Big Guns

Big Guns by Steve Israel, 310 pages

Gun crime is WAY up across the country, and Chicago has become the poster child for gun violence. When the mayor of the Windy City joins with other metropolitan mayors in a promise to enact gun control measures, the stocks of gun manufacturers naturally takes a hit. So what's a gun manufacturer to do but lean on his lobbyists to help get pro-gun measures passed in Congress? This is the set-up for Israel's novel, a satirical look at gun politics in America. It's uncomfortably real in many ways, but former U.S. Congressman Israel does a wonderful job making the book funny as well (I especially liked all of the organization names he came up with for pro- and anti-gun groups). Fans of political satire like Thank You For Smoking will enjoy this one.