One aspect of this well-told chronicle that may surprise present-day readers is that in the 1850s and ’60s guns and their evolutionary developments were regularly trumpeted in the mainstream media ... As Gun Barons makes clear, guns, over their long history, have been more an instrument for good than evil.
Flowery constructions occasionally disrupt the book’s otherwise crisp, journalistic prose, and Bainbridge refrains from fully reckoning with the negative aspects of America’s gun culture. Still, firearms enthusiasts will savor this brisk and entertaining account.
