My Review of Glock: The Rise of America's Gun

Dooga · Post by **Dooga** » Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:28:55

Glock: The Rise of America's Gun is not the work of a Glock fanboy like many of these gun books are. It is the gun version of Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World. Of course it is an historically-accurate representation of the life and times of Gaston Glock and everything GLOCK, Inc., and its line of handguns.

It is also a complete history of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, a history of gun-related politics and policies, and also a very accurate and sober portrayal of America's love for and of guns.

In the same way you read Cod even though you're not into fish or fishing, you really should read Glock. If you're anti-gun, you'll learn both about the culture of firearms in America and how powerfull and intelligent -- savvy -- a force your enemy really is. If you're pro-gun, the Glock revolution will blow your mind, especially in contrast with how pathetically every gun manufacturer in the world performed against GLOCK, especially poor Smith & Wesson, a company that watched as GLOCK came in and single-handedly replaced every .38 Special revolver in every police station in America with not only a high-capacity, semi-automatic, magazine-fed pistol, but with a Glock 17.

I can keep on going. Each story is more amazing than the next. The chutzpah of Gaston Glock is only bettered by the cajones of his right hand man during the early days in Atlanta, Mr. Karl Walter, a man who turned the conservative and serious world of arms sales and arms dealing in America into a discoteque, into a circus, into a strip club, into a world of Hollywood action flicks, rap music videos, and an army of Glock devotees that is only bettered by those mad men and women who are obsessed with their 1911.

Let me explain why I know so much about this book and it's not even out yet. Well, I read an advanced Gally copy of the book. On November 4th, Paul Barrett contacted me to review his upcoming book, Glock: The Rise of America's Gun. He chose me because I guess I am pretty open about both my gun ownership and my attraction to Glocks. Though I have only been shooting for a year, I already have a pretty nice collection of three Glock handguns: a Generation 3 Glock 23 in .40 S&W, a 9mm First Generation Glock 17 -- the original -- a retiree from the DC police department, and my Generation 4 Glock 26, my Baby Glock, in 9mm.

So, in an exemplary blogger outreach campaign, Mr, Barrett sent me a Galley copy to read. And I read it. I consumed it and was mesmerized. I was mesmerized by how much I didn't know about these United States, about gun legislation, about gun bans and bans on high-capacity magazines. I was flabbergasted by the loopholes in these bans that were so big you could taxi a 747 through them,

I was not mesmerized by the typical fanboy depiction of their favorite gun and gun maker, I was mesmerized by a book writen by a in investigative journalist who dig into the GLOCK empire, and its ripple effects on not just Law Enforcement but popular culture, rap music, politics, television, and hundreds of movies.

I really didn't know anything about the history of firearms in America or how they're sourced and have been banned; how they're imported -- or, rather, sourced and then assembled -- and how they're marketed and sold.

And that's not even scratching the surface of all that is GLOCK, Inc, and its illustrious founder, Gaston Glock, an Austrian nerd who ended up developing, designing, and producing the most iconic pistol since the Colt 1911:

If you liked Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, Salt: A World History, The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell, Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, or Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, you'll love Glock: The Rise of America's Gun by Paul M. Barrett.

NOTE: I got tapped by author Barrett because I tweet about Glocks and target shooting at the NRA HQ Range, so he sent me a review galley and so I don't know the man. Also, since most forums don't do copyright issue, I removed a load of excerpts from the review. If you want to read the excerpts, please check out the original post over on my personal blog. Thanks for reading!

PaulBarrett · Post by **PaulBarrett** » Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:09:11

Thanks for this generous review of my book, GLOCK: The Rise of America's Gun.

Virginia residents are heartily invited to attend a book party for GLOCK.

When: Saturday, Feb 4 @6pm
Where: Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC

Please stop by to discuss the book and lift a glass!

If you can't make it to buy a book in person from this terrific independent book store, you can order one online from Politics & Prose or order one from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Glock-Americas-Pa ... 0307719936

All best and Happy New Year!
Paul M. Barrett
Author, GLOCK: The Rise of America's Gun

TimberWolf · Post by **TimberWolf** » Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:47:08

Why on earth would you have a party for a book about Glock guns in a place where it is close to impossible for people to carry them?

Dooga · Post by **Dooga** » Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:15:39

Brilliant point. And that is hopefully something I might bring up when I go.

PaulBarrett · Post by **PaulBarrett** » Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:16:03

The short answer is because I'm selling a book about Glock, not the pistol itself. If you want to come join us for a glass of wine and a friendly talk (which could cover questions about local gun laws), you are more than welcome. If you never enter the District of Columbia because of its gun laws, well, that, of course, is your business. I hope you'll still venture to get the book online from Amazon or another digital book store. But I'd really like some gun owners to come join the discussion at Politics & Prose, so I heartily invite you to come on Feb 4.

All best,
Paul Barrett
Author, GLOCK: The Rise of America's Gun

PaulBarrett · Post by **PaulBarrett** » Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:40:24

Your local paper (Washington Post) reviews the GLOCK book...the reviewer is NRA's Mark Keefe IV, editor of American Rifleman

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertain ... story.html

PistolPilot · Post by **PistolPilot** » Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:44:31

When did Glock become America's gun? I thought it was Austrian?

Dooga · Post by **Dooga** » Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:00:37

By adoption, obviously.

Dooga · Post by **Dooga** » Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:54:25

Just in case you don't listen to WAMU or any of the other NPR stations, Terry Gross from Fresh Air interviewed Paul Barrett today. Pretty good.

Diomed · Post by **Diomed** » Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:19:43

Dooga wrote:Just in case you don't listen to WAMU or any of the other NPR stations, Terry Gross from Fresh Air interviewed Paul Barrett today. Pretty good.

Do they put up transcripts?

Dooga · Post by **Dooga** » Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:31:25

Just checked. Full transcription. Just scroll down after link.

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