.
Highly recommended.
wherescoco's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyed this book, would give it a 4.5 because there is a lot of specifics about guns, physically, that you should be familiar with to understand parts, but I rounded up because I appreciated the author's self-deprecating humor throughout. Very relatable narrator. A must-read for anyone familiar (or more importantly, un-familiar, as in my case) with guns and the intricacies of the gun debate in America. A passionate middle ground, left me with a better perspective on both side without feeling like I was being force fed propaganda either way.
djblock99's review against another edition
4.0
Enlightening, entertaining and evenhanded survey of America's gun culture. Author Dan Baum is a bit of a walking contradiction: a liberal who happens to love guns. He learned to shoot at a boys' summer camp, where he found that riflry was the only activity at which he didn't fail.
Now a stoop-shouldered, middle-aged journalist, Baum set out on a road trip to connect with as many other different kinds of gun owners as he could. He also applied for a concealed carry permit and sought additional training, so that he could better understand his weapon and other gun owners.
He meets and shares the stories of a diverse group of people including hunters, Jewish and African-American activists, machine gun enthusiasts, an armorer who supplies movie sets with guns, victims of gun violence, an ex-con who shot a friend in self defense and NRA employees.
Many of Baum's preconceptions about guns are challenged, and mine were, as well. The much-maligned AR-15, for instance, is described as "Barbie for men": an amazingly adaptable machine that can be outfitted with a seemingly endless number of accessories. It's the most popular gun in the country, and fans of the gun spend huge amounts of money accessorizing their toys for sport shooting and hunting.
Unlike many of the people he encounters on his journey, Baum does believe in some forms of gun control. His main message is that people on both sides of the debate need to stop demonizing each other and concentrate on laws - like mandatory training and background checks - that are effective and yet don't infringe on people's rights.
Now a stoop-shouldered, middle-aged journalist, Baum set out on a road trip to connect with as many other different kinds of gun owners as he could. He also applied for a concealed carry permit and sought additional training, so that he could better understand his weapon and other gun owners.
He meets and shares the stories of a diverse group of people including hunters, Jewish and African-American activists, machine gun enthusiasts, an armorer who supplies movie sets with guns, victims of gun violence, an ex-con who shot a friend in self defense and NRA employees.
Many of Baum's preconceptions about guns are challenged, and mine were, as well. The much-maligned AR-15, for instance, is described as "Barbie for men": an amazingly adaptable machine that can be outfitted with a seemingly endless number of accessories. It's the most popular gun in the country, and fans of the gun spend huge amounts of money accessorizing their toys for sport shooting and hunting.
Unlike many of the people he encounters on his journey, Baum does believe in some forms of gun control. His main message is that people on both sides of the debate need to stop demonizing each other and concentrate on laws - like mandatory training and background checks - that are effective and yet don't infringe on people's rights.
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