Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun; a book review

I’ve owned guns since my father bought me a 20 gauge shotgun for my 14th birthday. I still have that old single shot Ithaca. But the first time I fired a handgun wasn’t until I was in the Army, and of course, that handgun was a 1911, so it was pretty much all I knew. I’ve owned two Combat Commanders and spent some time on the XVIIIth Airborne Corps Pistol team. So when I moved to West Virginia a couple of years ago, and I could own a handgun again, I went down to the local gun store and picked up another 1911 so I could shoot at the range with my new friend, a DoP guard at one of the federal prisons in the area.

He had a Glock 36, a compact 5+1 .45 caliber. It was the weapon that he carried on duty and off-duty for personal protection. The first time we went to the range, he let me fire it, and it was a sweet gun. It was light and it seemed to go straight to the target every time I pointed it in that direction. Recoil was a little more than the 1911, but it returned to the target quickly and I was impressed with it. So I went out and got the Glock 30, a 10+1 .45 with a barrel under 4″ so I could carry it concealed, not like the bulky 1911. It quickly became my favorite of the two guns, because of it’s design, ease of shooting, and it’s magazine capacity.

A few days ago, the Crown Publishing Company emailed that they wanted me to review their new book, “Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun“, written by Paul Barret, so I jumped at the opportunity. Big mistake. I got the 300 page book last night and I couldn’t put it down and I read the whole thing in one sitting.

It was a fascinating story of a guy, Gaston Glock, who made curtain rings in his basement and decided that it wouldn’t be much harder to make handguns to the Austrian government’s specifications, after he overheard a conversation. The book tells about the research and work that Gaston had to do, since his only experience with guns had been a few days in the Wehrmacht during WWII.

Perhaps more fascinating is how Glock marketed his guns to Americans. His products came to America just as US police forces were recognizing that revolvers weren’t doing the job for their officers as the criminals weren’t quite as reticent to buying semi-automatic handguns.

The only thing that I didn’t like about my Glock was the safety on the trigger. I like a good solid “click” for removing the safety, like the 1911. But after reading the book, I now understand that it was a function of transitioning police from revolvers to pistols, since revolvers don’t have a safety and the trigger safety was a good solution for training officers.

But if you own a Glock, you’ll love the book, even if you know a lot about the story of the gun to begin with. Paul Barret writes a very good and enthralling story. I never thought I’d say that about a book which is the story of a gun, but, like I said, I was reading the book after midnight last night.

You’ll probably love the book, even if you don’t own a Glock. It’s a good story about a common, unassuming man who rose to the top of his industry, despite the best efforts of gun-grabbing fascists who made up lies and started a misinformation campaign against the gun and Gaston Glock.

Category: Book Review, Guns