The Way of the Gun

February 8, 2016
Overton, a Peabody Awardâwinning British journalist and director of investigations at Action on Armed Violence, begins this engrossing, multifaceted study with some grim statistics. There are almost one billion guns worldwide, "more than ever before," and each year, about 12 billion bullets are produced and about 500,000 people shot dead. His investigative reporting takes him to more than 20 countries, with stops including Honduras, the world's worst place for gun violence per capita; a trauma unit in South Africa that largely handles gunshot wounds; Las Vegas, for the largest gun show on earth; Odessa, a center of gun smuggling; and Iceland, which has one of the world's lowest homicide rates despite its large number of shooting grounds. Along the way, he interviews an Israeli sniper, El Salvadoran gang members, a former child soldier in Liberia, and an American SWAT sharpshooter, among others. He also examines America's "remarkably unregulated" gun industry and shows how the NRA's lobbying extends even beyond the U.S. Overton's insightful commentary includes the observation that imposing new gun control laws without an accompanying shift in attitudes isn't going to be effective. This illuminating narrative about the life cycle of the gun is comprehensive, revealing, and timely. Antony Topping, Greene and Heaton (U.K.).

February 15, 2016

Investigative journalist and award-winning broadcaster Overton explores the worldwide impact of firearms, specifically the influence of the Second Amendment, which declares the right to keep and bear arms. Originally published in the UK, this book follows Overton as he travels the world meeting gun owners, sellers, and manufacturers along with victims of gun violence. These trips take him to gun shows and factories, hunting ranches, police stations, lobbyists' offices, and even crime bosses' hideouts. His observations on the sexual appeal of guns and the international impact of the right to bear arms are especially intriguing. The author supports his antigun conclusions with disturbing data on the profits of firearm sales, the illicit gun trade, and the multitude of gun victims, although he occasionally makes sweeping conclusions based on scant evidence. Firearms are transformative, argues Overton, taking man's basic impulses to heights of pain, power, profit, and desire. VERDICT This important book on the place of firearms in the modern era will attract readers interested in contemporary world affairs, U.S. gun rights and gun culture and their influence on other countries as well as the weapons industry.--Mark Jones, Mercantile Lib., Cincinnati

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2016
In Overton's first book, the British journalist travels the globe to see how the logic of the Second Amendment has affected people beyond America's borders. The author makes a big concession: "Guns are fun," he writes. "I have no doubt about that. When used in the right way and in the right place, they can bring great satisfaction and pleasure." But to understand the full breadth of the influence of firearms, Overton, the director of investigations at Action on Armed Violence, traveled to more than two dozen countries and interviewed hundreds of disparate subjects. While he covers well-worn topics like National Rifle Association lobbyists and mass shootings in the United States, he also analyzes some original niches of gun culture--e.g., Americans' obsession with zombie stories and gun references in pornographic films. Much of the book is personal. In one episode, Overton describes his shooting-range visit with Miss Cambodia and in another, getting mugged in Papua New Guinea in 1996. When he reported getting held at gunpoint, the police threatened to burn down neighboring villages as "retributive justice." Every page is packed with emotional power and startling statistics, but the most provocative chapter is "The Sex Pistols," in which the author draws a disturbing line between guns, masculinity, and sexual violence. While the book is long and dense with data, Overton skips quickly from one vignette to the next, and he smoothly characterizes his cast of criminals and collectors. In each chapter, readers are transported to such diverse places as Las Vegas, South Africa, and Pakistan, and the author's final anecdote about the Statue of Liberty is a clever flourish. In the end, the book is not just an investigation, but a long essay, and its central thesis is loud and clear: "of course, there are countries funding ways to address the hurt that guns bring, but far, far less money is spent on addressing the pain and suffering they cause than is made selling them." A passionate mix of rhetoric and travelogue, Overton's book takes the gun debate into impressive new territory.

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