Eugene Stoner, the inventor of the much more popular AR-15 in the 1950s, first created an AR-10. The AR-10 fires a larger and more powerful round than the AR-15. As explained in American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15, the U.S. military rejected the AR-10, after it failed critical tests. After the rifle failed important tests, an Army general, Willard Wyman, secretly visited Stoner at his office in southern California and asked him to make a gun very similar to the AR-10 — but with a smaller caliber. Thus was born the AR-15.
top of page


AMERICAN GUN
The True Story of the AR-15
“[A] magisterial work of narrative history and original reportage."
—The New York Times Book Review
“A riveting exploration of the cost of the nation’s fascination with an iconic weapon.”— Kirkus starred review
“[R]iveting history....This book is not to be missed." —Esquire
“An indispensable read.”—THe Guardian
bottom of page