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Praise
for American Gun

NYT Book Review for American Gun
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Harper's Magazine reviews American Gun The True Story of the AR-15 by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson
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Cover of King: A Life, by Jonathan Eig.
AP praises American Gun The True Story of the AR-15 by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson

The New York Times chose American Gun for its select reading list of new books being published in September. It wrote: "An important book on a sadly topical subject, American Gun, by two reporters for The Wall Street Journal, enlists formidable research and reporting in the service of explaining how an assault rifle developed for military use by a Marine veteran and self-taught engineer in the 1950s was marketed to civilians, eventually becoming the weapon of choice for perpetrators of mass shootings."

In its list of "30 books We can’t wait to read this fall," The Los Angeles Times says of American Gun: "The authors weave Stoner’s story alongside a propulsive, often wrenching tale of politicking and ever-escalating rhetoric." In its list of books to read in September, the Times says: "The authors meticulously interview many people on all sides of the debate over this tragically iconic weapon of war."

American Gun is on The Washington Post's list of top 50 nonfiction books of 2023.

American Gun’s “reporting astonishes..." and adds that the book's section on mass shootings "accrues with devastating force..."

Publishers Weekly: "Wall Street Journal reporters McWhirter (Red Summer) and Elinson tell a captivating tale of unintended consequences in this deeply researched history of the AR-15...The result is a fascinating genealogy of a weapon that has become the flashpoint of the contemporary gun control debate."

Jonathan Eig, author of King: A Life: "American Gun is an unforgettable story of American ingenuity and mayhem, built with hard-core reporting and gripping prose. This is social history at its finest."

Chicago Tribune picks American Gun The True Story of the AR-15 by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson
The Millions for American Gun

The Millions Most Anticipated Books of 2023: "With mass shootings now endemic to American life, two veteran Wall Street Journal journalists look at one of the most common culprits—the AR-15—to figure out how we got here. Tracing the weapon’s history and embrace by the gun industry, the duo reveals the various financial, political, and cultural interests at play in the horrific assent of a killing machine. Esteemed MLK biographer Jonathan Eig calls this 'social history at its finest.' "

LitHub for American Gun

Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2023: "I can’t tell you how sorry I am that we need this history of the AR-15, from Wall Street Journal reporters McWhirter and Elinson, which seeks to answer the question: 'How did the same gun represent the essence of freedom to millions of Americans and the essence of evil to millions more?' And yet need it we do."

Booklist for American Gun
Cover of The Race Beat by Gene Roberts and Hank Kilbanoff

Hank Klibanoff, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and co-author of The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation: "American Gun is an engrossing read. It is both a revealing biography and a thorough autopsy of a historical figure that resides in millions of American homes: the AR-15 rifle, the destructive weapon of choice in many mass killings and a source of heartbreak that gnaws at the souls of millions of Americans every day."

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Paul S. Barrett, the author of Glock: The Rise of America's Gun: This book should be of vital interest to both gun-rights advocates and those who would ban the AR-15 as the instrument of ruthless death at schools, Walmarts, and grocery stores. At this fraught moment, there is no more compelling symbol of the unique American fascination with ― and horror over ― firearms.

"American Gun is a fascinating social history."

Air Mail praises American Gun The True Story of the AR-15 by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson
Orange County Register for American Gun

Chosen as one of the Orange County Register's 15 must-read books of the summer of 2023 and beyond.

Atlanta paper praises American Gun The True Story of the AR-15 by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson
Next Big Idea for American Gun
National Book Review praises American Gun The True Story of the AR-15 by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson
Alta Journal reviews American Gun The True Story of the AR-15 by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson
Publications picking American Gun for their must-read lists include:
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