Glock

The Glock pistol is America's Gun. It has been rhapsodized by hip-hop artists and coveted by cops and crooks alike. Created in 1982 by Gaston Glock, the pistol arrived in America at a fortuitous time. Law enforcement agencies had concluded that their agents and officers, armed with standard six-round revolvers, were getting "outgunned" by drug dealers with semi-automatic pistols; they needed a new gun. With its lightweight plastic frame and large-capacity spring-action magazine, the Glock was the gun of the future. You could drop it underwater, toss it from a helicopter, or leave it out in the snow, and it would still fire. It was reliable, accurate, lightweight, and cheaper to produce than Smith and Wesson's revolver.Filled with corporate intrigue, political maneuvering, Hollywood glitz, bloody shoot-outs-and an attempt on Gaston Glock's life by a former lieutenant-Glock is not only the inside account of how Glock the company went about marketing its pistol to police agencies and later the public, but also a compelling chronicle of the evolution of gun culture in America.

Contents CHAPTER 1SHOOTOUT IN MIAMI1 CHAPTER 2“PISTOL OF THE FUTURE”6 CHAPTER 3“ONE UGLY AND ALL- BUSINESS- LOOKING PIECE OFSELF- DEFENSE HARDWARE”20 CHAPTER 4“PLASTIC PERFECTION”25 CHAPTER 5“HIJACKER’S SPECIAL”33 CHAPTER 6“SUPER GUN”51 CHAPTER 7GOING HOLLYWOOD68 CHAPTER 8THE MARK OF CAIN84 CHAPTER 9“COPY THE MOTHERFUCKER”92 CHAPTER 10MASSACRE IN K ILLEEN106 CHAPTER 11LAWYERS, GUNS, AND MONEY116 CHAPTER 12“KA- BOOM”130 CHAPTER 13POCKET ROCKETS149 CHAPTER 14“MY WAY”161 CHAPTER 15GLOCK CULTURE181 CHAPTER 16GLOCK GOES TO THE WHITE HOUSE194 CHAPTER 17AN ASSASSIN’S ATTACK213 CHAPTER 18“MONOPOLY MONEY”223 CHAPTER 19THE IMPACT OF THE AUSTRIAN PISTOL:GOOD FOR AMERICA?240 EPILOGUE262 AFTERWORD269 Acknowledgments277Selected Bibliography279Source Notes281Index289