Goss, Kristin A. Disarmed: The missing movement for gun control in America. Princeton University Press, 2010.
Goss Kristin takes has produced a compelling argument to set forth her stance on why should people campaign for gun control in the United States. The author provides some historical perspective on the number of fatalities each year and briefly describes the reasons too that lead the individuals toward the love of guns. The author reveals the causes of failure of the nation to effectively start and sustain campaigns to demonstrate against guns. She uncovers the influence of the firearm supporting lobby to discourage campaigns and the political legislation done over the decades to consolidate their influence.
The book shares a concise narrative of the author, and the arguments are reasonable. It is neither entirely a literature on guns nor solely an argument over social behavior associated with firearms. Although the counter-arguments to establish or denounce the narrative would have been more interesting, she provides sufficient reasons to construct her argument.
Bellesiles, Michael A. Arming America: The origins of national gun culture. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.
The book gives a detailed account of how gun ownership in the United States made a foothold in colonial times and how the mindset of gun love is developed over time. Furthermore, he shares his detailed analysis of the material and labor cost to produce guns which restricted common people from owning weapons. The author also mentions the complexity of using those weapons, which led to very limited use in the war of independence. He reveals the fact with supporting evidence that gun ownership increased significantly in the middle of the nineteenth century after the large-scale production of weapons in the country.
Michael Bellesiles has written this book with a simple but argumentative approach. With convincing evidence, he establishes the argument and demurs a few stories around the gun debate calling them myths. He exposes the exaggerated sentiments of legacy and patriotism in connection with gun laws.
Turtledove, Harry. The guns of the south. Del Rey, 2011.
The author of this novel provides an alternative perspective in the course of history to the events and outcome of the American civil war. He intelligently takes the readers into a fictitious scenario where Confederates have managed to win the civil war as a result of a provision of advanced rifles just in time when they were reeling out of their grounds in major battles. The provision comes from a member of an African paramilitary organization and proves to be decisive assistance. The member is traveling back in time to help the Confederates change the war outcome. After winning the war, a completely different history and geopolitical situation are shown where America acquires less power than it actually did.
Although Harry Turtledove has interestingly set the plot with a simulation of unreal events, the lack of delineation of character and average tone of the story makes it less convincing to the readers.
Adler, Dennis. Guns of the Civil War. Zenith Press, 2011.
The author uses all of his vast knowledge and experience to give readers a descriptive account of the guns used during the civil war era. He reveals the details of how the weapon industry began in the south as a result of the increasing intensity of the civil war. Moreover, the manufacturers and their accomplishments in designing and manufacturing inexpensive and reasonable guns are recognized. He explains the material used, the assembly line, and the mechanism by which each weapon can be effectively used. The author shares a great number of images to illustrate the visualization of a range of guns. He provides the weapons manufactured in the north too to draw a comparison.
The amazing knowledge and expertise of Dennis Adler are not only about the guns that highly successful and, as a result, were extensively used. He also mentions the guns that failed to draw attention and the reasons behind the failure.
