lederhosen

I've been reading C.J. Chivers' "The Gun: The AK-47 and the Evolution of War". A good book but not a feel-good one.

While Chivers evidently knows the technical side of his subject, and discusses that in patches, this isn't a technical book. It's a very thoroughly researched book about how the AK-47 and its predecessors have shaped the world we live in (with one chapter on the M-16 fiasco in Vietnam).

He makes a good argument that we should be paying as much attention to small-arms proliferation* as we do about land mines, nuclear proliferation, and so forth. Historical and political forces have led to a situation where the world has a vast supply** of cheap assault rifles light and simple enough that children can use them. The consequences are unpleasant; Chivers doesn't shy away from describing groups like the Lord's Resistance Army or a Kurdish bodyguard shot twenty-three times.

It's not perfect (it jumps around a bit and could probably have done with more editing, and there are some gaps in the story) but well worth reading nevertheless.

*This is not a Second Amendment discussion; Chivers touches on US gun control only briefly, to the effect of "if you live in a country that's stable enough to be even having that debate, consider yourself fortunate".
**In Ukraine, he notes, a country with an army of around 70,000 soldiers has an armory of seven million small-arms thanks to Soviet stockpiling.

I have now finished reading Lair of the White Worm and am now trying to decide whether to go back and spork it.

Pro: This book really, really needs sporking.
Con: I'd have to re-read it. It really isn't a good book. If you've seen the Ken Russell film, that's much better.