Rating:  Summary: POWERFUL AND INFORMATIVE READ -- HOWEVER . . . Review: I had to read it twice - back to back sitting! Lot's of lost sleep. Great history of increasingly oppressive gun control and expose of government's excesses. I wanted to give it to my 15 year-old son to read, but sadly the jacket picture and sexual content is way over-done and unnecessary. This limits its availability to those who would gain the most from it. I rate it lower because of that.
Rating:  Summary: Justice raped and pillaged Review: This is a frightful look into America's growing desire for more governmental control and homeland security. And America's appalling lack of education (and no, you can't blame Washington for it, either). This is a monstrous tome filled with all the pulp violence and kinky sex any good modern fiction should have. Federal agents who died in this story deserved it because they were stupid. And the author strays deftly away from glorifying imperical actions, civil rights violators are definitely the bad guys here. I was chilled with some of the rampid scenes of chaos, but I also laughed along with the author; his sense of irony is delightful, and I still feel warm and toasty inside after reading the finale. This is a fun book, if not too long and burdened with esoteric reams of technical gun jargon. And you're not a gun control freak afraid of all those dangerous firearms.
Rating:  Summary: Good until the last pages, then... Review: I wanted to like this book. For the most part, I did like this book. I agree with the underlying premises of the book. But in the end, the author shoots himself in the foot. This book is two things. First, it is a (one-sided) history of gun laws and enforcement in America. The author includes irrelevant things (to the story) like an argument that Oswald didn't kill Kennedy, but otherwise, it is an interesting account well worth reading. The novelization of the Warsaw Ghetto revolt was especially interesting. Secondly, it is a fictional story of a member of the gun culture who is targeted by corrupt law enforcement agents and who fights back by assassinating gun control agents and encouraging others to do the same. Eventually, public support and an increasing death toll convince the president to rescind all gun laws and offer amnesty to our hero and his compatriots. Up to this point, everything is fine. Then, knowing that he has achieved his aim, our hero murders two more government employees who had fought for and enforced the gun laws...
Rating:  Summary: The 'Gun Culture' manifesto Review: If you want to understand the gun control argument, read this book. Whether you favor more control or not, you will learn the basis for each sides' beliefs in a logical and entertaining fashion. If you believe that government is a benevolent and kindly force, the historical sections will open your eyes. The author has been harrassed by ATF agents, as have sellers of this book. So much for either the 1st or 2nd amendments.
Rating:  Summary: History?..Prediction?.. or will the Sheeple give in? Review: John Ross has given the textbook in recent (1917 to 1998) US history as it should have been taught in every school, This book and a comprehensive understanding of it's contents should be required of every person running for elective office, as well as every police officer in the United States. The story is a little turgid, but well worth the effort. This book should be in every home and library in America.
Rating:  Summary: A mix of history, entertaining fiction and paranoid fantasy Review: The events early in the book are presented in an entertaining, fictionalized style, and based on what I have read from other sources, are historically accurate. The book itself is roundly entertaining, and strongly reminiscent of Tom Clancy, ("Real" Tom Clancy - it is *nothing* like the "Ops Center" crap that has his name on it.) but with a lot more sex thrown in. Overall an excellent read that makes some valid points in a very forceful manner. You can decide for yourself whether the author is paranoid or not - it depends on whether you consider the book fiction or a fictionalized view of reality. You can guess my opinion from the title of this review. I also found some of the characters to be a bit "flat", and lacking emotional depth, but it is still the best book I have read this year.
Rating:  Summary: Best Accurate book on the market............ Review: I read the whole thing cover to cover three times. It got better each time. This book is not for the faint of heart. It goes to show what government can and will do when it thinks it has all the power. This book is very accurate in detail, from the simplest fact to the most confidential detail. I can tell the author is very intelligent, and well researched. Thanks and hats off to John Ross for a remarkable book! Best book I ever read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:  Summary: A very important book Review: Most of the book was a history of the gun culture, only the last 20% or so is really "story". While I still found the ending more than a bit implausible, it was a lot less so than it would have been had I not read the first part, so do so. This book carries all the impact of Atlas Shrugged as it takes any reader sympathetic to individual freedom places they may have never been. It does this with a solid factual background, strong (albeit slow) character development, and enough subtlety (before the end) that you'll be well on your way to "extremism" long before you know it. A couple points that should be made to other reviews. 1) Tim McVeigh may have used this book as his Bible. Many others used the actual Bible as their inspiration for even fouler deeds. 2) The "dirty parts" carry a couple of subtle messages. One is that gun owners aren't merely straight-arrow "all-American" moralistic types. The other is that "naughty" people are as much a potential target of Big Brother as gun owners, and henceforth are potential allies. All in all a very important book. Perhaps moreso now that the obvious model for the "Dwight Greenwell" character, John Magaw, has been given full control of commercial air security, with predictable results.
Rating:  Summary: Interesting read, but.... Review: Very odd book. I have to admit I had a hard time putting it down once I started it. Having finished it, I feel that it made many good points about eroding personal freedoms. The part that bothered me is that the main character (Henery) lacked any introspection. If Henery would doubt (just once) his "right" to blow peoples heads off, I would have found it more plausable. The real world is more grey than the black and white world in "UC". I would recommend the book with a disclaimer.
Rating:  Summary: READ THIS BOOK! Review: Whether you are of the 'gun culture' or not, don't pass this one by. While a little slow to start, the story would not make sense without the historical background. I have been witness to some of the atrocities committed, and I am acquainted with people who are much like Henry Bowman, the main character. I found it much like Tom Clancy's in style, although technically much more accurate. I literally couldn't put it down, especially the last 20%. If you truly want to know why there is a civil war simmering on the back burner, read this book.
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