An interview with the author of "Glock: The Rise of America's Gun"

As previously stated, I'd also vote the 1911 as America's gun. I like and respect Glock as a gun, but not enough to buy or read a book about it. I've got several 1911 and general gun books though...
 
According to the Glock rep that taught the armorer's course/ LE firearms instructor workshop I attended a couple of weeks ago, a best case scenario for Glock Inc.'s output is being 120,000 guns BEHIND schedule. It would seem that a lot of American's make them "their gun". Nothing else even comes close to Glocks when it comes to being "my gun" when it comes to any circumstance where I think I might need a gun. I can't wait to pick up a copy of the book.
 
because it was a reliable import that was marketed very well and sold at a low price.
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This is a misconception.
When I bought my first Glock 19 in 1989, the price tag was about 590.00 out the door. In those days, that was not a low price.
They have remained about the same price or even lower, so given the cost of inflation, they have lowered in cost, but initially, they were at the mid upper end of the gun industry.
 
"is this thread going to be open much longer.."

No particular reason to close it. Discussion is on topic and civil.

I've not decided if I'm going to move it, though.

I should be reading this one in short order. A friend of mine bought it and is passing it off to me when he's done.

Yeah, I think I'm going to move this to general discussion. It's really more about the book and the concepts than the guns.
 
The book itself doesn't even really focus on the guns themselves all that much. Beyond explaining WHY the Glock was so novel (plastic construction, safe action system, etc.), it doesn't go into much of any detail about the variations or anything.

It is more of a description of how the Glock gained wide adoption and why they managed to leapfrog pretty much EVERY established gunmaker out there, even those who already had competent autoloaders on the market (Sig and Beretta come to mind).

The profit margins they were making I found amazing... while the author couldn't get exact figures, he seemed to indicate they were making the guns for not much more than $100 each and selling them for nearly $600 (a $500 gun in 1985, if it kept up with inflation, would cost about $1100 today). So while they were selling them at a premium price, they made serious bank on them, and that led to a lot of money to throw around. The author even related that Gaston Glock wanted a lower price at first, but was advised the higher price would make for an impression that the gun was high end. This also meant they could sell them to police agencies for huge discounts. That the price of a Glock has stayed steady over the last twenty-thirty years is also an indicator to me of this; if they had razor thin margins, that price would have risen quite a bit. They've gone from being priced like a high end gun to being priced at the lower end of midrange as everything else got more expensive.
 
Jammer Six said:
Lordy, stop getting hung up on the title of the book and using that to reinforce your own prejudices.
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The title is directly indicative of the choices made and the writing inside.
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The thing is that the author had a reason for calling a Glock "America's gun." No one is really going to know what that reason is until he's read the book. After he's read the book, he might or might not agree with the author's reasoning; but until he has read the book, he's in no position to comment intelligently on the author's reasoning.

No, I haven't read it yet. But it's loaded on my Kindle waiting for me.
 
The title is part of the author's point. A great deal of time is spent showing how S&W squandered their chances and goodwill in the law-enforcement market, and how Glock came to not only compete but dominate. He shows how quickly they saturated the civilian market, to the point that the gun quickly became an iconic symbol in popular culture.
 
but was advised the higher price would make for an impression that the gun was high end.
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While Glock was not the first polymer gun, nor the first wonder nine, it was pretty unique for the time.
With all the attention about passing the xray machines at airports, the public became aware of the potential of polymer guns. The HK VP70 didn't achieve any fame or success and was hardly known at that point.

It could dicate such a high price at the time because it was so unique and in demand by those wanting something really different. It was very high end at the time.

How many high capacity 9mm polymer guns can you name that existed in 1986?
 
The title is part of the author's point.
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Exactly!

It is, therefore, a valid piece of information on which to base a decision about whether or not to read the book. Using the title and the information it provides to decide not to buy the book is not a case of using the title to "...reinforce your own prejudices", (whether or not your "own prejudices" would encourage or discourage you about buying the book) it is a valid decision based on valid information from the only valid source available.

My cup runneth over with validity.

I feel so validated.
 
Oh, and for anyone who's interested?

There's a significant difference between calling the Glock an American Gun vs. America's Gun.

American Gun infers production in the United States.

America's Gun infers choice, not origin. So the title is more than appropriate based on the enormous number of Glocks sold in this country over the last 20 years.
 
Even better...

"The Glock, the gun that got so many peoples' knickers in a frothy twist"

or

"Tactical Tupperware, or how Gaston Glock turn an entire generation into howler monkeys of negative neybobism."

Just saying...

OK, folks, enough is enough...

Some people don't like the how the title of the book is worded, and some have even expressed reluctance to read it on that basis alone...

GET OVER IT.

If that's the ONLY thing you have to comment on, then you don't have much (as in nothing) to comment on.

Try reading the book and understanding why the author titled it as he did.
 
Amusingly, this book was first brought to my attention on NPR, when the author did his interview there about 3 weeks back on "Hot...errr "Fresh Air". I nearly drove off of the interstate upon hearing Terry Gross say "Glock" while flipping through the stations. The ensuing interview actually kept me awake, which was a pleasant change from the standard fare on that particular program. Her typical interviews and subject matter are positively narcoleptic.

The NPR link:
http://www.npr.org/2012/01/24/145640473/how-the-glock-became-americas-weapon-of-choice


I suspect however that I will refrain from purchasing the book, and will await its arrival at the library where I can read it for free. That's $10 to $20 extra I can spend on ammo instead.
 
If you're a gun enthusiast, or a Glock Fan, READ the book, and you'll understand the title.

That's not going to happen.

I don't usually judge books by their cover, but their title is another matter.

I wouldn't read "Glocks: Babes Gone Wild!", either.

Although, thinking that over, I'd be a lot more likely to read that book than a book that claimed the Glock was "America's Gun".
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Your loss. Don't judge a book by its cover. The book is not entirely positive of Glock. It points out both good things they did, and also some not good things. It's an interesting book, and well written.

Saying it's America's gun refers more to the gun's popularity (and the fact that the American buyers really put Glock on the map) than anything else.
 
yeah, read the book is the best advice, and you'll understand why its so popular world wide. Glock's praising stems from Ayoob, Delta Force, Army Rangers,the book as talks about its impact in Afghanistan and Iraq security forces, and Police departments across the country, including Miami PD after the FBI shoot out.

A Delta Force member stated we put in sand, water, exposed it to extreme heat, we pulled the trigger, and it fires.

I believe the book stated how Glock had to retrain users through instructions, and as we all know today and practice, "keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot" and that's Glock's basic rule. Years ago, and most of you may not realize, in police/revolver days, your finger remained on the trigger when covering.

I used the G19 for 10 years, and have no complaints, i've carried Glocks (G36 & G29) ever since, and retired my Colt 1911 70 series. You may like Glocks, but that doesn't mean its not a great pistol.
 
Well, I see I've made my point.

Mike, I don't need to "get over it". It's my choice to read the book or not read the book.

And that would be "not".

Because of the title.

Maybe you should think about getting over the fact that I'll pass on it, and that I said so.
 
Well, I guess if your point was to demonstrate an incredible narrow mindedness, then I guess you made your point.

Congratulations.

I guess.
 
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