Basic Pistol

Utterly brilliant. So much more than the usual diatribe about guns: it is deeply researched and thoughtful. It tells a story about a culture without inviting us to dislike any of the people involved – Justin Webb, former North America Editor for the BBC
At once page-turning and deeply disquieting … a must read for anyone who wants to understand not just why gun violence is so devastatingly prevalent in the US, but also, and as importantly, how gun ownership has become so normalized, so passionately defended, and so much a part of how countless people now measure their sense of safety as well as connect to their community. – Heather Ann Thompson, author of Pulitzer Prize-winning Blood in the Water
Masterfully crafted … penetrates the heart of American gun culture and, somehow, renders it both deeply human and utterly monstrous … A fascinating, disturbing and necessary book about the violence of everyday life in the United States – Eric Klinenberg, author of Palaces for the People
With analytic rigor, literary skill, and a deep understanding of his subjects, Shapira takes us into the culture of gun ownership and the far-right with a skill that surpasses most journalism on the subject – Nicholas Lemann, author of The Transaction Man
Groundbreaking ethnography … [A] fascinating deep dive into America’s obsession with guns – Adam Winkler, author of Gunfight

Harel Shapira is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. In Basic Pistol, as well as his previous book, Waiting for José: The Minutemen’s Pursuit of America, he uses long-term ethnographic research to understand right-wing politics and gun culture in contemporary America. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation as well as the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and his writing has been featured in The New York Times and The New Republic. In 2015 he was named an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, and in 2021 a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study.

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