Guns and Violence: The English Experience
This historical study is a companion to Malcolm's earlier book, To Keep and Bear Arms: The Origins of an Anglo-American Right. While the first book focused on the constitutional and legal aspects of gun control, this new work takes a much closer look at the role of the gun in British society, from the Middle Ages to the present. Despite Britain's long history of strict gun laws, Malcolm cites statistical evidence of increased violence in England and assesses the "deterrent impact" of an armed public. She makes useful comparisons with the United States (where, despite millions of privately owned firearms, violent crime continues to decline) and feels that the British people are just embarking upon the kind of gun control debate that we have had in this country for the past 30 years. This book will stimulate renewed discussion and examination of guns in society and will be more accessible for general readers than Peter Squires's recent Gun Culture or Gun Control?: Firearms, Violence and Society. Malcolm's book is highly recommended for academic and large public libraries. Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.