First Freedom

A Ride Through America's Enduring History with the Gun

By: David Harsanyi

Narrated by: Danny Campbell

From “one of America’s smartest political writers” (Glenn Beck) comes a fascinating and accessible history of the United States’ unique and enduring relationship with guns, for fans of Chris Kyle’s American Gun.

For America, the gun is a story of innovation, power, violence, character, and freedom.

From the founding of the nation to the pioneering of the West, from the freeing of the slaves to the urbanization of the twentieth century, our country has had a complex and lasting relationship with firearms. Now, in First Freedom, nationally syndicated columnist and veteran writer David Harsanyi explores the ways in which firearms have helped preserve our religious, economic, and cultural institutions for over two centuries. From Samuel Colt’s early entrepreneurism to the successful firearms technology that helped make the United States a superpower, the gun is inextricably tied to our exceptional rise.

In the vein of popular histories like Salt and Seabiscuit,Harsanyi takes you on a captivating and thrilling ride of Second Amendment history that demonstrates why guns are not only an integral part of America’s past, but also an essential part of its future.

A wonderful history

Well done and not only informative but also entertaining. If you are interested in small arms this book has it all.

A Must-Read/Must-Listen

This book makes for a wonderful crash course in American history, the Second Amendment, what the Right to Bear Arms has meant for American citizens, and how our culture has understood (and misunderstood) that Right. The overviews of the lives of people like Sam Colt, Annie Oakley, John Moses Browning, Maxim, Garand, Ruger, and Stoner provide a fascinating insight into the nature of American capitalism, liberty, the Frontier Spirit of Rugged Individualism, and how guns and gun ownership shaped the nation.
The chapter dealing with the Heller and McDonald rulings is especially good, showing how our legal understanding of one of our most important rights got grounded on solid footing once again, starting with the Late Great Justice Scalia's analysis.
I'm actually surprised the author didn't dive into events like the Battle of Athens, Tennessee. The "Battle" happened when a group of World War II veterans returned home to their town in 1946 and took up arms to overthrow a corrupt local government which had been rigging elections. (If you have a moment, Google it! It's one of many true stories of the Second Amendment in action.)
In a time and place when there is so much disinformation and nastiness in our debate about guns, gun culture, and the meaning of the Second Amendment, a book like this is a welcome dose of intelligent and insightful commentary.
The choice of narrator could have been better, however. I don't think Danny Campbell's reading was godawful, but it sounded rather hoarse and under-powered, and there were moments when he sounded like he was coming down with bronchitis. Most of the time, my attention was held just by the fascinating subject matter, but a few times the raspy narration was just distracting.
All the same, I definitely recommend this book. If you're even the least bit curious about guns, the Second Amendment, and some American history you never learned in high school, check this one out!

History of Firearms Innovations

This book is touted as having content that supports the second amendment, and there is some of that. However it is more a book of firearms history.

One area I find useful: it touches on the innovations of John Browning. Includes the Browning Automatic Rifle (the BAR), which allowed soldiers to carry an automatic while moving forward ("walking fire").

worth the read

the history of guns though time and mostly America. Very good read. Check it out.

Excellent and Informative

Excellent and Informative. This book provides a well rounded overview of the history of the gun in America.