Gun Country by Andrew C McKevitt takes as his starting point the influx of cheap leftover firearms from WWII coupled with the changing culture(s) in the United States during the Cold War period, with a brief discussion of after the Cold War.

Don't make the mistake some do and misread the book as centering the Cold War aspect, it is one part of the dynamics, albeit a major part. As the book description itself states fairly clearly, it "recasts the story of guns in postwar America as one of Cold War and racial anxieties, unfettered capitalism, and exceptional violence." In other words, this is about what happened here during the Cold War but isn't exclusively about or even centering the Cold War.

The biggest point, and this is consistent throughout if you're an active reader, is the role of consumer capitalism, where the various concerns such as fear of attack and racial unrest are used, largely unethically and manipulatively, to scare people into buying ever more guns. Which changed the meaning of the 2nd amendment from its original intent to a consumer's right. Namely, a scared consumer's right who compensates for, um, shortcomings by becoming ammosexual. Thus where we are today.

The connections McKevitt makes draws a clear line from surplus war weaponry to consumerism with no ties to the responsibilities that originally went along with the rights. The message has largely become fear anyone not like you, "they" are armed to the teeth so you must be also, and anyone who says you have responsibilities that accompany gun rights is trying to take your guns and keep you from buying more.

This is an excellent look at how we became the gun country. It doesn't so much replace a lot of the history of guns as it offers a view of the tremendous growth that takes capitalism into account as a driving force and not just a byproduct of gun rights.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )