| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
xiii, 473 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm |
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text txt rdacontent |
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unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
A note about names -- Prologue: ten minutes, 1057 bullets -- The boy who like explosions -- Men against fire -- The rifleman -- Hollywood moon shot -- Springfield's rifle -- The space-age gun is born -- The bureaucracy strikes back -- Hunting big game -- The spy who saved stoner's rifle -- 'Brave soldiers and the M16' -- 'Tragedy and betrayal' -- 'Borders on criminal negligence' -- The sporter -- Big guns come in -- Bush ban -- Three senators -- The end of compromise -- Bad boys -- A precise request -- AR-15 takes off -- Here come the hedge funds -- The man card -- 'I'm a killer I guess' -- 'You woudn't understand' -- Molon labe -- Trump slump -- Burning boots -- Lockdown nation -- Come and take it nation -- Beyond the talking points -- 'Are any residents safe in this country anywhere?' -- Valerie's road home -- Postscript: what would stoner do? -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Acknowledgments -- Index. |
| Summary |
"The epic history of the AR-15 rifle, America's most controversial weapon"-- Provided by publisher. |
|
In the 1950s an obsessive firearms designer named Eugene Stoner invented the AR-15 rifle in a California garage. He sought to devise a lightweight, easy-to-use weapon that could replace the M1s touted by soldiers in World War II. What he did create was a lethal handheld icon of the American century. McWhirter and Elinson track the AR-15 from inception to ubiquity. How did the same gun represent the essence of freedom to millions of Americans and the essence of evil to millions more? Shunned by gun owners at first, the rifle's popularity would take off thanks to a renegade band of small-time gun makers. By the 2000s it would become the weapon of choice for mass shooters, prompting widespread calls for proscription even as the gun industry embraced it as a financial savior. The book is a moral history of contemporary America's love affair with technology, freedom, and weaponry. -- adapted from jacket |
| Subject |
Semi-automatic rifles -- History.
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Assault weapons -- History.
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AR-15 rifle -- History.
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Gun control -- United States -- History.
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Firearms and crime -- United States -- History.
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HISTORY / Military / Weapons.
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HISTORY / United States / 20th Century.
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POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Military Policy.
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Rifles.
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| Genre |
Informational works.
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| Added Author |
Elinson, Zusha, 1980- author.
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| ISBN |
9780374103859 hardcover : $32.00 |
|
0374103852 hardcover |
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