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b"In the 1950s, an obsessive firearms designer named Eugene Stoner invented the AR-15 rifle in a California garage. High-minded and patriotic, Stoner sought to devise a lightweight, easy-to-use weapon that could replace the M1s touted by soldiers in World War II. What he did create was a lethal handheld icon of the American century.\\nIn\\xa0American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15\\xa0(FSG, 2023), the veteran\\xa0Wall Street Journal\\xa0reporters Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson track the AR-15 from inception to ubiquity. How did the same gun represent the essence of freedom to millions of Americans and the essence of evil to millions more? To answer this question, McWhirter and Elinson follow Stoner--the American Kalashnikov--as he struggled mightily to win support for his invention, which under the name M16 would become standard equipment in Vietnam. Shunned by gun owners at first, the rifle's popularity would take off thanks to a renegade band of small-time gun makers. And in the 2000s, it would become the weapon of choice for mass shooters, prompting widespread calls for proscription even as the gun industry embraced it as a financial savior. Writing with fairness and compassion, McWhirter and Elinson explore America's gun culture, revealing the deep appeal of the AR-15, the awful havoc it wreaks, and the politics of reducing its toll. The result is a moral history of contemporary America's love affair with technology, freedom, and weaponry.\\nCameron McWhirter\\xa0is a national reporter for\\xa0The Wall Street Journal, based in Atlanta. He has covered mass shootings, violent protests and natural disasters across the South. He is also the author of\\xa0Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America. Previously, he reported for other publications in the U.S., as well as Bosnia, Iraq, and Ethiopia.\\nZusha Elinson\\xa0is a national reporter, writing about guns and violence for the\\xa0Wall Street Journal. Based in California, he has also written for the Center for Investigative Reporting and the\\xa0New York Times\\xa0Bay Area section.\\nRecommended Books:\\n\\nRobert Caro,\\xa0The Path to Power\\n\\n\\nWilliam Shawcross,\\xa0Sideshow\\n\\n\\nDexter Filkins,\\xa0The Forever War\\n\\n\\nAdam Winkler,\\xa0Gun Fight\\n\\n\\nTim Mak,\\xa0Misfire\\n\\n\\nDoug Stanton,\\xa0Horse Solidiers\\n\\n\\n\\ufeff\\nChris Holmes\\xa0is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of\\xa0The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law"