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Bloodbath Nation
An intimate and astonishing rumination on gun violence in America from one of our greatest living writers and "genuine American original" (The Boston Globe) Paul Auster
Paul Auster was a crack marksman as a kid, and like most American boys of his generation he grew up playing with toy six-shooters and mimicking the gun-slinging cowboys in B-Westerns. But he also knows how families can be wrecked by a single act of gun violence: His grandmother shot and killed his grandfather when his father was just six years old.
Now, at this time of intense national discord, no issue divides Americans more deeply than the debate about guns. There are currently more guns than people in the United States, and every day more than one hundred Americans are killed by guns and another two hundred are wounded. These numbers are so large, so catastrophic, so disproportionate to what goes on elsewhere, that one must ask why. Why is America so different--and why are we the most violent country in the Western world?
In this short, searing book, Auster traces centuries of America's use and abuse of guns, through the colonial prehistory of the Republic, armed conflict against the native population, the forced enslavement of millions, and the mass shootings that dominate the current news cycle. He examines the embattled gun-control and anti-gun-control camps, frames gun violence as a public health issue, and investigates the details of one horrific incident- including the perpetrator's unchecked purchase of the gun he used and the suffering of a bystander-turned-hero. Filled with haunting photographs by Spencer Ostrander that document the abandoned sites of more than thirty mass shootings, Bloodbath Nation is an unflinching work about guns in America that asks: What kind of society do we want to live in?
Paul Auster was a crack marksman as a kid, and like most American boys of his generation he grew up playing with toy six-shooters and mimicking the gun-slinging cowboys in B-Westerns. But he also knows how families can be wrecked by a single act of gun violence: His grandmother shot and killed his grandfather when his father was just six years old.
Now, at this time of intense national discord, no issue divides Americans more deeply than the debate about guns. There are currently more guns than people in the United States, and every day more than one hundred Americans are killed by guns and another two hundred are wounded. These numbers are so large, so catastrophic, so disproportionate to what goes on elsewhere, that one must ask why. Why is America so different--and why are we the most violent country in the Western world?
In this short, searing book, Auster traces centuries of America's use and abuse of guns, through the colonial prehistory of the Republic, armed conflict against the native population, the forced enslavement of millions, and the mass shootings that dominate the current news cycle. He examines the embattled gun-control and anti-gun-control camps, frames gun violence as a public health issue, and investigates the details of one horrific incident- including the perpetrator's unchecked purchase of the gun he used and the suffering of a bystander-turned-hero. Filled with haunting photographs by Spencer Ostrander that document the abandoned sites of more than thirty mass shootings, Bloodbath Nation is an unflinching work about guns in America that asks: What kind of society do we want to live in?
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 10, 2023
About the author
Paul Auster
202 books11.4k followersPaul Auster was the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1, Bloodbath Nation, Baumgartner, The Book of Illusions, and The New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006 he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature. Among his other honors are the Prix Médicis Étranger for Leviathan, the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke, and the Premio Napoli for Sunset Park. In 2012, he was the first recipient of the NYC Literary Honors in the category of fiction. He was also a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (The Book of Illusions), the PEN/Faulkner Award (The Music of Chance), the Edgar Award (City of Glass), and the Man Booker Prize (4 3 2 1). Auster was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His work has been translated into more than forty languages. He died at age seventy-seven in 2024.
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March 8, 2023
Review I wanted to read a more detailed, nuanced book about guns in the US than the usual pro or anti-gun lobby articles. Obviously Paul Auster is going to be anti-guns. His grandfather was shot and killed by his grandmother when his father was only 6 years old. But Auster is also a wonderful writer, so I thought this book might be it.
America is the most violent country in the West, it has more people incarcerated than almost anywhere else. Coming from the UK, where some criminals have guns, but most people would never meet anyone who owned one in their whole lifetime, to the Caribbean, where it is the same situation, and then going to America and having a boyfriend who carried one all the time, was culture shock. That was back in 2017, i was living on a yacht in Marco Island and Longboat Key and he was a Treasury Special Agent.
He wouldn't go out without it. It freaked me. he freaked me. He bullied me. He threatened me, but not with guns or violence. Still, I left. And went back to my nuclear-bombed out island, or at least that's what it looked like after hurricane Irma. No electricity for six months, just our generator, but it was preferable to going around with a bully with a gun.
That was my first encounter with a gun. The last too, but I think some guys have them and lie to me. I want to understand how an ordinary person makes the decision to have a gun, even carry it. This is a part of American culture I just don't get.
Reading notes
The Small Arms Survey (SAS), an independent firearms research project based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2017 they estimated that 393 million guns were owned by United States citizens. That same year, the U.S. Census estimated the population to be 326 million. By the U.S. Census's latest numbers, the estimated population is still under 393 million and surely the number of guns has increased in six years.
So gun control is impossible. How is it then possible to stop the police shooting people because 'they wouldn't get out of their vehicle' and people shooting illegal immigrants who are running across their huge property, not the yard around their house, and shooting anyone at all for any reason if they are black because of 'feeling threatened'? And that's just immoral if legal use of guns. What about criminals... they aren't going to give up anything that gives them edge?
So what to do about the 'Bloodbath Nation' that is America? I don't know, does anyone have any answers? And if so, how could people who say 'guns don't kill, people do' (discounting the willingness to use a gun to kill that people who buy them have) be persuaded into a different point of view?
The book is a good reads, but Auster's personal politics sway the book away from what could have been so much more insightful. But ultimately any book that doesn't offer any solution other than 'stricter gun control' fails. 3.5, but rounded down.
America is the most violent country in the West, it has more people incarcerated than almost anywhere else. Coming from the UK, where some criminals have guns, but most people would never meet anyone who owned one in their whole lifetime, to the Caribbean, where it is the same situation, and then going to America and having a boyfriend who carried one all the time, was culture shock. That was back in 2017, i was living on a yacht in Marco Island and Longboat Key and he was a Treasury Special Agent.
He wouldn't go out without it. It freaked me. he freaked me. He bullied me. He threatened me, but not with guns or violence. Still, I left. And went back to my nuclear-bombed out island, or at least that's what it looked like after hurricane Irma. No electricity for six months, just our generator, but it was preferable to going around with a bully with a gun.
That was my first encounter with a gun. The last too, but I think some guys have them and lie to me. I want to understand how an ordinary person makes the decision to have a gun, even carry it. This is a part of American culture I just don't get.
Reading notes
The Small Arms Survey (SAS), an independent firearms research project based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2017 they estimated that 393 million guns were owned by United States citizens. That same year, the U.S. Census estimated the population to be 326 million. By the U.S. Census's latest numbers, the estimated population is still under 393 million and surely the number of guns has increased in six years.
So gun control is impossible. How is it then possible to stop the police shooting people because 'they wouldn't get out of their vehicle' and people shooting illegal immigrants who are running across their huge property, not the yard around their house, and shooting anyone at all for any reason if they are black because of 'feeling threatened'? And that's just immoral if legal use of guns. What about criminals... they aren't going to give up anything that gives them edge?
So what to do about the 'Bloodbath Nation' that is America? I don't know, does anyone have any answers? And if so, how could people who say 'guns don't kill, people do' (discounting the willingness to use a gun to kill that people who buy them have) be persuaded into a different point of view?
The book is a good reads, but Auster's personal politics sway the book away from what could have been so much more insightful. But ultimately any book that doesn't offer any solution other than 'stricter gun control' fails. 3.5, but rounded down.
July 8, 2022
Paul Auster intertwines his own personal story regarding gun violence with the historical and current political situation in the US: Auster's grandmother murdered his grandfather with a gun, the author grew up the son of a severely traumatized father, but was nevertheless introduced to American gun culture at a very young age. This personal story and the normality of guns in everyday life, especially in certain regions, were most interesting to me, a European for whom American weapon culture seems utterly bizarre (and I grew up the daugher of a policeman, so I'm the kid of a guy with a gun).
While I think that connecting the personal with larger societal issues is generally a good approach for the text, the lengthy explanation that gun culture is rooted in settler colonialism and how it relates to American independence from the Britsih seemed like stating the obvious for me. The analysis of several shooting incidents (accompanied by photographs of the crime scenes) remained rather superificial due to the sheer amount of cases. I was more intrigued by the connection Auster makes between the lack of a real worker's movement in the US and the individualist, confrontative focus on weapons - there is something to it that the lack of solidarity (rooted in people like Ayn Rand calling it communism and stigmatising common responsibilty as weakness) breeds fear.
And I found it interesting that Auster makes the same argument as Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil: That ignoring that the US was founded on a genocide and became rich because of slavery (facts that are probably contested nowhere in the world except in the US itself) ruins American society, because the founding lies make other obvious lies acceptable, lies like "guns are not the problem". A nation needs to hold itself accountable, or every orange conman can blurt out obvious nonsense and get elected President, because feelings reign supreme. (Still, Mr. Auster, the slave patrols were no "Southern Gestapo" - both were terribly evil, but in a very different way.)
I'm not sure whether I agree with Auster that gun violence is a public health menace; to me, it seems to be an issue of national security, often related to white terrorism. People who commit mass shootings are not public health offenders, these white middle class kids are mostly domestic terrorists, and that this truth seems to be scandalous in the US is the core of the problem. Auster apparently has no idea how to cure the disease that, since Trump's presidency, is killing even more citizens. Neither do I. But while this book is rather messy, it was still interesting to read and when I catch myself thinking that the text is probably futile, I stop myself, because it would mean to give up hope.
While I think that connecting the personal with larger societal issues is generally a good approach for the text, the lengthy explanation that gun culture is rooted in settler colonialism and how it relates to American independence from the Britsih seemed like stating the obvious for me. The analysis of several shooting incidents (accompanied by photographs of the crime scenes) remained rather superificial due to the sheer amount of cases. I was more intrigued by the connection Auster makes between the lack of a real worker's movement in the US and the individualist, confrontative focus on weapons - there is something to it that the lack of solidarity (rooted in people like Ayn Rand calling it communism and stigmatising common responsibilty as weakness) breeds fear.
And I found it interesting that Auster makes the same argument as Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil: That ignoring that the US was founded on a genocide and became rich because of slavery (facts that are probably contested nowhere in the world except in the US itself) ruins American society, because the founding lies make other obvious lies acceptable, lies like "guns are not the problem". A nation needs to hold itself accountable, or every orange conman can blurt out obvious nonsense and get elected President, because feelings reign supreme. (Still, Mr. Auster, the slave patrols were no "Southern Gestapo" - both were terribly evil, but in a very different way.)
I'm not sure whether I agree with Auster that gun violence is a public health menace; to me, it seems to be an issue of national security, often related to white terrorism. People who commit mass shootings are not public health offenders, these white middle class kids are mostly domestic terrorists, and that this truth seems to be scandalous in the US is the core of the problem. Auster apparently has no idea how to cure the disease that, since Trump's presidency, is killing even more citizens. Neither do I. But while this book is rather messy, it was still interesting to read and when I catch myself thinking that the text is probably futile, I stop myself, because it would mean to give up hope.
February 4, 2023
The thing that shocked -and chilled- me the most about this book is that I only remember four of the many mass shootings mentioned in it (The Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Sandyhook Elementary School, and the Parkland Highschool).
A mere four out of many, many acts of violence and death and suffering.
I'm not sure why I don't remember the others. Either they didn't make it onto the news at all, or, because they happen so often, they just blended in with all the others in my mind, nothing standing out, no big deal, just another mass shooting, just another few bodies dead. Just another reason for Democrats to promise something will be done this time and Republicans to insist we need more guns and both sides to offer meaningless thoughts and prayers.
If I'd heard about all those other mass shootings at all, they didn't seem remarkable because they are so ubiquitous.
That. That is chilling.
Bloodbath Nation is a well-written though short look into why there is so much gun violence in America. It's not very in-depth -its brevity does not allow for a whole lot of analysis - but it is powerful.
At the end of each chapter are a series of photographs showing places where mass shootings have happened. There are no people in these photos, to remind us that they are places where human lives ceased to exist and where much pain was wrought upon the survivors.
A couple facts that stood out:
• "Americans are twenty-five times more likely to be shot than their counterparts in other wealthy, so-called advanced countries, and with less than half the population of those two dozen other countries combined, eighty-two percent of all gun deaths take place here."
• There are "393 million guns currently owned by residents of the United States—more than one firearm for every man, woman, and child in the country."
• "More than one hundred Americans [are] killed by bullets every day. On that same average day, another two-hundred-plus are wounded by guns."
Those facts are chilling too. How many of these even make it onto the news? Very few, though some appear on local news. They happen so often that they aren't really news at all.
A mere four out of many, many acts of violence and death and suffering.
I'm not sure why I don't remember the others. Either they didn't make it onto the news at all, or, because they happen so often, they just blended in with all the others in my mind, nothing standing out, no big deal, just another mass shooting, just another few bodies dead. Just another reason for Democrats to promise something will be done this time and Republicans to insist we need more guns and both sides to offer meaningless thoughts and prayers.
If I'd heard about all those other mass shootings at all, they didn't seem remarkable because they are so ubiquitous.
That. That is chilling.
Bloodbath Nation is a well-written though short look into why there is so much gun violence in America. It's not very in-depth -its brevity does not allow for a whole lot of analysis - but it is powerful.
At the end of each chapter are a series of photographs showing places where mass shootings have happened. There are no people in these photos, to remind us that they are places where human lives ceased to exist and where much pain was wrought upon the survivors.
A couple facts that stood out:
• "Americans are twenty-five times more likely to be shot than their counterparts in other wealthy, so-called advanced countries, and with less than half the population of those two dozen other countries combined, eighty-two percent of all gun deaths take place here."
• There are "393 million guns currently owned by residents of the United States—more than one firearm for every man, woman, and child in the country."
• "More than one hundred Americans [are] killed by bullets every day. On that same average day, another two-hundred-plus are wounded by guns."
Those facts are chilling too. How many of these even make it onto the news? Very few, though some appear on local news. They happen so often that they aren't really news at all.
January 19, 2023
Audiobook read by Kaleo Griffith
…..2 hours and 44 minutes.
Anyone interested in ramifications from gun violence in America—might consider immersing yourself in this book.
I definitely have an interest in gun control in America.
I belonged to a social action group through my temple for many years.
Gun control was a top topic - with petitions signed and trips to our City Hall to express our voices.
I admire Paul Auster putting this book together. It’s not his normal type of book… But he obviously had enough passion on the subject to invest his time.
He presents us with outrageous statistics, and shares his own personal story in association with guns.
It would be silly to say much more because it’s only two hours long…
So I will just say if this is something you have an interest in, it’s worth listening
or reading
A side note - I happen to be one of those people who is comforted by listening to Paul Auster read. I love his voice and I’m a little sorry that he didn’t read this one.
The narrator was just fine… But I still missed my guy!
…..2 hours and 44 minutes.
Anyone interested in ramifications from gun violence in America—might consider immersing yourself in this book.
I definitely have an interest in gun control in America.
I belonged to a social action group through my temple for many years.
Gun control was a top topic - with petitions signed and trips to our City Hall to express our voices.
I admire Paul Auster putting this book together. It’s not his normal type of book… But he obviously had enough passion on the subject to invest his time.
He presents us with outrageous statistics, and shares his own personal story in association with guns.
It would be silly to say much more because it’s only two hours long…
So I will just say if this is something you have an interest in, it’s worth listening
or reading
A side note - I happen to be one of those people who is comforted by listening to Paul Auster read. I love his voice and I’m a little sorry that he didn’t read this one.
The narrator was just fine… But I still missed my guy!
December 8, 2023
Paul Auster has written some of the finest books I’ve read, he’s nimble of mind and without doubt a master wordsmith. Aside from many (perhaps all) of his novels, I’ve also read some of his non-fiction, these being almost entirely introspective and largely biographical. But this one is different, here he turns his attention to guns and wonders why has America allowed itself to become a place where the number of guns owned exceeds the number of its citizens? But more importantly, what is it do do about the fact that the country accounts for around three quarters of the world’s mass shootings.
He takes us through the history of guns in his country, explaining how and why this point has been reached. He provides a pretty exhaustive breakdown of legislation and the political backdrop impacting this growth and also talks about power that the NRA has garnered, which pretty much ensures that the impasse between the anti-gun and pro-gun proclaimers will not be resolved any time soon. Accompanying the text are a good number of unpopulated photographs showing sites where mass shootings have occurred: a car park, a nightclub, a school and other such everyday places. The impact of these photos, I found, was to draw my attention to the fact that these terrible events can happen anywhere. In fact, just a few short weeks after I’d visited Las Vegas on holiday the worst mass shooting ever recorded in America unfolded in this city, just a short distance from where I was staying.
Auster doesn’t offer any solutions, just a few suggestions as to minor first steps that could be taken, but he does make his own views clear with a clarity you’d expect from a man with his gifts. The tone here is one of horror but also of resignation. It’s a short, sobering and ultimately scary summary which purveyed a prognosis that I could only read as ‘hopeless, more of the same to come’. As a footnote, on the morning I finished this book I opened up the BBC news page on my phone to be greeted with a headline announcing that a six-year-old child had shot his teacher with a handgun, in America.
My thanks to Grove Atlantic for supplying a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
He takes us through the history of guns in his country, explaining how and why this point has been reached. He provides a pretty exhaustive breakdown of legislation and the political backdrop impacting this growth and also talks about power that the NRA has garnered, which pretty much ensures that the impasse between the anti-gun and pro-gun proclaimers will not be resolved any time soon. Accompanying the text are a good number of unpopulated photographs showing sites where mass shootings have occurred: a car park, a nightclub, a school and other such everyday places. The impact of these photos, I found, was to draw my attention to the fact that these terrible events can happen anywhere. In fact, just a few short weeks after I’d visited Las Vegas on holiday the worst mass shooting ever recorded in America unfolded in this city, just a short distance from where I was staying.
Auster doesn’t offer any solutions, just a few suggestions as to minor first steps that could be taken, but he does make his own views clear with a clarity you’d expect from a man with his gifts. The tone here is one of horror but also of resignation. It’s a short, sobering and ultimately scary summary which purveyed a prognosis that I could only read as ‘hopeless, more of the same to come’. As a footnote, on the morning I finished this book I opened up the BBC news page on my phone to be greeted with a headline announcing that a six-year-old child had shot his teacher with a handgun, in America.
My thanks to Grove Atlantic for supplying a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 2, 2023
If I were to choose one word to describe BLOODBATH NATION, it would be the word treason. The author tries to portray himself as a social crusader when in fact his ideology is that of a hardcore socialist of the most dangerous kind. It is obvious from the collateral damage to American values he aims for as he attacks the Second Amendment that his concern is not merely innocent lives being lost but rather to help destabilize the country as well as weaken it militarily. Unlike the leftists who attack literature that opposes their ideology by giving poor reviews without even reading the material, I actually read this book and will explain my low rating.
In presenting his arguments this guy uses clever rhetoric with a good dose of trigger words. To the simple folk a trigger word elicits a response like Pavlov's dog, and he has more triggers in his repertoire than a NRA member has in his gun cabinet! I guess I too am among the simple folk because my trigger is 'white supremacist,' a term that leftists misuse all the time and therefore infuriates me as much as the 'N' word angers blacks
To begin with, this work reeks of Critical Race Theory, which if you look at the source, is an instrument of Communist propaganda. Brainwashing begins by destroying one's values and beliefs and then replacing them with others that are usually the opposite of what one had before. When I was growing up, my American teachers taught me that this was the best country in the world. In a sense this is true, I mean, you don't see boatloads of people going to Cuba or trekking into North Korea. What indoctrinated teachers teach now is that the white man is inferior, America is bad, say no to religion, and young children should not only be exposed to things of a sexual nature but that boys can be girls and girls can be boys. By the way, this nonsense about gender identity is not tolerated in Communist countries for a reason.
One of his American icon targets is the cowboy of the old west, usually portrayed riding his horse with his six-shooter in a holster at his side. The author says that crime was low in towns of the old west because of city ordinances against carrying handguns in town. That may have been true, but he conveniently omits the fact that unlike in Democratic run cities today, where criminals are caught and released, justice was swift at the end of the rope. Nor does he mention sheriff Henry Plummer and his gang of 300 that included crooked deputies, who not only killed and robbed but seduced other men's wives. Unlike Chicago of today, when the people had enough they caught and hung the members one by one.
He pokes fun at target shooting for sport, but what about other sports? I can think of a few I could live without. How would you like it if we got rid of football?
Have you ever looked up pictures of armed Israeli school teachers? Evidently an Israeli mother knows that her 2nd grade teacher with the assault rifle with a 30 round magazine is the only logical defense if some nut job attempts to shoot up her class. Google images used to be full of them, but Google being Google seems to have removed most of them.
He likes to mention the number of deaths by guns, but he seems to lump criminal activity in with mass shootings and makes the subtle implication that not only are there that many deaths from mass shootings but white supremacist NRA members are doing all the killing when in reality it is black killing blacks in the big Democratic cities like Chicago. Meanwhile Mayor Lightfood is dancing in the street in a ploy to get votes. Nor does he specify how many of these deaths are from victims killing criminals in self defense.
He must be an ANTIFA member incognito for the stances he takes on various issues, which really have no place in this book. His hatred of Trump makes him blind to the problems that are the result of Biden being in office and thinks it was a fair election with no sleaziness on the part of the Democrats. He mentions the 'riot' at the White House in which ANTIFA infiltrators tried to get the peaceful demonstrators riled up by trying to break windows with baseball bats, which, by the way, is a standard ANTIFA tactic in riots.
He mentions how a young woman bravely filmed a case of police beating a black man to death, which has nothing to do with guns, other than to maybe be another trigger point. I think she was anything but brave because she knows the police will not go after her for doing so. This same person will play dumb when asked about a drive by shooting where a child was killed. Chances are, they may not only have witnessed it but knew the criminals as well. Such a thing happens all the time in Chicago. ANTIFA tells their followers to film police brutality. While that in itself may be a good thing they ruin the good intentions by pointing out not to film the provocation that led to the incident. I remember back in the 90's seeing a cop pull over a car early in the morning. All the occupants had their hands sticking out the window. Little did I know that criminals from the big city knew to do that when pulled over to show they were not holding a weapon. Now criminals will beat a female cop to the ground and try to gain control of her firearm while yelling "Don't shoot!"
The author likes double standards. He sees no use for the public having guns, yet admits that one Communist stated the political power grows out of a barrel of a gun. Another Communist said that votes don't matter. What matters is who counts the votes.
He talks about mass killings, which he should. However, even this is tainted to suit his agenda. He says that a white supremacist killed 23 Mexican-Americans and wounded 23 others. This black flag event was carried out by Patrick Crusius. He left behind a manifesto on the internet making it sound like he was a white racist when in reality he was a member of ANTIFA.
I was surprised that he mentioned a brave man stopping a mass shooting at a church. However, this was not a case of concealed carry but rather a guy hearing gunshots across the street, fetching his gun and running over to try and save good people. He stopped the shooter, but only after several people were shot. As a way of comparison, there is a video on the US Concealed Carry website that shows a guy pulling out a gun in a church and getting one shot off before a member with a concealed carry puts an end to it. And then you see a handful of others in the congregations drawing their guns to help defend as well.
Why are there mass killings today? I think it is because society has changed, not guns. Plenty of guns were brought back from the world wars but mass shootings only started after Y2K.
He mentions tearing down statues of Confederate soldiers. Now what this has to do with gun violence I don't know, unless it is another of his triggers. Perhaps he would prefer statues of Stalin and Pol Pot?
He makes a big case about no need for militias and therefore no need for an armed public. To begin with, if you take away guns from the law-abiding public, only the criminals would have guns. As for the militia, maybe it can be argued that the National Guard is the old militia. However, in that case, every able bodied man, and maybe even women, should serve in the Guard. Period! And they should keep their military weapons at home like the Swiss did for years. In the case of invasion, and it is stupid to think it can't happen because of 'the bomb,' an important part of our defense would be guerrillas and partisans operating behind enemy lines. The military value of such forces can't be overlooked. In every military action carried out by Communist countries or their client states, guerrillas have been present and sometimes even figured predominantly as their main force. And one can bet the farm that should an invasion happen here ANTIFA would be helping them. Back when the original 'Red Dawn' movie came out my friends said they would use their hunting rifles to defend their country. What better way to denude such a potent military force than to outlaw their possession of firearms or registering them.
I believe that the original 2nd Amendment implied that we should have access to the latest military issue, otherwise they would have said something like we can only have access to matchlocks while the military had flintlocks. Corrupt politicians feared being thrown out of office at gunpoint so they changed this.
The author's true colors showed through once again as he made one of his last arguments for gun control by mentioning Kyle Rittenhouse shooting and killing some rioters during the anarchy in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He shot in self defense and was found not guilty of murder. After the trial he launched the Media Accountability Project To hold the media accountable for the lies they told during his trial. Maybe
Kyle should sue this author as well!
This author is playing on sensationalism to sell this book and make a name for himself. As he said about the media, he gets more bucks for the bang with every shooting.
In presenting his arguments this guy uses clever rhetoric with a good dose of trigger words. To the simple folk a trigger word elicits a response like Pavlov's dog, and he has more triggers in his repertoire than a NRA member has in his gun cabinet! I guess I too am among the simple folk because my trigger is 'white supremacist,' a term that leftists misuse all the time and therefore infuriates me as much as the 'N' word angers blacks
To begin with, this work reeks of Critical Race Theory, which if you look at the source, is an instrument of Communist propaganda. Brainwashing begins by destroying one's values and beliefs and then replacing them with others that are usually the opposite of what one had before. When I was growing up, my American teachers taught me that this was the best country in the world. In a sense this is true, I mean, you don't see boatloads of people going to Cuba or trekking into North Korea. What indoctrinated teachers teach now is that the white man is inferior, America is bad, say no to religion, and young children should not only be exposed to things of a sexual nature but that boys can be girls and girls can be boys. By the way, this nonsense about gender identity is not tolerated in Communist countries for a reason.
One of his American icon targets is the cowboy of the old west, usually portrayed riding his horse with his six-shooter in a holster at his side. The author says that crime was low in towns of the old west because of city ordinances against carrying handguns in town. That may have been true, but he conveniently omits the fact that unlike in Democratic run cities today, where criminals are caught and released, justice was swift at the end of the rope. Nor does he mention sheriff Henry Plummer and his gang of 300 that included crooked deputies, who not only killed and robbed but seduced other men's wives. Unlike Chicago of today, when the people had enough they caught and hung the members one by one.
He pokes fun at target shooting for sport, but what about other sports? I can think of a few I could live without. How would you like it if we got rid of football?
Have you ever looked up pictures of armed Israeli school teachers? Evidently an Israeli mother knows that her 2nd grade teacher with the assault rifle with a 30 round magazine is the only logical defense if some nut job attempts to shoot up her class. Google images used to be full of them, but Google being Google seems to have removed most of them.
He likes to mention the number of deaths by guns, but he seems to lump criminal activity in with mass shootings and makes the subtle implication that not only are there that many deaths from mass shootings but white supremacist NRA members are doing all the killing when in reality it is black killing blacks in the big Democratic cities like Chicago. Meanwhile Mayor Lightfood is dancing in the street in a ploy to get votes. Nor does he specify how many of these deaths are from victims killing criminals in self defense.
He must be an ANTIFA member incognito for the stances he takes on various issues, which really have no place in this book. His hatred of Trump makes him blind to the problems that are the result of Biden being in office and thinks it was a fair election with no sleaziness on the part of the Democrats. He mentions the 'riot' at the White House in which ANTIFA infiltrators tried to get the peaceful demonstrators riled up by trying to break windows with baseball bats, which, by the way, is a standard ANTIFA tactic in riots.
He mentions how a young woman bravely filmed a case of police beating a black man to death, which has nothing to do with guns, other than to maybe be another trigger point. I think she was anything but brave because she knows the police will not go after her for doing so. This same person will play dumb when asked about a drive by shooting where a child was killed. Chances are, they may not only have witnessed it but knew the criminals as well. Such a thing happens all the time in Chicago. ANTIFA tells their followers to film police brutality. While that in itself may be a good thing they ruin the good intentions by pointing out not to film the provocation that led to the incident. I remember back in the 90's seeing a cop pull over a car early in the morning. All the occupants had their hands sticking out the window. Little did I know that criminals from the big city knew to do that when pulled over to show they were not holding a weapon. Now criminals will beat a female cop to the ground and try to gain control of her firearm while yelling "Don't shoot!"
The author likes double standards. He sees no use for the public having guns, yet admits that one Communist stated the political power grows out of a barrel of a gun. Another Communist said that votes don't matter. What matters is who counts the votes.
He talks about mass killings, which he should. However, even this is tainted to suit his agenda. He says that a white supremacist killed 23 Mexican-Americans and wounded 23 others. This black flag event was carried out by Patrick Crusius. He left behind a manifesto on the internet making it sound like he was a white racist when in reality he was a member of ANTIFA.
I was surprised that he mentioned a brave man stopping a mass shooting at a church. However, this was not a case of concealed carry but rather a guy hearing gunshots across the street, fetching his gun and running over to try and save good people. He stopped the shooter, but only after several people were shot. As a way of comparison, there is a video on the US Concealed Carry website that shows a guy pulling out a gun in a church and getting one shot off before a member with a concealed carry puts an end to it. And then you see a handful of others in the congregations drawing their guns to help defend as well.
Why are there mass killings today? I think it is because society has changed, not guns. Plenty of guns were brought back from the world wars but mass shootings only started after Y2K.
He mentions tearing down statues of Confederate soldiers. Now what this has to do with gun violence I don't know, unless it is another of his triggers. Perhaps he would prefer statues of Stalin and Pol Pot?
He makes a big case about no need for militias and therefore no need for an armed public. To begin with, if you take away guns from the law-abiding public, only the criminals would have guns. As for the militia, maybe it can be argued that the National Guard is the old militia. However, in that case, every able bodied man, and maybe even women, should serve in the Guard. Period! And they should keep their military weapons at home like the Swiss did for years. In the case of invasion, and it is stupid to think it can't happen because of 'the bomb,' an important part of our defense would be guerrillas and partisans operating behind enemy lines. The military value of such forces can't be overlooked. In every military action carried out by Communist countries or their client states, guerrillas have been present and sometimes even figured predominantly as their main force. And one can bet the farm that should an invasion happen here ANTIFA would be helping them. Back when the original 'Red Dawn' movie came out my friends said they would use their hunting rifles to defend their country. What better way to denude such a potent military force than to outlaw their possession of firearms or registering them.
I believe that the original 2nd Amendment implied that we should have access to the latest military issue, otherwise they would have said something like we can only have access to matchlocks while the military had flintlocks. Corrupt politicians feared being thrown out of office at gunpoint so they changed this.
The author's true colors showed through once again as he made one of his last arguments for gun control by mentioning Kyle Rittenhouse shooting and killing some rioters during the anarchy in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He shot in self defense and was found not guilty of murder. After the trial he launched the Media Accountability Project To hold the media accountable for the lies they told during his trial. Maybe
Kyle should sue this author as well!
This author is playing on sensationalism to sell this book and make a name for himself. As he said about the media, he gets more bucks for the bang with every shooting.
January 7, 2023
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC. I saw the author and bit. This is not one of Auster's wonderful fictions though, this is real life.
In Bloodbath Nation Paul Auster gives us a searing description of the state of the USA and its increasingly baffling reliance on guns. His opinions are well reasoned and based on historical evidence. He's certainly right that attempting to rid the US of all firearms would not work, we only have to look at prohibition or banned books to know that when something is denied it is sought all the more.
However arguments aside the figures are staggering. So many deaths, so many lives ended, ruined, interrupted, wasted. It makes for a sobering read.
It is only made more unnerving by Spencer Ostrander's photographs of the sites of some of the more publicised massacres (or mass shootings if you prefer). There are no bodies but the captions tell their own story - most of these sites are now bulldozed or remain closed since the shooting.
Auster also looks at the perpetrators, explains the history behind the "right to bear arms" and the more recent history that led to the state the US is in now - fractured and hurting.
The question why America and nowhere else is a good one. The answer may be a long time coming as the two sides of pro and anti gun cannot agree on the simplest of conundrums, ie who/what do we blame? The guns or the people who wield them.
I do not know the answer but surely a dialogue should be started between the two sides or (with the installation of another divisive president - whoever they may be) the US's problems will only get worse.
Read it. It may only be an essay but it is concise, well considered and erudite.
In Bloodbath Nation Paul Auster gives us a searing description of the state of the USA and its increasingly baffling reliance on guns. His opinions are well reasoned and based on historical evidence. He's certainly right that attempting to rid the US of all firearms would not work, we only have to look at prohibition or banned books to know that when something is denied it is sought all the more.
However arguments aside the figures are staggering. So many deaths, so many lives ended, ruined, interrupted, wasted. It makes for a sobering read.
It is only made more unnerving by Spencer Ostrander's photographs of the sites of some of the more publicised massacres (or mass shootings if you prefer). There are no bodies but the captions tell their own story - most of these sites are now bulldozed or remain closed since the shooting.
Auster also looks at the perpetrators, explains the history behind the "right to bear arms" and the more recent history that led to the state the US is in now - fractured and hurting.
The question why America and nowhere else is a good one. The answer may be a long time coming as the two sides of pro and anti gun cannot agree on the simplest of conundrums, ie who/what do we blame? The guns or the people who wield them.
I do not know the answer but surely a dialogue should be started between the two sides or (with the installation of another divisive president - whoever they may be) the US's problems will only get worse.
Read it. It may only be an essay but it is concise, well considered and erudite.
January 19, 2023
'Bloodbath Nation', written by Paul Auster, and featuring photography by Spencer Ostrander, is a thought provoking and horrifying, but necessary read.
It chronicles the unending epidemic of gun violence and mass shootings in the United States, and the history of guns and gun control in America.
Auster takes a look at the state of America's perverse relationship with guns and its acceptance of mass shootings as part of living in a "free society".
He talks about how we have become almost desensitized to hearing news of mass shootings because of how frequent they are now.
On an average, more than 100 Americans are killed and over 200 others injured every day, in gun related incidents. There are more than 393 million civilian-owned firearms in the United States, which is more than all men, women and children combined.
The novelist talks about his personal experiences and encounters with guns throughout his life, including the chilling murder his family hid for five decades, and the never-ending trauma that came with it.
In 'Bloodbath Nation', Auster explains the history behind the "right to bear arms", and he covers the American Frontier Wars and colonial violence against the various American Indian and First Nation tribes.
He takes a look at the more recent history of mass shootings: Sandy Hook Elementary School, Uvalde, The First Baptist Church in Sutherland, The Pulse Night Club in Orlando, Parkland, Mandalay Bay and El Paso - and how the US has done almost nothing to stop them.
'Bloodbath Nation' is a grim reminder that no lessons have been learned from the past, no concrete measures have been enforced, and there doesn't seem to be a strong desire for change.
Huge thanks to @netgalley and @grovepress for the free advanced reader copy of 'Bloodbath Nation' in exchange for my honest review.
It chronicles the unending epidemic of gun violence and mass shootings in the United States, and the history of guns and gun control in America.
Auster takes a look at the state of America's perverse relationship with guns and its acceptance of mass shootings as part of living in a "free society".
He talks about how we have become almost desensitized to hearing news of mass shootings because of how frequent they are now.
On an average, more than 100 Americans are killed and over 200 others injured every day, in gun related incidents. There are more than 393 million civilian-owned firearms in the United States, which is more than all men, women and children combined.
The novelist talks about his personal experiences and encounters with guns throughout his life, including the chilling murder his family hid for five decades, and the never-ending trauma that came with it.
In 'Bloodbath Nation', Auster explains the history behind the "right to bear arms", and he covers the American Frontier Wars and colonial violence against the various American Indian and First Nation tribes.
He takes a look at the more recent history of mass shootings: Sandy Hook Elementary School, Uvalde, The First Baptist Church in Sutherland, The Pulse Night Club in Orlando, Parkland, Mandalay Bay and El Paso - and how the US has done almost nothing to stop them.
'Bloodbath Nation' is a grim reminder that no lessons have been learned from the past, no concrete measures have been enforced, and there doesn't seem to be a strong desire for change.
Huge thanks to @netgalley and @grovepress for the free advanced reader copy of 'Bloodbath Nation' in exchange for my honest review.
August 20, 2023
Choquerende cijfers, goede analyse, ontzettend boeiend geschreven. Maar ja, Paul Auster mag mij alles vertellen. Zo fijn om hem nog eens te lezen. Het was ondanks het zware onderwerp een beetje thuiskomen.
“The anti-gun control minority is correct when they say that gun violence is caused by the irresponsible or unhinged people who use guns, but to say that guns do not cause gun violence is no less ludicrous than saying that cars do not cause car crashes or that cigarettes do not cause lung cancer. Not every person who drives a car will be in a crash, not every cigarette smoker will die of lung cancer, and not every gun owner will use his gun to maim or kill himself or someone else. But people shoot other people with guns because they have guns, and people commit suicide with guns because they have guns, and the more guns there are to be bought and the more people there are to buy them, the more people will kill themselves and others with guns.
This is not a moral or political statement—it is a question of pure mathematics”
“The anti-gun control minority is correct when they say that gun violence is caused by the irresponsible or unhinged people who use guns, but to say that guns do not cause gun violence is no less ludicrous than saying that cars do not cause car crashes or that cigarettes do not cause lung cancer. Not every person who drives a car will be in a crash, not every cigarette smoker will die of lung cancer, and not every gun owner will use his gun to maim or kill himself or someone else. But people shoot other people with guns because they have guns, and people commit suicide with guns because they have guns, and the more guns there are to be bought and the more people there are to buy them, the more people will kill themselves and others with guns.
This is not a moral or political statement—it is a question of pure mathematics”
July 22, 2024
In dem Essay "Bloodbath Nation" beschäftigt sich Paul Auster mit der Waffengewalt in den USA. Allein der Titel macht klar, dass diese für Auster vollkommen außer Kontrolle geraten ist. Besonders macht sich das in den vielen Amokläufen bemerkbar. Die Schwarzweißfotos von Spencer Ostrander unterstreichen diesen Aspekt.
Auster hat sich tief in die Materie eingearbeitet. Er guckt historisch, gesellschaftlich, politisch und kulturell auf das Thema. Das ist beeindruckend und handwerklich gut gemacht, aber nicht unbedingt neu. Eine Dokumentation, die ich kürzlich zum Thema bei ZDF-Info gesehen habe, lieferte nahezu identische Erkenntnisse.
Paul Auster geht nur an den Stellen, an denen er persönlich wird, über das Erwartbare hinaus. So berichtet er beispielsweise davon, dass am 23. Januar 1919 seine Großmutter seinen Großvater erschoss. Solche Passagen zeigen die literarische Kraft Austers. Sie sind mir in diesem Band jedoch zu rar gesät. Für Kompletisten ist das Buch lohnenswert. Wer Auster bisher nicht oder kaum kennt, sollte lieber zu den frühen Romanen greifen.
Auster hat sich tief in die Materie eingearbeitet. Er guckt historisch, gesellschaftlich, politisch und kulturell auf das Thema. Das ist beeindruckend und handwerklich gut gemacht, aber nicht unbedingt neu. Eine Dokumentation, die ich kürzlich zum Thema bei ZDF-Info gesehen habe, lieferte nahezu identische Erkenntnisse.
Paul Auster geht nur an den Stellen, an denen er persönlich wird, über das Erwartbare hinaus. So berichtet er beispielsweise davon, dass am 23. Januar 1919 seine Großmutter seinen Großvater erschoss. Solche Passagen zeigen die literarische Kraft Austers. Sie sind mir in diesem Band jedoch zu rar gesät. Für Kompletisten ist das Buch lohnenswert. Wer Auster bisher nicht oder kaum kennt, sollte lieber zu den frühen Romanen greifen.
March 4, 2023
I’m a big fan of Paul Auster’s essays and fiction (his ‘Invention of Solitude’ about the death of his father is a masterpiece) but while I applaud his intentions here, I’m not sure this polemic really works.
Auster sets out to write about the plague of gun violence in America and tells the story of his grandfather who was murdered by his grandmother, and the legacy of that killing on future generations of his family. It’s a powerful metaphor for the havoc gun violence wreaks in America not only on the victims, but its survivors.
After this however, I think Auster loses his way a bit. He wants to tie the legacy of slavery and America’s shameful history of racial violence to Americans attitude toward the 2nd amendment and gun ownership.
He cites the Black Panthers in 1967 holding an armed protest at the California state capital as a turning point. While I appreciate Auster citing this moment, as it is important, I’m not sure there is a clear line between this and America’s obsession with guns.
He then veers off into critiques of capitalism and how it inspires individualism which inspires people to believe they have the right to own guns.
Maybe. But it feels like a predetermined idea searching for even the most tangential thing to back it up.
I actually like Auster’s thesis early in the essay where he argues that while regulating firearms is important, ultimately it will do little good until attitudes about guns change as well. It’s a gun problem, but it’s a national ethos problem as well. One cannot be successfully addressed without the other. Which is why I was disappointed to see Auster in the final pages argue for stricter firearm laws as the solution, seemingly contradicting his earlier statement.
Ultimately, I was hoping for a little more nuance here and less a polemic about Donald Trump, and “crazed” gun owners. Are those people a problem? Yes. But they are also merely a symptom of a deeper sickness in America that remains unaddressed.
Auster sets out to write about the plague of gun violence in America and tells the story of his grandfather who was murdered by his grandmother, and the legacy of that killing on future generations of his family. It’s a powerful metaphor for the havoc gun violence wreaks in America not only on the victims, but its survivors.
After this however, I think Auster loses his way a bit. He wants to tie the legacy of slavery and America’s shameful history of racial violence to Americans attitude toward the 2nd amendment and gun ownership.
He cites the Black Panthers in 1967 holding an armed protest at the California state capital as a turning point. While I appreciate Auster citing this moment, as it is important, I’m not sure there is a clear line between this and America’s obsession with guns.
He then veers off into critiques of capitalism and how it inspires individualism which inspires people to believe they have the right to own guns.
Maybe. But it feels like a predetermined idea searching for even the most tangential thing to back it up.
I actually like Auster’s thesis early in the essay where he argues that while regulating firearms is important, ultimately it will do little good until attitudes about guns change as well. It’s a gun problem, but it’s a national ethos problem as well. One cannot be successfully addressed without the other. Which is why I was disappointed to see Auster in the final pages argue for stricter firearm laws as the solution, seemingly contradicting his earlier statement.
Ultimately, I was hoping for a little more nuance here and less a polemic about Donald Trump, and “crazed” gun owners. Are those people a problem? Yes. But they are also merely a symptom of a deeper sickness in America that remains unaddressed.
June 30, 2023
I liked the writing and the photos, but wasn't sure why Auster felt compelled to write this book. People have written far more compellingly about this topic and I'm not sue we needed his voice on this issue. I also found some of his opinions to be mildly offensive (like suggesting that Black people were better in many ways under slavery than Jim Crow because they were at least considered and treated as valuable property). I just wasn't moved by his opinions and felt his insight was lacking and more a repeat of what other people have already been saying about gun violence in America.
January 23, 2023
El debate de las arm4s es uno de los temas más candentes en la sociedad estadounidense. Muchos las defienden como un derecho constitucional, otros están totalmente en contra, algunos están a favor con algunos peros, etc. Pero tras 250 años de historia en el país no se ha llegado aún a ningún consenso sobre el tema, y en este breve pero conciso ensayo Paul Auster arrojará cifras escalofriantes que solo nos harán preguntarnos por qué es tan diferente Estados Unidos y que lo convierte en el país más violento de occidente.
En apenas 200 páginas, Auster hará un breve recorrido por la historia de Estados Unidos, desde la Independencia, pasando por la Guerra de Secesión hasta llegar a la actualidad, analizando el uso e impacto que las arm4s han tenido en cada momento y de como siempre han sido un tema en el que las leyes han escurrido el bulto o solo se han postulado a su favor, haciendo, por ejemplo, que la ANR (Asociación Nacional del Rifl3) pasara de ser una simple asociación a convertirse en uno de los grupos de presión más importantes e influyentes en el panorama político nacional del país.
En este libro el autor deja claro que no está a favor del uso de arm4s, pero que prohibirlas tampoco sería la solución ideal, ya que cuando se promulgó la Ley Seca, los años 20 estuvieron plagados de revueltas en la calles, locales clandestinos, fabricación casera de alcohol que acarreó graves problemas de salud, y un gran contrabando de alcohol importado. Y si ya hay debate en el uso de las arm4s, prohibirlas podría desencadenar un mercado clandestino aún mayor del que ya existe e inimaginables consecuencias para la sociedad estadounidense.
Lo que se necesita, según Auster, es una legislación sin fisuras, clara y concisa, sobre el uso, posesión y tráfico legal de arm4s en el país. Pero como le decía su madre siempre que intentaba arreglar el mundo: “Sigue soñando, Paul”. Y es muy triste que una sociedad civilizada y pacífica parezca que solo pueda existir en sueños.
En apenas 200 páginas, Auster hará un breve recorrido por la historia de Estados Unidos, desde la Independencia, pasando por la Guerra de Secesión hasta llegar a la actualidad, analizando el uso e impacto que las arm4s han tenido en cada momento y de como siempre han sido un tema en el que las leyes han escurrido el bulto o solo se han postulado a su favor, haciendo, por ejemplo, que la ANR (Asociación Nacional del Rifl3) pasara de ser una simple asociación a convertirse en uno de los grupos de presión más importantes e influyentes en el panorama político nacional del país.
En este libro el autor deja claro que no está a favor del uso de arm4s, pero que prohibirlas tampoco sería la solución ideal, ya que cuando se promulgó la Ley Seca, los años 20 estuvieron plagados de revueltas en la calles, locales clandestinos, fabricación casera de alcohol que acarreó graves problemas de salud, y un gran contrabando de alcohol importado. Y si ya hay debate en el uso de las arm4s, prohibirlas podría desencadenar un mercado clandestino aún mayor del que ya existe e inimaginables consecuencias para la sociedad estadounidense.
Lo que se necesita, según Auster, es una legislación sin fisuras, clara y concisa, sobre el uso, posesión y tráfico legal de arm4s en el país. Pero como le decía su madre siempre que intentaba arreglar el mundo: “Sigue soñando, Paul”. Y es muy triste que una sociedad civilizada y pacífica parezca que solo pueda existir en sueños.
February 3, 2023
D'entrada ja us avanço que amb mestres tan adorats com Paul Auster, servidora no serà mai objectiva. Però és que, realment no cal. Tot el que escriu és meravellós. Excusa ideal per parlar-vos de la seva darrera novetat "Un país banyat en sang", que no és una de les seves excepcionals novel·les. No. És una mena d'assaig, records d'infantesa o article periodístic molt i molt ben escrit. Tant que sense donar-te ja l'has llegit. De cop, perquè és punyent, però senzill. Perquè es posiciona, però informa. El tema? Les armes als Estats Units i el seu constant debat. Auster recorda i enumera els assassinats múltiples a causa d'armes de foc, i ens dona una lliçó de la història del seu país, que ell estima, però no deixa impune tampoc. I l'acompanyen fotografies de l'Spencer Ostrander dels llocs, tal qual, ara sense morbositat ni posicionament. La imatge d'aquell túnel de rentat, institut o discoteca amb la data i els morts i ferits.
August 12, 2022
Paul Auster’s “Bloodbath Nation” is a cathartic jeremiad on an insidious phenomenon that has gripped the world’s biggest economy. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Auster informs us, released some statistical detail which makes for some sobering reading. Annually, close to 40,000 Americans succumb to gunshot wounds, while 80,000 more are left nursing scars, both physical and mental. Thus, on an average, more than 100 Americans are killed and over 200 others injured every day, courtesy a gunman going rogue, or a cop gone crazy or a depressed individual bidding life goodbye. With more than 393 million guns currently possessed by the US populace, there are more firearms in the country than all men, women and children combined.
Auster once said, “memory is the space in which a thing happens for a second time.” In the America of today a part of the space reserved for memory seems to be racked by a tragedy possessing the unfortunate propensity to repeat itself on loop. From Sandy Hook Elementary School to Uvalde; from The First Baptist Church in Sutherland to The Pulse Night Club, Orlando, no lessons are learned, no concrete measures are instituted, and no promise is kept. Candlelight vigils and desk thumping debates are very poor substitutes (if at all) for gun control bills and prophylactic restraints.
Auster hits the nail on its head when he claims that the menace of gun control will forever remain perched above our heads like the proverbial sword of Damocles unless there is a collective and urgent acknowledgement that it represents a grave public health threat. Charting the evolutionary trajectory between cars and guns, two phenomena which symbolize both the trappings of prosperity and the travesty of justice respectively, in America, Auster argues that while there have been constant and incremental enhancements to the safety of passenger transport such as introduction of seat belts, airbags etc, there have been no commensurate benevolent outcomes in so far as the reckless wielding of a gun is concerned.
This dichotomy, according to Auster, can be traced to what he derisively terms “the sublime hypocrisy” characterizing the formation of America as an independent nation. While a marauding militia went about massacring and displacing the native Indians, before seizing their land and laying down colonial roots, the Declaration of Independence, legislated the second Amendment which provided the right to possess and employ firearms. The 2008 Supreme Court decision in the District of Columbia v Heller case, bestowed ultimate universality and legitimacy to gun ownership by interpreting that the rights to own a weapon, as postulated by the Second Amendment was not just restricted to the military or the law enforcement agencies but to every other individual who called America, home. Some weak restrictions that forbade the use and firing of a firearm within the confines of educational, medical and religious institutions stayed obfuscated by the ramifications of the original and more primary verdict.
Auster recollects the tragic consequences marring his own family as a result of a misused weapon in a nondescript yet powerful manner. A family secret of over half a century is prised open, following a chance encounter by one of Aster’s cousins with a passenger who happens to know Paul Auster’s father and uncles. However Auster’s first eye opening understanding of the damage that could be wreaked by both a weapon and the indiscreet man holding it, takes place when he is on board an Esso oil tanker as a seaman during a six month stint in the merchant marine. Being one of the youngest and the least experienced men on board he soon strikes up a friendship with Lamar, ‘a short, stringy-haired redhead from Baton Rouge with a white, crimson splotch marring the white of his left eye…” Lamar is also an equally inexperienced and soft spoken seaman looking for company. Aster’s conviction in Lamar’s sincerity and outlook is shaken to the bones, when the latter nonchalantly reveals one day that a hobby of his happens to be parking himself on an overpass of the interstate highway, and firing live rounds at cars passing by underneath. Upon questioned by Auster on what would have been the consequence if either a bullet had made contact with a car or a scared driver veering off course, Lamar shrugs and laconically replies, ‘Who knows?”
Auster’s lament is supplemented by brooding images in the form of photographs, courtesy Spencer Ostrander. These pictures are of the sites of mass shootings in upwards of thirty, and spaced over the last few years. Not a single animate being inhabits the pictures. Bleak, isolated, and run down, the structures in sepia colour resemble tired and mute spectators within whose precincts some of the most wanton and incomprehensible mayhem were wreaked by a few deranged individuals.
“Bloodbath Nation” is a grim reminder of an existential crisis staring a nation in the face and a fervent plea to recognise and remedy such crisis instead of adopting an ostrich like approach that consists of burying one’s head in the sand while exposing the rest of the body to every possible danger.
(Bloodbath Nation by Paul Auster, is published by Grove Atlantic and will be available for sale from the 10th of January 2023 onwards.)
Thank you, Net Galley for the Advance Reviewer Copy.
#BloodbathNation #NetGalley.
Auster once said, “memory is the space in which a thing happens for a second time.” In the America of today a part of the space reserved for memory seems to be racked by a tragedy possessing the unfortunate propensity to repeat itself on loop. From Sandy Hook Elementary School to Uvalde; from The First Baptist Church in Sutherland to The Pulse Night Club, Orlando, no lessons are learned, no concrete measures are instituted, and no promise is kept. Candlelight vigils and desk thumping debates are very poor substitutes (if at all) for gun control bills and prophylactic restraints.
Auster hits the nail on its head when he claims that the menace of gun control will forever remain perched above our heads like the proverbial sword of Damocles unless there is a collective and urgent acknowledgement that it represents a grave public health threat. Charting the evolutionary trajectory between cars and guns, two phenomena which symbolize both the trappings of prosperity and the travesty of justice respectively, in America, Auster argues that while there have been constant and incremental enhancements to the safety of passenger transport such as introduction of seat belts, airbags etc, there have been no commensurate benevolent outcomes in so far as the reckless wielding of a gun is concerned.
This dichotomy, according to Auster, can be traced to what he derisively terms “the sublime hypocrisy” characterizing the formation of America as an independent nation. While a marauding militia went about massacring and displacing the native Indians, before seizing their land and laying down colonial roots, the Declaration of Independence, legislated the second Amendment which provided the right to possess and employ firearms. The 2008 Supreme Court decision in the District of Columbia v Heller case, bestowed ultimate universality and legitimacy to gun ownership by interpreting that the rights to own a weapon, as postulated by the Second Amendment was not just restricted to the military or the law enforcement agencies but to every other individual who called America, home. Some weak restrictions that forbade the use and firing of a firearm within the confines of educational, medical and religious institutions stayed obfuscated by the ramifications of the original and more primary verdict.
Auster recollects the tragic consequences marring his own family as a result of a misused weapon in a nondescript yet powerful manner. A family secret of over half a century is prised open, following a chance encounter by one of Aster’s cousins with a passenger who happens to know Paul Auster’s father and uncles. However Auster’s first eye opening understanding of the damage that could be wreaked by both a weapon and the indiscreet man holding it, takes place when he is on board an Esso oil tanker as a seaman during a six month stint in the merchant marine. Being one of the youngest and the least experienced men on board he soon strikes up a friendship with Lamar, ‘a short, stringy-haired redhead from Baton Rouge with a white, crimson splotch marring the white of his left eye…” Lamar is also an equally inexperienced and soft spoken seaman looking for company. Aster’s conviction in Lamar’s sincerity and outlook is shaken to the bones, when the latter nonchalantly reveals one day that a hobby of his happens to be parking himself on an overpass of the interstate highway, and firing live rounds at cars passing by underneath. Upon questioned by Auster on what would have been the consequence if either a bullet had made contact with a car or a scared driver veering off course, Lamar shrugs and laconically replies, ‘Who knows?”
Auster’s lament is supplemented by brooding images in the form of photographs, courtesy Spencer Ostrander. These pictures are of the sites of mass shootings in upwards of thirty, and spaced over the last few years. Not a single animate being inhabits the pictures. Bleak, isolated, and run down, the structures in sepia colour resemble tired and mute spectators within whose precincts some of the most wanton and incomprehensible mayhem were wreaked by a few deranged individuals.
“Bloodbath Nation” is a grim reminder of an existential crisis staring a nation in the face and a fervent plea to recognise and remedy such crisis instead of adopting an ostrich like approach that consists of burying one’s head in the sand while exposing the rest of the body to every possible danger.
(Bloodbath Nation by Paul Auster, is published by Grove Atlantic and will be available for sale from the 10th of January 2023 onwards.)
Thank you, Net Galley for the Advance Reviewer Copy.
#BloodbathNation #NetGalley.
August 16, 2023
Er zijn leukere boeken om in je vakantiekoffer te steken dan deze Bloodbath Nation.
Lezen aan het zwembad over mass shootings in Amerika en hoe het vrije wapenbezit er tot nog meer geweld leidt is niet bepaald een optimistische bezigheid. Maar ik kan Paul Auster mijn persoonlijke strategische blunder niet aanwrijven. Hij schreef het essay dat hij moest schrijven - een gevecht vertrekkend vanuit zijn geweten als Amerikaan, gelardeerd met een bekentenis uit zijn persoonlijke familiegeschiedenis en verder breed verwijzend naar de geschiedenis van het Amerikaanse volk.
Het is een poging te begrijpen wat niet te begrijpen valt - en het is vooral een aanklacht tegen de liberale wapenmarkt in de US. Met rationele argumenten ondergraaft Auster de zwakke argumenten van de Amerikaanse wapenlobby. Helaas is de intellectuele klasse weerloos tegen het machismo van diezelfde cowboys.
Goed en verstandig essay - bijna verplichte kost, maar ik maak mij geen illusies. Dit boek zal vooral gelezen worden door mensen die geen wapen bezitten en sowieso massaal tegen geweld in onze samenleving gekant zijn.
Lezen aan het zwembad over mass shootings in Amerika en hoe het vrije wapenbezit er tot nog meer geweld leidt is niet bepaald een optimistische bezigheid. Maar ik kan Paul Auster mijn persoonlijke strategische blunder niet aanwrijven. Hij schreef het essay dat hij moest schrijven - een gevecht vertrekkend vanuit zijn geweten als Amerikaan, gelardeerd met een bekentenis uit zijn persoonlijke familiegeschiedenis en verder breed verwijzend naar de geschiedenis van het Amerikaanse volk.
Het is een poging te begrijpen wat niet te begrijpen valt - en het is vooral een aanklacht tegen de liberale wapenmarkt in de US. Met rationele argumenten ondergraaft Auster de zwakke argumenten van de Amerikaanse wapenlobby. Helaas is de intellectuele klasse weerloos tegen het machismo van diezelfde cowboys.
Goed en verstandig essay - bijna verplichte kost, maar ik maak mij geen illusies. Dit boek zal vooral gelezen worden door mensen die geen wapen bezitten en sowieso massaal tegen geweld in onze samenleving gekant zijn.
January 31, 2023
Brutal al·legat contra les armes, emmarcat en un discurs anticapitalista, anticolonial i antiracista. I amb l'estil d'Auster ❤️
January 24, 2023
This is well produced, well written and well argued. The photography is understated and sombre and powerful. But it doesn't really offer much that's new and I'm not sure who it's made for. It's only gonna sell (at £25 - absolutely ludicrous price) to a home crowd who already agree.
March 18, 2024
"Αν το πρόβλημα είναι ότι υπάρχουν πάρα πολλοί κακοί άνθρωποι με όπλα, δεν θα ήταν πιο συνετό να απομακρύνουμε τα όπλα από τους ανθρώπους αυτούς αντί να οπλισουμε τους υποτιθέμενα καλούς ανθρώπους, που συχνά, εάν όχι πάντοτε, είναι σημαντικά κατώτεροι από καλοί, και ως εκ τούτου να εξαλείψουμε ολοκληρωτικά το πρόβλημα; Διότι, αν οι κακοί άνθρωποι δεν είχαν όπλα, ποιος ο λόγος να έχουν οι καλοί;"
Αυτός ο συλλογισμός του Auster είναι ίσως το πιο καίριο σημείο αυτού του δοκιμίου που έγραψε ο μεγάλος Αμερικανός συγγραφέας, για τη χρήση των όπλων από την απαρχή της ίδρυσης της χώρας του, αναφερόμενος και σε προσωπικά στοιχεία, εκτός από το να εξηγεί πως η χρήση των όπλων, επηρεάζει διαφορετικά τους ανθρώπους με βάση την τοπογραφία και τις συνήθειες της εκάστοτε περιοχής.
Περιοδικά, υπάρχουν και φωτογραφίες κτιρίων όπου συνέβησαν μαζικοί πυροβολισμοί, αποτυπωμένοι από τον φωτογραφικό φακό του Spencer Ostrander.
"Βάλε ένα όπλο στα χέρια ενός μανιακού και τα πάντα είναι πιθανά. Όλοι το γνωρίζουμε αυτό, αλλά, όταν ο μανιακός εμφανίζεται ως ένας συγκροτημένος συνηθισμένος τύπος που δεν εξαπτεται για ψύλλου πήδημα ούτε έχει κάποιο εμφανές άχτι εναντίον του κόσμου, τι πρέπει να σκεφτούμε και τι υποτίθεται πως πρέπει να κάνουμε; απ'όσο γνωρίζω αυτό είναι ένα ερώτημα στο οποίο ποτέ κανείς δεν έχει δώσει ικανοποιητική απάντηση."
Αυτός ο συλλογισμός του Auster είναι ίσως το πιο καίριο σημείο αυτού του δοκιμίου που έγραψε ο μεγάλος Αμερικανός συγγραφέας, για τη χρήση των όπλων από την απαρχή της ίδρυσης της χώρας του, αναφερόμενος και σε προσωπικά στοιχεία, εκτός από το να εξηγεί πως η χρήση των όπλων, επηρεάζει διαφορετικά τους ανθρώπους με βάση την τοπογραφία και τις συνήθειες της εκάστοτε περιοχής.
Περιοδικά, υπάρχουν και φωτογραφίες κτιρίων όπου συνέβησαν μαζικοί πυροβολισμοί, αποτυπωμένοι από τον φωτογραφικό φακό του Spencer Ostrander.
"Βάλε ένα όπλο στα χέρια ενός μανιακού και τα πάντα είναι πιθανά. Όλοι το γνωρίζουμε αυτό, αλλά, όταν ο μανιακός εμφανίζεται ως ένας συγκροτημένος συνηθισμένος τύπος που δεν εξαπτεται για ψύλλου πήδημα ούτε έχει κάποιο εμφανές άχτι εναντίον του κόσμου, τι πρέπει να σκεφτούμε και τι υποτίθεται πως πρέπει να κάνουμε; απ'όσο γνωρίζω αυτό είναι ένα ερώτημα στο οποίο ποτέ κανείς δεν έχει δώσει ικανοποιητική απάντηση."
January 29, 2023
“To put a gun in everyone’s hand would turn the United States into a country of soldiers and thrust us back to the early colonial days when every citizen was a musket-bearing warrior and did lifetime service in the local militia. Is that what we want from America today—the right to live in a society of permanent armed struggle? If the problem is too many bad men with guns, would it not be wiser to take those guns away from them rather than arm the so-called good men, who in many if not most instances are considerably less than good, and thereby eliminate the problem altogether, for if the bad men had no guns, why would the good men need them?”
January 10, 2023
An essay recounting the most famous mass shooting of the past 50 years in America, paralleling legislation on the carrying and possession of firearms and the life of the author. A chilling fresco of what should be the world's largest democracy, but which since the advent of Trump has clearly shown that it is aiming to become something different.
Un saggio che racconta le piú famose stragi degli ultimi 50 anni in america, parallelamente alla legislazione sul porto e possesso di armi da fuoco e alla vita dell'autore. Un affresco agghiacciante di quella che dovrebbe essere la piú grande democrazia del mondo, ma che dall'avvento di Trump a mostrato chiaramente di puntare a diventare qualcosa di diverso.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
Un saggio che racconta le piú famose stragi degli ultimi 50 anni in america, parallelamente alla legislazione sul porto e possesso di armi da fuoco e alla vita dell'autore. Un affresco agghiacciante di quella che dovrebbe essere la piú grande democrazia del mondo, ma che dall'avvento di Trump a mostrato chiaramente di puntare a diventare qualcosa di diverso.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
February 5, 2023
Coincido bastante con alguna reseña que he leído de que es un libro bien argumentado y escrito (es Auster, no se podía esperar otra cosa) y que las fotos que lo acompañan son verdaderamente poderosas, más que si hubieran sido “evidentes”, pero no me queda claro el propósito del libro, si lo hubiera, como no sea reafirmar a los ya convencidos.
January 2, 2023
A much needed analysis; my agreement and comments:
The collateral damage from US wars and the idea that “war is the answer”...as in our completely invented wars since WW2 which have killed many millions...always comes home.
Since WW2: A million dead in the (invented) US Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; 3 to 6 million based on the US lies which destroyed much of Vietnam and S.E. Asia...and that war is ongoing for the thousands of children still being born with horrific birth defects from our 20 million gallons of Agent Orange, as well as US cluster bombs still maiming thousands.
Hundreds of thousands dead in US Wars in Central America in the 1980's,
And even in recent years thousands of children have been killed by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Are American children's lives worth more than Iraqi or Afghani children...or the half million orphans our war in Iraq has recently created?...or the 4 million refugees from the Iraq War?---which was based totally on lies as we all know, and most of us knew at the time...”weapons of mass destruction” was a total lie.
And the cost of the wars of the last decades, and militarization in the Middle East was $21 Trillion.
Through militarization of the US, Americans are so conditioned to wave flags, chant slogans and support wars which have been promoted as "saving democracy," that they swallow the propaganda ("weapons of mass destruction" for only one example) that Eisenhower warned against: the “Military-Industrial Complex” which endlessly promotes war.
It doesn’t take a genius to make a connection between our love of war promoted by what Eisenhower warned us against, the “military-industrial complex”...which has endlessly invented and promoted our wars since WW2, killing many millions...and the “militarization” of US society: the 400 million firearms resulting in 20,000+ annual firearm deaths in the US and the absurd notion that freedom consists of the “right” to own personal weapons.
This militarism...all the symbols, words, and violence associated with it...our military reverence and tactics, comes home…
1) With the massive numbers (400 million) of firearms in the US, and our annual firearm homicides of 20,000+ and also with our “over-armed” militarized police...our horrific 1000+ annual police shootings... both like no other country in the world unless at war.
2) Through “blowback,” (i.e., one example, the creation of ISIS, but also the fear and anger of other crazy jihadists who will attack us when possible...especially the home grown ones who tried to overthrow the US Government after the 2020 election, for another example); and also
3) Through the apparently very common and mistaken idea in the US that firearms are necessary for individual protection.
The seemingly endless desire of the US military to invent wars, killing millions and costing trillions...has long ago, come home to the US...where the use of firearms has also become a “solution” ...which is also not supported by the 2nd Amendment, which does NOT state that every American has a right to own or keep a gun.
Repeat: Our wars do not make us safer, but just the opposite; they cause "blowback" and revenge from the countries we destroy and the friends/relatives of the millions we murder, and they also drain the US economy, desperately needed social welfare, such as medical care for all, and infrastructure repair.
(And, our "freedoms" do not exist in any way because of our military---they exist (primarily) because we have a constitution and a democracy...no matter how flawed. [And in no way was Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan...among many others... our "enemy(ies).]
And the militarization of US extremist groups:
As someone wrote: "It's as though war—and all the symbols, words, and violence associated with it—has seeped through our pores and settled deep in our bones.”
The January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol included veterans, reservists, a member of the National Guard, members of several militias and extremist organizations (such as the Sons of Liberty New Jersey, Groyper Army, Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Boogaloo Boys, and Three Percenters), supporters of the extremist conspiracy QAnon, and other groups and networks. https://www.csis.org/analysis/militar...
Not forgetting the domestic commandos in Portland, wearing the garb of Special Operations forces, who snatched Black Lives Matter protesters off the streets and shot and beat others, and the militias in Kenosha and Louisville, wearing head-to-toe military kit.
And, 30 members of the “Patriot Front,” a Texas-based white supremacist group, armed with handguns and bear spray, were preparing to riot in on June 11; they are successors to white supremacists, "Vanguard America," who rioted at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, in 2017.
Reminder: our wars do not make us safer, but just the opposite; they cause "blowback" and revenge from the countries we destroy and the friends/relatives of the millions we murder, and they also drain the US economy of desperately needed social welfare, such as medical care for all, and infrastructure repair.
Finally, “A country that develops and relies on the overwhelming size and severity of its penal system is also a country beholden to its own violence.”
And the United States continues to incarcerate far more people than any other country. About 664 out of every 100,000 people are in prison.
And back to our wars:
Our wars are promoted by the US “Military-Industrial Complex” which Eisenhower warned against, but also by successive US governments, most of the mainstream media, an indoctrinated US public, and all the military “Support our Troops” propaganda. In an enlightened society, one might ask: “troops going where? Why? To kill whom?”
And like other US wars, throughout the Afghan war, documents show that U.S. military officials resorted to an old tactic from Vietnam — manipulating public opinion.
West Point Professor Tim Bakken’s book, “The Cost of Loyalty: Dishonesty, Hubris, and Failure in the U.S. Military” traces a path of corruption, barbarism, violence, and unaccountability that makes its way from the United States’ military academies (West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs) to the top ranks of the U.S. military and U.S. governmental policy, and from there into a broader U.S. culture that, in turn, supports the subculture of the military and its leaders.
The Pentagon spends billions annually on propaganda and public relations. Sports leagues are paid with public dollars to stage “rituals that are akin to worship,” as Bakken appropriately describes the fly-overs, weapons shows, troop honorings, and war hymn screechings that precede professional athletics events. The peace movement has far superior materials but comes up a little short of $4.7 billion each year for advertising.
“The Afghanistan Papers A secret history of the war, At war with the truth”
U.S. officials constantly said they were making progress. They were not, and they knew it, an exclusive Post investigation found.”
“We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan — we didn’t know what we were doing,” Douglas Lute, a three-star Army general who served as the White House’s Afghan war czar during the Bush and Obama administrations, told government interviewers in 2015. He added: “What are we trying to do here? We didn’t have the foggiest notion of what we were undertaking.” Washington Post, Craig Whitlock Dec. 9, 2019
"The danger is this: while we’re caught up in the countless “thanks for your service” platitudes, upgraded airline seating, ever larger flags flying o’er sporting events, and other forms of hollow soldier-worship and militarized “patriotism,” the nation may be losing something precious: the right to dissent.
“A nation that continuously publicizes appeals to “support our troops” is explicitly asking its citizens not to think. It is the ideal slogan for suppressing the practice of democracy, presented to us in the guise of democratic preservation.” Steven Salaita, Salon 25 August, 2013
And as the Rev Dr. Chris Hedges has written in a review for the impeccably researched "Kill Anything that Moves" by Nick Turse, about the myriad and countless US atrocities in Vietnam: "our military, which has achieved, through relentless propaganda and effective censorship, a level of public adulation that is terrifying."
The collateral damage from US wars and the idea that “war is the answer”...as in our completely invented wars since WW2 which have killed many millions...always comes home.
Since WW2: A million dead in the (invented) US Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; 3 to 6 million based on the US lies which destroyed much of Vietnam and S.E. Asia...and that war is ongoing for the thousands of children still being born with horrific birth defects from our 20 million gallons of Agent Orange, as well as US cluster bombs still maiming thousands.
Hundreds of thousands dead in US Wars in Central America in the 1980's,
And even in recent years thousands of children have been killed by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Are American children's lives worth more than Iraqi or Afghani children...or the half million orphans our war in Iraq has recently created?...or the 4 million refugees from the Iraq War?---which was based totally on lies as we all know, and most of us knew at the time...”weapons of mass destruction” was a total lie.
And the cost of the wars of the last decades, and militarization in the Middle East was $21 Trillion.
Through militarization of the US, Americans are so conditioned to wave flags, chant slogans and support wars which have been promoted as "saving democracy," that they swallow the propaganda ("weapons of mass destruction" for only one example) that Eisenhower warned against: the “Military-Industrial Complex” which endlessly promotes war.
It doesn’t take a genius to make a connection between our love of war promoted by what Eisenhower warned us against, the “military-industrial complex”...which has endlessly invented and promoted our wars since WW2, killing many millions...and the “militarization” of US society: the 400 million firearms resulting in 20,000+ annual firearm deaths in the US and the absurd notion that freedom consists of the “right” to own personal weapons.
This militarism...all the symbols, words, and violence associated with it...our military reverence and tactics, comes home…
1) With the massive numbers (400 million) of firearms in the US, and our annual firearm homicides of 20,000+ and also with our “over-armed” militarized police...our horrific 1000+ annual police shootings... both like no other country in the world unless at war.
2) Through “blowback,” (i.e., one example, the creation of ISIS, but also the fear and anger of other crazy jihadists who will attack us when possible...especially the home grown ones who tried to overthrow the US Government after the 2020 election, for another example); and also
3) Through the apparently very common and mistaken idea in the US that firearms are necessary for individual protection.
The seemingly endless desire of the US military to invent wars, killing millions and costing trillions...has long ago, come home to the US...where the use of firearms has also become a “solution” ...which is also not supported by the 2nd Amendment, which does NOT state that every American has a right to own or keep a gun.
Repeat: Our wars do not make us safer, but just the opposite; they cause "blowback" and revenge from the countries we destroy and the friends/relatives of the millions we murder, and they also drain the US economy, desperately needed social welfare, such as medical care for all, and infrastructure repair.
(And, our "freedoms" do not exist in any way because of our military---they exist (primarily) because we have a constitution and a democracy...no matter how flawed. [And in no way was Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan...among many others... our "enemy(ies).]
And the militarization of US extremist groups:
As someone wrote: "It's as though war—and all the symbols, words, and violence associated with it—has seeped through our pores and settled deep in our bones.”
The January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol included veterans, reservists, a member of the National Guard, members of several militias and extremist organizations (such as the Sons of Liberty New Jersey, Groyper Army, Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Boogaloo Boys, and Three Percenters), supporters of the extremist conspiracy QAnon, and other groups and networks. https://www.csis.org/analysis/militar...
Not forgetting the domestic commandos in Portland, wearing the garb of Special Operations forces, who snatched Black Lives Matter protesters off the streets and shot and beat others, and the militias in Kenosha and Louisville, wearing head-to-toe military kit.
And, 30 members of the “Patriot Front,” a Texas-based white supremacist group, armed with handguns and bear spray, were preparing to riot in on June 11; they are successors to white supremacists, "Vanguard America," who rioted at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, in 2017.
Reminder: our wars do not make us safer, but just the opposite; they cause "blowback" and revenge from the countries we destroy and the friends/relatives of the millions we murder, and they also drain the US economy of desperately needed social welfare, such as medical care for all, and infrastructure repair.
Finally, “A country that develops and relies on the overwhelming size and severity of its penal system is also a country beholden to its own violence.”
And the United States continues to incarcerate far more people than any other country. About 664 out of every 100,000 people are in prison.
And back to our wars:
Our wars are promoted by the US “Military-Industrial Complex” which Eisenhower warned against, but also by successive US governments, most of the mainstream media, an indoctrinated US public, and all the military “Support our Troops” propaganda. In an enlightened society, one might ask: “troops going where? Why? To kill whom?”
And like other US wars, throughout the Afghan war, documents show that U.S. military officials resorted to an old tactic from Vietnam — manipulating public opinion.
West Point Professor Tim Bakken’s book, “The Cost of Loyalty: Dishonesty, Hubris, and Failure in the U.S. Military” traces a path of corruption, barbarism, violence, and unaccountability that makes its way from the United States’ military academies (West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs) to the top ranks of the U.S. military and U.S. governmental policy, and from there into a broader U.S. culture that, in turn, supports the subculture of the military and its leaders.
The Pentagon spends billions annually on propaganda and public relations. Sports leagues are paid with public dollars to stage “rituals that are akin to worship,” as Bakken appropriately describes the fly-overs, weapons shows, troop honorings, and war hymn screechings that precede professional athletics events. The peace movement has far superior materials but comes up a little short of $4.7 billion each year for advertising.
“The Afghanistan Papers A secret history of the war, At war with the truth”
U.S. officials constantly said they were making progress. They were not, and they knew it, an exclusive Post investigation found.”
“We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan — we didn’t know what we were doing,” Douglas Lute, a three-star Army general who served as the White House’s Afghan war czar during the Bush and Obama administrations, told government interviewers in 2015. He added: “What are we trying to do here? We didn’t have the foggiest notion of what we were undertaking.” Washington Post, Craig Whitlock Dec. 9, 2019
"The danger is this: while we’re caught up in the countless “thanks for your service” platitudes, upgraded airline seating, ever larger flags flying o’er sporting events, and other forms of hollow soldier-worship and militarized “patriotism,” the nation may be losing something precious: the right to dissent.
“A nation that continuously publicizes appeals to “support our troops” is explicitly asking its citizens not to think. It is the ideal slogan for suppressing the practice of democracy, presented to us in the guise of democratic preservation.” Steven Salaita, Salon 25 August, 2013
And as the Rev Dr. Chris Hedges has written in a review for the impeccably researched "Kill Anything that Moves" by Nick Turse, about the myriad and countless US atrocities in Vietnam: "our military, which has achieved, through relentless propaganda and effective censorship, a level of public adulation that is terrifying."
January 28, 2023
Bloodbath Nation is an engaging account of Auster’s personal relationship with guns, divulging his family’s history (which has a horrifically tragic scar running through it), as well as expressing his thoughts on America’s ongoing gun violence.
I was expecting a more in-depth examination of America’s history of gun violence, something more akin to Younge’s Another Day in the Death of America whereas this feels more like an essay extracted from a collection. Ostrander’s photography added a stark reality to the book and conveyed a powerful message, one that transformed ordinary buildings into haunted monuments to death and violence.
Auster didn’t go quite deep enough into the subject for me. The message is still there, it’s still harrowing and disturbingly pertinent, but I didn’t leave this book knowing anything more than I already knew (other than Auster’s own personal family history and experience).
I was expecting a more in-depth examination of America’s history of gun violence, something more akin to Younge’s Another Day in the Death of America whereas this feels more like an essay extracted from a collection. Ostrander’s photography added a stark reality to the book and conveyed a powerful message, one that transformed ordinary buildings into haunted monuments to death and violence.
Auster didn’t go quite deep enough into the subject for me. The message is still there, it’s still harrowing and disturbingly pertinent, but I didn’t leave this book knowing anything more than I already knew (other than Auster’s own personal family history and experience).
July 8, 2023
What a clever essay, in a voice I have loved since the first time I read it. Auster tell us about the origins of gun ownership in the USA, and helps us see why there are fervent defenders of the second amendment (which doesn't really mean what they say it does). He argues against a ban very convincingly (it could very easily backfire, as did the ban on alcohol during the Prohibition), shares how guns have touched the lives of basically every American citizen, not only through popular culture but through the consequences of shootings; meaning injury, death, mourning, and also the destroyed mental wellbeing of every friend, family member, colleague, classmate, person living in an area affected, or in an area having a family that was affected. There isn't a person whose life has not been touched by gun violence at this point. And as urgent it is to take action, he makes us see how complicated the issue is in reality. With more guns being owned by American citizens today than the number of citizens themselves (including children). The black and white photos show the places where something violent happened. The absence of any person in these pictures screams louder than anything I have ever seen about the tragedies.
January 10, 2023
Auster isn't breaking new ground, a fact he knows and mostly does a good job of pointing out by mentioning the work of others. But in a handful of compelling essays, paired with photos of mass-shooting sites and the casualty stats, Auster forces readers to look at a full picture of gun violence in America. He also does a good job of laying out the places the majority of Americans agree on gun control.
Unfortunately, the title of the book will turn away most people who own guns and believe in their right to own guns. Additionally, in the first sentence of the first essay, Auster shares that he's never owned a gun, a fact that most gun owners I know -- ie most of my family -- will believe disqualifies him from having an opinion about gun control. This marketing/editing of the book does a major disservice to Auster's work as it will prevent him from bridging the divide over guns, which seems to be at least partially his aim in some of these essays.
Unfortunately, the title of the book will turn away most people who own guns and believe in their right to own guns. Additionally, in the first sentence of the first essay, Auster shares that he's never owned a gun, a fact that most gun owners I know -- ie most of my family -- will believe disqualifies him from having an opinion about gun control. This marketing/editing of the book does a major disservice to Auster's work as it will prevent him from bridging the divide over guns, which seems to be at least partially his aim in some of these essays.
September 24, 2023
This was a heavy, slim read. Auster was respectful of the many sides of the "gun debate". Great read for broad ideas and simplified history. The black and white photos were a marvelous and haunting touch. Very well done.
February 10, 2023
I am Jim Auster, Paul Auster's older first cousin. Paul Auster's autobiographical non-fiction is factually incorrect and goes far beyond the poetic license and subjective interpretations of one's family that is allowed in fiction. In Bloodbath Nation, and also in semi fictional 4321, Paul repeatedly misuses a family tragedy, misrepresents family history, and substitutes his father, Sam Auster, for my father Irving Auster. In direct contradiction to Paul’s narrative, it was my father who was the electronic wiz that worked for Thomas Edison, started the radio business, and then Auster's tv/appliance/furniture store in Jersey City, which supported his two younger brothers. In this book he also uses a 180 degree mis-characterization of my father's personality to dramatize the long term consequences of gun violence. My father was much loved, respected, happy, loving, giving, mild mannered, a good golfer, and a talented popular sculptor. To the contrary he is described by Paul as violent tempered, full of rage, and emotionally troubled because at age 9 he was the only witness to the 1919 murder shooting in Kenosha Wisconsin by my grandmother, known for her hot temper, of my grandfather after he took $4000 from her account to buy gifts for his girlfriend. My father's testimony helped get her acquitted and the murder was long remembered in Kenosha as justifiable homicide and an early example of woman's lib. But it was kept secret to us by my father and his brothers until my sister was told the story by adjoining seat passenger from Kenosha in 1983 who still remembered it after 64 years.
In Paul's 1983 novel Invention of Solitude he needlessly publicizes and exploits the long secret murder story only for its sensational effect. He explains his own inability to cry and his lack of any emotion at news of his father's death by portraying his father as an unlovable "solitary" nobody sitting on a bare wooden chair alone in an empty bare wall room suddenly dropping dead with no one there or caring. Uncle Sam actually died of a heart attack while making love to his girlfriend. But in 4321 and now in Bloodbath Nation his father is reborn in my father's role as founder of the family business and hard working supporter of his brothers when in fact Sam had gambling debts, was something of a playboy, happy go lucky, irresponsible, and more or less dependent on my father's establishment, creative managment, and hard work running the family business.
To hype the effect of gun violence in this new book Paul lies that the Auster brothers and by extension all of our family are troubled and haunted by the murder. To the contrary, my family and my impression of my uncles and their families is one of a relatively normal and happy and successful existence, and only Paul seems overly traumatized or pretends to be traumatized by our family’s history to benefit his career.Either way he has selfishly used and abused our family.
This unfair ripoff of my father's good life, reputation, and character is libelous slander which no one should or would accept for their family. Paul has not responded to my request for an honest restoration of my father's good memory and for an apology to me and my family.
In Paul's 1983 novel Invention of Solitude he needlessly publicizes and exploits the long secret murder story only for its sensational effect. He explains his own inability to cry and his lack of any emotion at news of his father's death by portraying his father as an unlovable "solitary" nobody sitting on a bare wooden chair alone in an empty bare wall room suddenly dropping dead with no one there or caring. Uncle Sam actually died of a heart attack while making love to his girlfriend. But in 4321 and now in Bloodbath Nation his father is reborn in my father's role as founder of the family business and hard working supporter of his brothers when in fact Sam had gambling debts, was something of a playboy, happy go lucky, irresponsible, and more or less dependent on my father's establishment, creative managment, and hard work running the family business.
To hype the effect of gun violence in this new book Paul lies that the Auster brothers and by extension all of our family are troubled and haunted by the murder. To the contrary, my family and my impression of my uncles and their families is one of a relatively normal and happy and successful existence, and only Paul seems overly traumatized or pretends to be traumatized by our family’s history to benefit his career.Either way he has selfishly used and abused our family.
This unfair ripoff of my father's good life, reputation, and character is libelous slander which no one should or would accept for their family. Paul has not responded to my request for an honest restoration of my father's good memory and for an apology to me and my family.
April 25, 2024
1.5/5
this part really shocked me:
"On the other hand, for all the similarities between cars and guns, there are fundamental differences as well."
but seriously -- minus 0.5 for either not understanding of militias vs. standing army in 1700s, or for purposefully muddying the waters (see Vieira's 'The Sword and Sovereignty,' or 'Thirteen Words'). i get it: this obviously isn't a scholarly work, but he covers the crux of this ENTIRE issue in two paragraphs, and the heller decision in one, YIKES!!!
minus 1.0 for buzzword vaguery like:
"A majority of Americans support the right of individuals to own guns, but that same majority is overwhelmingly in favor of enacting measures that would put a stop to the deadly violence caused by guns."
WHAT measures would put a stop to deadly violence caused by guns? sadly, specifics are thoroughly skipped over, and instead we get suggestions like:
homeland security should "delve into the operations of domestic terrorist groups, the heavily armed and ever more dangerous white supremacist organizations such as the crazed band from Michigan that hatched a plot to kidnap and murder the governor for issuing a temporary lockdown order on the state during the early months of the pandemic."
maybe he isn't familiar with how thoroughly infiltrated this group was by the fbi, but that's neither here nor there (yes, exactly)
minus 1.0 for using kyle rittenhouse, george floyd, governor whitmer, confederate statues, covid, and jan 6 as the apotheosis of the entire polemic. he acknowledges that peace will only break out when we have an "honest, gut-wrenching examination of who we have been in the past", but seemingly can't approach any of this honestly; as one of a dozen examples, he states that rittenhouse committed "premeditated crimes," after he was fully acquitted. take it up with the courts, i guess
plus 0.5 for citing ucla’s adam winkler and his book 'gunfight: the battle over the right to bear arms in america,' which is actually worth reading and actually approaches the issue in somewhat good faith, with a basis in reality
this part really shocked me:
"On the other hand, for all the similarities between cars and guns, there are fundamental differences as well."
but seriously -- minus 0.5 for either not understanding of militias vs. standing army in 1700s, or for purposefully muddying the waters (see Vieira's 'The Sword and Sovereignty,' or 'Thirteen Words'). i get it: this obviously isn't a scholarly work, but he covers the crux of this ENTIRE issue in two paragraphs, and the heller decision in one, YIKES!!!
minus 1.0 for buzzword vaguery like:
"A majority of Americans support the right of individuals to own guns, but that same majority is overwhelmingly in favor of enacting measures that would put a stop to the deadly violence caused by guns."
WHAT measures would put a stop to deadly violence caused by guns? sadly, specifics are thoroughly skipped over, and instead we get suggestions like:
homeland security should "delve into the operations of domestic terrorist groups, the heavily armed and ever more dangerous white supremacist organizations such as the crazed band from Michigan that hatched a plot to kidnap and murder the governor for issuing a temporary lockdown order on the state during the early months of the pandemic."
maybe he isn't familiar with how thoroughly infiltrated this group was by the fbi, but that's neither here nor there (yes, exactly)
minus 1.0 for using kyle rittenhouse, george floyd, governor whitmer, confederate statues, covid, and jan 6 as the apotheosis of the entire polemic. he acknowledges that peace will only break out when we have an "honest, gut-wrenching examination of who we have been in the past", but seemingly can't approach any of this honestly; as one of a dozen examples, he states that rittenhouse committed "premeditated crimes," after he was fully acquitted. take it up with the courts, i guess
plus 0.5 for citing ucla’s adam winkler and his book 'gunfight: the battle over the right to bear arms in america,' which is actually worth reading and actually approaches the issue in somewhat good faith, with a basis in reality
July 22, 2022
This part-memoir, part-history book, part-essay was a short, heart-breaking read. Paul Auster connects his own history with guns to America's storied past with guns to our modern crisis of mass shootings. Spencer Ostrander's photographs that separate the sections of Auster's essay are chilling reminders of what is left over after a tragedy, after the country moves onto the next pressing crisis. Auster's book is a fantastic summary of guns in America and an overview of recent mass shootings.
The essay was written in the summer of 2021, so some parts definitely felt out of date (we now know how little the protests last summer moved the political needle towards change, New York no longer has a specific gun law mentioned in the essay due to the Supreme Court, countless more mass shootings that would be included in Auster's lists and discussions have occurred). However, Auster presents a clear view of how we got to the current world and the numerous obstacles that will have to be overcome to create change. This book serves as a great refresher and reminder of the current state of guns in America.
Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The essay was written in the summer of 2021, so some parts definitely felt out of date (we now know how little the protests last summer moved the political needle towards change, New York no longer has a specific gun law mentioned in the essay due to the Supreme Court, countless more mass shootings that would be included in Auster's lists and discussions have occurred). However, Auster presents a clear view of how we got to the current world and the numerous obstacles that will have to be overcome to create change. This book serves as a great refresher and reminder of the current state of guns in America.
Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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