First published 2026
America kills its citizens with guns at rates that shock other wealthy nations. Malcolm Gladwell investigates this deadly paradox through stories that span centuries and cross the country. He interviews a young shooting survivor in Washington D.C. and traces how a 17th century English knight's legal battles still shape American gun policy today. Gladwell visits a North Carolina shooting range, walks Chicago's South Side, and explores an Alabama plantation house. He shows why European police chiefs find American police training ceremonies bewildering. Through original interviews, archival research, and social science data, Gladwell argues that America fails to grasp the true nature of its gun violence crisis. The book offers readers a new framework for understanding how the world's richest country developed a problem more common among the world's poorest nations.
Genres: history, american, social-issues, non-fiction, current-affairs
Vibes: analytical, eye-opening, investigative, thought-provoking, urgent
Tropes: cross-cultural-comparison, historical-investigation, systemic-analysis
Setting: United States, Washington D.C., North Carolina, Chicago, Alabama, Europe
Period: 17th century, 21st century
304 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: death, violence