M16

American Gun Blog

Mar 10

Thank You Tucson Festival of Books

Crowds of eager, thoughtful readers, fascinating authors working in a wide range of genres, and wonderful weather -- all unfolding in...

Feb 11

THANK YOU, LAGRANGE

Thanks to Pretty Good Books, a great bookstore in beautiful building (an old church and former funeral home) in downtown LaGrange,...

Feb 5

KpCW, public radio in Utah, interviews McWhirter about American Gun

Thanks to Doug Wells and Roger Goldman, hosts of KPCW's "Mountain Money" in Utah, for interviewing McWhirter about American Gun: The True...

Jan 23

McWhirter interview on TFTC Podcast about American Gun

Thanks to Bob Nebel, host of the Atlanta-based "Tales from The Corners" podcast, for speaking with Cameron McWhirter about American Gun:...

Dec 17, 2023

The faulty M16 rifle in Vietnam and Mattel's toy gun

As the US ramped up its involvement in the Vietnam War, the Pentagon ordered tens of thousands of military versions of AR-15s, renamed...

Dec 4, 2023

OTD 1961: Defense Dept. Spy Agency approves purchase of AR-15s for testing in Vietnam

On Dec. 4, 1961, the Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency approved the purchase of a thousand AR-15 rifles from Colt to...

Dec 1, 2023

A GENERAL, WATERMELONS AND THE AR-15

A key moment in the history of the AR-15 rifle — an event that led to the gun’s ultimate adoption by the U.S. military — came on July 4,...

Nov 21, 2023

McWhirter on Word Balloon podcast to talk about American Gun

Thanks to John Siuntres, host of the comics and culture podcast "Word Balloon," for having Cameron McWhirter on the show to talk about...

Nov 16, 2023

Washington Post picks American Gun for its list of best nonfiction of 2023

The Washington Post has chosen American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 as one of the most notable nonfiction books of 2023. Editors and...

Nov 10, 2023

Vietnamese propaganda photo shows M16 (military AR-15)

This photograph from 1972 shows a woman Vietnamese Communist fighter carrying a U.S.-made M16, the military select-fire version of the...

Nov 8, 2023

McWhirter at Texas Book Festival on Nov. 12 in Austin

Cameron McWhirter, co-author of American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15, will join prominent author/journalist/professor Jeff Sharlet...

Nov 1, 2023

Guardian interviews McWhirter + Elinson about American Gun

Abené Clayton interviewed Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson, authors of American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15, about the gun and...

Oct 23, 2023

Colin Dickey in The New Republic: American Gun is a "lucid,""Well-Researched and -reported work."

Colin Dickey, author of Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places and other excellent books, has penned an insightful review of...

Oct 15, 2023

American Gun discussed on C-Span's BookTV

Historian/author Paul Barrett sat down with McWhirter and Elinson for C-Span's BookTV to talk about American Gun: The History of the...

Oct 13, 2023

Berkeley's KPFA has Elinson on to discuss American Gun

Mitch Jeserich, host of KPFA's "Letters & Politics" show, had Zusha Elinson on to discuss American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15....

Oct 5, 2023

Apple News podcast talks with McWhirter and Elinson about American Gun

On the "Apple News In Conversation" podcast, host Shumita Basu sat down in a New York studio to talk with Cameron McWhirter and Zusha...

Sep 7, 2023

Harper's Magazine: American Gun's reporting "astonishes"

Harper's "New Books" editor Dan Piepenbring pens a thoughtful review/exploration of American Gun, writing that "the book's reporting...

Jun 18, 2023

M16 jams during the VIetnam war enter literature

A major part of the saga of the AR-15 is the story of how the military version of the rifle, the M16, performed in Vietnam. After early...

AMERICAN GUN

The True Story of the AR-15

Shortlisted for the 2024 J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize

American Gun Blog