To explore America's gun culture, Baum, a former staff writer for the
New Yorker and author of Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans,
traverses the country talking to gun owners, shooting instructors, gun
advocates, gun control supporters, and even a former gang member who
used a gun to kill someone. As a "stoop-shouldered, bald-headed,
middle-aged" Jewish Democrat, Baum isn't your typical gun owner, but he
admits to having an "obsession" with guns and has one on his person for
much of his road trip. Crisscrossing America he finds a lot of
inconsistencies, like gun owners who think the government is coming for
their guns despite the fact that "guns laws were getting looser
everywhere" or gun control groups pushing for new legislation without
understanding how guns work or the historical ineffectiveness of gun
control. Though he tries to find diversity among the gun owners he
interviews, many just spout antiliberal dogma or "play the role of
victim, " so these encounters become repetitive. It's when the tone of
the book shifts from travelogue to narrative, with stories like those of
Tim White, who "used a gun in his criminal undertakings"; Rick Ector,
an industrial engineer who turned gun carrier after a mugging; and
Brandon Franklin, a young New Orleans man who was shot while trying to
defend the mother of his children, that Baum's skill as a writer and
journalist is revealed. Overall, this is a very balanced accounting of
both sides of America's gun issue, and while Baum doesn't have all the
answers, his solution that both sides come together to promote gun
safety is both admirable and prudent. Baum can be lauded for trying to
find an accommodating solution to the problem of guns, but no doubt gun
lovers and gun haters both will vehemently disagree with him. (Mar.)
Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly Used with permission. -- Publishers Weekly
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