Published only last year, Paul Barret's volume on the history of Glock pistols is a great read. It's about 300 pages long, with the epilogue and afterthoughts, and covers everything from the FBI Miami shootout to the recent massacres in 2012: the Glock brand's entire history.
The book focuses mainly on the marketing strategy used by Glock to dominate the market, pushing aside competitors like Smith and Wesson, Colt, and SIG. What amazed me the most was Glock's ability to navigate the complex nuances of our modern American society and do so very well as a foreigner. He was a great inventor and businessman, but a morally ambiguous character. He made billions of dollars, and had no qualms about using that money to buy loyal customers, especially in the police world. He liked hard workers, but disliked Americans in general. He placated both sides of the gun debate in the 1990s, refusing to be intimidated by the NRA (whom he considered too extreme), and the government (whom he considered bad for business).
The story of Glock has all the elements of a good spy novel, and Glock himself reminded me of Howard Hughes. There's genius, lust, heartbreak, struggle, revenge, assassination (yes, he had a contract taken out on his life), and tax evasion, lots and lots of tax evasion.
Some of Amazon's negative reviews of the book claim that Mr. Barrett supports gun control. I couldn't find a single instance where he blatantly said, "I support a magazine ban" or "I think handguns are a menace." He points out that the 1994 AWB had a "negligible effect on crime" and presents a good picture of both sides of the issue. Any phrasing that may be mistaken for his opinion can be seen as an attempt to help explain the psychology and gun lovers and haters.
The book is very well-researched, and like a true journalist, he doesn't shy away from asking tough questions. Firearm nomenclature is explained in simple terms and the pages are filled with industry interviews you'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.
I highly recommend this book, if for no other reason than the fact that no other work like has been printed for any major gun brand, let alone one that has dominated the pistol market for nearly 40 years.
