Friday, January 7, 2022

Review: Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA

Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA by Tim Mak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fascinating detailed look at the drift of the NRA from its Field & Stream base to embrace rightwing politics and hitch its money and direction to Trumpism. This led to bankruptcy and losing the faith of significant blocks of its members. Along the way there was an almost hysterical reaction to massacres such as that at Sandy Hook Elementary. In 2012, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre gave a speech claiming the solution was not fewer guns, but more guns, in schools. Wayne LaPierre comes across as a truly incompetent, spineless leader whose malleability was the tool for vendors, his wife, executives, etc. to access the wealth donated by members. Indeed, he seemed in this telling to have the best indication of a spine when his own comfort and privilege were threatened.

Former NRA president Oliver North is someone I did not necessarily have a high opinion of before, but is one of the most detailed stories here of someone trying to move the Association in the direction of its goals through legal, ethical means.

View all my reviews

No comments:

Review: The Human Tradition in the Vietnam Era

The Human Tradition in the Vietnam Era by David L. Anderson My rating: 5 of 5 stars The country was expe...