Gun Control in the United States, 2nd ed. By Gregg Lee Carter. Contemporary World Issues. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2017. 401 p. $60.00 (ISBN 978-1-4408-3566-7). E-book available (978-1-4408-3567-4), call for pricing.

In today’s political climate, there are few issues more polarizing than gun control. Unfortunately, the plethora of news commentary and websites on this heavily debated topic may lack objectivity. The author’s goal for this book is to provide information for the reader to decide on the amount or level of gun control and which types will be successful. This book is appropriate for high school and undergraduate students.

This reference book is a good starting point in the research process. “Chronology,” found in the back matter, gives a list of watershed events that shaped the gun debate from the years 1787 to 2016. It provides a needed long-range perspective on the topic, especially since the focus during the twenty-four-hour news cycle is normally on the latest gun incident. The well-executed glossary clarifies what can be a confusing array of proprietary terms about guns, statutes, and laws. The “Profiles” section offers a comprehensive, balanced review of key people and organizations in the gun-control debate, providing depth to the topic and options for further research.

Currency is a challenge for presenting data in a reference book, especially for a topic with the volatility and variables inherent in gun control. While there is often a publication delay for statistical data sets, major websites will have more current information. For example, the data in the book on homicides and suicides by guns are from 2013. “Key State Gun Laws,” a major table in the “Data and Documents” section, has a detailed legend and explanations that continue over several pages, making it difficult to draw conclusions easily. Other charts and graphs in the book with fewer variables are more effective. There are ample credible reference lists in each chapter from highly respected scholarly journals, books, and websites such as the CDC, FBI, and Bureau of Justice Statistics.

In comparison to the question-and-answer format of The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know by Philip J. Cook and Kristin A. Goss (Oxford University, 2014), this reference book presents comprehensive information in a neutral fashion, creating an important niche in the marketplace for student researchers. Given the fact that many students now begin research on the Internet, this book should be recommended by librarians to students during the research process.—Terry Darr, Library Director, Loyola Blakefield, Baltimore, Maryland