Looking for recommendations of good books on American gun crime. By good I mean a scientifically based well rounded review that examines the pros and cons of both sides. I have no interest in limiting my inquiry to partisan cherry-picked data. I am looking for an objective well sourced book on this highly controversial subject. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Any recommendation anybody will give you will be to support their biases. The best way to counter that is to read reviews on various book sites and talk to librarians. They are trained in finding resources and it will not have anyone's political slant. Also, I usually pay attention to <what> anyone is trying to steer me away from as it makes me want to delve into why <X> is being maligned.
@robini123, case in point. I was born, reared and lived in Chicago (and the suburbs) my whole life minus 7 years in another state. Every single time I mentioned that I hailed from Chicago, the other person would grow wide-eyed and ask "Where Capone lives with gangs on every corner?" No. Capone is dead and there aren't gang-bangers on every street corner. If we, as a society, are going to move beyond these superficial stereotypes and caricatures of others and other places, we have to look beyond the 2-second blurbs from Armchair Experts on every subject under the sun. That's fine if it's your cup of tea but that doesn't sound like what you are seeking.
I don't watch television or read newspapers. However, I do read police reports and statistics. There is NO source of media that is unbiased. All of those people work somebody and that somebody wants to make as much money as possible so whatever keeps their advertisers happy is what will be reported and slanted. Chicago is not filled with gang members and rapists on every street corner any more than <a hole in the wall town> is just like Mayberry. We really need to move beyond these 2-dimensional caricatures of people and places.
Like I said, not looking for cherry-pick data that supports a partisan view. I am looking for the science driven pros and cons of both sides. I doubt either side is blameless in this madness.
The Chicago Newspaper likely leans left. Little chance they would run an article with a Republican viewpoint
Yeah, I get it. You need to highlight that for your agenda. Thankfully, some of us see the transparency.
In Crime is Not the Problem, Franklin Zimring and Gordon Hawkins revolutionize the way we think about crime and violence--by forcing us to distinguish between crime and violence. The authors reveal that compared to other industrialized nations, in most categories of nonviolent crime, American crime rates are comparable--even lower, in some cases. Only when it comes to lethal violence does the United States outpace other Western nations, with homicide rates many, many times greater. London and New York City have nearly the same number of robberies and burglaries each year, but robbers and burglars kill 54 victims in New York for every victim death in London. Why are the risks so much greater that victims will be killed or maimed in the United States? And what can be done to bring the death rate from American violence down to tolerable levels? The authors show how the impact of television and movie violence on rates of homicide is wildly overrated, but emphasize the paramount importance of guns." https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Not-Problem-Violence-America/dp/0195131053 Guns make crime a lot worse.