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American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 Audiobook
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Publisher Description
American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 presents the epic history of America’s most controversial weapon.
In the 1950s, an obsessive firearms designer named Eugene Stoner invented the AR-15 rifle in a California garage. High-minded and patriotic, Stoner 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.
In American Gun, the veteran Wall Street Journal reporters Cameron McWhirter and Zusha 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? To answer this question, McWhirter and Elinson follow Stoner—the American Kalashnikov—as he struggled mightily to win support for his invention, which under the name M16 would become standard equipment in Vietnam. Shunned by gun owners at first, the rifle’s popularity would take off thanks to a renegade band of small-time gun makers. And in 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. Writing with fairness and compassion, McWhirter and Elinson explore America’s gun culture, revealing the deep appeal of the AR-15, the awful havoc it wreaks, and the politics of reducing its toll. The result is a moral history of contemporary America’s love affair with technology, freedom, and weaponry.
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
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“This account is enhanced by Roger Wayne’s narration, which is measured and calming yet shows enough emotion to make the story relatable….Listeners won’t want to miss this.”
— Library Journal (audio review)
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“Riveting…This book is not to be missed.”
— Esquire -
“Meticulous in the details…American Gun is a fascinating social history.”
— The Economist (London) -
“A magisterial work of narrative history and original reportage.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“A lucid, straightforward, and well-researched and -reported work.”
— New Republic -
"A deeply reported, engrossing account…in shifting politics and their exploitation by the firearms industry.”
— Washington Post -
“[McWhirter and Elinson] have done a masterful and damning job tracing the birth and development, and rampant misuse, of the AR-15.”
— Air Mail -
“A comprehensive, even-handed look at the AR-15’s history and the debate over gun violence.”
— Associated Press -
“A riveting exploration of the cost of the nation’s fascination with an iconic weapon.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Awards
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An Amazon Editor’s Top Pick in History
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A #1 Amazon bestseller
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An Esquire pick of Best Books of Fall
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A New York Times Pick for Fall
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A New York Times Book Review pick of Best Books Now in Paperback
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Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize
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A Washington Post Best Book of the Year
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One of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2023
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About the Authors
Cameron McWhirter, the author of two books, is a national reporter for the Wall Street Journal, based in Atlanta. He has covered mass shootings, violent protests, and natural disasters across the South. Previously, he reported for other US publications, as well as in Bosnia, Iraq, and Ethiopia. Zusha Elinson is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, where he covers America’s gun culture and industry.
About Roger Wayne
Roger Wayne served in the Air Force as a radio and television broadcast journalist in South Korea and won several awards before obtaining a BA degree in communications and journalism. He is an actor living in New York, narrating audiobooks, working on independent film projects, performing off Broadway, and auditioning for major network shows.