Our blood-soaked gun culture

Today's US coronavirus / COVID-19 numbers in the US From the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University Confirmed US cases: 84,448,014 Confirmed US deaths: 1,007,719 The Great American Kill Off has continued unabated since a gunman mowed down 19 kids and two teachers inside an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on May 24. In just the past 9 days, 17 more people were shot to death, in Michigan, Colorado, California, Arizona, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Yesterday, while terrified hospital employees in Tulsa, Okla., were fleeing a shooter who killed four people -- including a patient, a receptionist, and two doctors, one of whom had recently performed back surgery on the gunman -- came news that a 10th grader in the Van Nuys neighborhood of LA was shot in the leg in a drive-by shooting, and a 20-year-old woman was shot at a nail salon in Pittston Township, Penn. Both survived. Those are just the shootings we know of. In 2020 (the most recent year for which the CDC has complete stats), 45,222 Americans were killed by guns. That's an average of 124 people a day, more than the number of US military members lost per day in World War I. Here's how they died: -- Suicide: 24,292 or 54 percent -- Murder: 19,384 or 43 percent -- Involved law enforcement: 611 -- Unintentional: 535 -- Undetermined circumstances: 400 BTW, for those of you who sputter that someone who wants to commit suicide will find a way to do it even without guns, so don't blame guns ... you're wrong. As I've explained in a previous FF, about 70 percent of those who attempt suicide once, and survive, never try it again. They have second thoughts, they find the help they need, they get support from family and friends. They live on. But if that first attempt is with a gun, they won't get another chance at life; 90 percent of them will be dead. The lethality of the means of death that people have access to matters. It matters a lot. Guns account for 79 percent of all murders in the US. It is, by far, Americans' favorite weapon of death.   You'll quite often hear Republicans deflect from the gun debate by screaming about violence in cities or states run by Democrats. (Chicago is a favorite target.) Look in your own backyard, folks. If you'd prefer not to be murdered, then for heaven's sake don't live in a red state. According to think tank Third Way, in 2020, per capita murder rates were 40 percent higher in states won by Donald Trump than those won by Joe Biden. Here are the 10 deadliest states and their number of murders per 100,000 residents (Republican states are in red):   1. Mississippi   20.50   2. Louisiana   15.79   3. Kentucky   14.32   4. Alabama   14.20   5. Missouri   14.00   6. South Carolina   10.72   7. New Mexico   10.70   8. Georgia   10.50   9. Arkansas   10.29 10. Tennessee   9.90 You notice that the third deadliest state in the union is Kentucky, home of Mitch McConnell, who is fond of taking to the floor of the Senate to rant about crime in Democratic enclaves. Quick, somebody buy him a mirror! In fact, Kentucky is one of the worst places to live in the US. It ranks 48th in fiscal stability, 44th in health care, 40th in the health of its economy, and 36th in the quality of education. But it's 13th in crime and corrections -- woo-hoo! But Chicago isn't a state, you cry. By God, you're right! It's a city. Where does it rank among cities with high rates of violent crimes? 20th. Chicago isn't the only target: Republicans also hyperventilate about murders in LA, New York City, and Seattle. But as Jonathan Capehart wrote in The Washington Post, the per capita homicide rates in Mobile, Ala.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Tulsa, Okla. -- all cities with Republican mayors -- are more than double those in Los Angeles or Seattle. And the rate of homicide in Bakersfield, Calif., hometown of House GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, is twice that of New York City. Quick, somebody buy him a mirror! There are about 400 million guns in the US, far more than the number of adults and children who live here (330 million). As the stats above show, those guns aren't deadly just to adults; our kids get killed by guns far, far more than children in other developed countries. If you have a child, the United States is not a safe place to live. For every one child under the age of 5 shot and killed in other high-income countries, there are 29 US kids under the age of 5 shot and killed. For every one child under the age of 15 shot and killed in other high-income countries, there are 13 US kids under the age of 15 shot and killed. What ratios: 29-to-1 and 13-to-1. Yet conservatives like to brag that other countries are envious of us. Right. People in other countries see us for what we are: A murderous, bloodthirsty culture that has no problem sacrificing kids to our obsessive worship of guns. Since 2019, more than 4,500 children have been shot to death in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive. That's about the same number of US military members killed during the 17 years of the Iraq War. It's pretty obvious that we need data-based solutions to the horrific gun problem in this country. And there are some out there. I'll tackle that next week.   Finally, here are the next titles you are recommending for our 2022 Summer Bookies reading list with a theme of war. We have 30 to go to get to 100, so I'll print 15 today and 15 next week, and then send out a complete list. But before we get to your suggestions, several outlets have been publishing their summer reading lists. Here are a handful: The New York Times (subscription) has several lists:      "88 Books to Bring Your Summer Alive"      "Vacation Reading, Unpacked"      The Morning newsletter's "Summer Reading" list The Washington Post (subscription) also has a few lists:      "21 books to read this summer"      "18 YA books to read with your teens this summer"      "KidsPost Summer Book Club: 8 books about 'Speaking Truth'"       The Atlantic: "Summer Reading Guide" Fortune: "10 new page-turning novels you should read this summer" Publishers Weekly: "Summer Reads 2022" Book Riot: "What's the Buzz: 40 of the Best Summer Reads for 2022" Elle: "21 Must-Read Books To Pick Up This Summer" The Daily Beast: "The Best Summer Beach Reads of 2022" Vogue: "7 of the Best New Beach Reads to Unwind With This Summer" Boston Globe book editor Kate Tuttle tells me that our summer reading list will be published online June 10 and in print June 12, and will have about 70 books in a variety of categories. I'll link to it in FF. Now, back to your choices (no more submissions, please!): 71. "Citizen Soldiers: The US Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany" by Stephen E. Ambrose Charles Gordon: This book tells the story about the soldiers who served in World War II from Normandy to Germany's surrender in 1945 when I was 15 years of age. The story is compelling yet depressing as you realize how horrific war actually is. There is relief when the author interviews WWII veterans 50 years later. Goodreads review 72. "Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families" - National Endowment for the Arts, edited by Andrew Carroll Bronwyn Teixeira of Holden, Mass.: This compilation of letters, short stories, and private accounts from soldiers and families during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is a small window into the sorrow and joys of this period. Like similar books from other wars, it shows us non-military folks the cost these families are asked to make, and also how, while the weapons become more sophisticated, the challenges have not. I have repeatedly read this compilation, always coming away with a new insight. Goodreads review 73. "Andersonville" by MacKinlay Kantor Amy Talanker of Newton, Mass.: This book is about the notorious prisoner of war camp built in Georgia during the Civil War. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1956 and is written from the point of view of prisoners, people who worked at the camp, and people who lived nearby. The narrative is so effective that I felt like I knew the characters by the time I finished reading it a few years ago. I honestly had a hard time getting it out of my head. Goodreads review 74. "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" by Max Brooks (son of Mel Brooks) Christi Bayha of Fredericksburg, Va.: I work at the Marine Corps University Library on Quantico, but my recommendation is for something a little different. Written as a series of oral history interviews, this story tells the origins, battle, and aftermath of a global zombie infestation. Although it is a horror novel, it reads more like a history. In fact, several times I found myself stopping and reminding myself that this is a novel and not a work of nonfiction! The story is engaging and exciting. Goodreads review 75. "The Good Soldier Švejk" by Jaroslav Hašek Charlie DeWeese of Collinsville, Conn.: Translated from the original Czech. It was originally published as a series of short stories beginning in about 1911. The protagonist is a man caught up in the Austrian army before the first world war, who uses his considerable cunning to act like an absolute idiot and avoid actually going to battle. He is constantly on the verge of getting in serious trouble, but his bumbling idiocy somehow frustrates official attempts to make him comply and most importantly, keeps him from actually having to fight. It is uproariously funny, and darkly comic, exposing the foolishness of those who are supposed to be in charge. Peter Perlmutter: Written and published in the early 1920s. A deep dive into the European caste and class system of the early 20th century as observed by Hašek as an Austrian infantry soldier during World War I. Hašek's narration speaks to the idiocy of war, compounded by the incompetence of the generals, with a focus on how and why World War I was fought. After reading this many years ago, I think that it could have been Heller's inspiration for "Catch22." And reading and enjoying both books, to me, Hašek's is more authentic. Goodreads review 76. "Century Trilogy War Stories Collection" by Ken Follett Sandy Keese of Rochester, Mass.: My faves thus far by Ken Follett, his trilogy of "Fall of Giants," "Winter of the World," and "Edge of Eternity." Beginning in pre-WWI in England, Russia, and Germany, there are reigning oligarchs who intermarried, their exploited household help, and assorted nefarious characters including a Russian gangster who finds a home in NY after he runs from family commitments. A look at the struggles of the working class as they try to rise to equality in England. Horrible how the first world war was so avoidable, but as we know, poor men fight rich men's wars. What I took from these historic/fictional reads is that one set of promises that are made to set things right and equal just fall away to the next opportunist regime promising the same. Russia never changes, surprise, surprise. Great reads that kept me entertained, educated, and mesmerized the way Follett usually does. Goodreads review 77. "A Newburyport Marine in World War I: The Life and Legacy of Eben Bradbury" by Bethany Groff Dorau Jean Lambert of West Newbury, Mass.: The tale of a young Massachusetts WWI soldier in France 1917-18, this story moves far beyond a foreign battlefield to discover the rich and complex family to which he belonged and the truly American small city he called home. Goodreads review 78. "House Divided" by Ben Ames Williams Jean Maybell of Clatskanie, Ore.: This historical novel takes place during the US Civil War. Five adult siblings from a "Good Southern" family learn they are related to Abraham Lincoln. This book takes them and their children through those war years and tells how each of them dealt with their new-found relative. It shows how that knowledge and the horrors of war affected this family and how some of them survived to become better people, and some of them did not. Goodreads review 79. "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam" by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway Otto Kreisher of Arlington, Va.: This Vietnam War book was co-authored by Moore, who commanded the unit engaged in the 1965 bloody battle in the Ia Drang Valley, and Galloway, a reporter who was in the middle of the fight. It describes in graphic detail the horror and the vital personal loyalty of close quarters land warfare between well-trained and well-led American soldiers and zealously committed North Vietnamese regulars. But what makes it such a profound and gut-wrenching read is how it draws you intensely into knowing and caring about the men fighting the battle and the anguish of the wives waiting at home for the terrible telegrams revealing the bitter toll of the fight. Goodreads review 80. "Miracle at St. Anna" by James McBride Mary Miller of Colorado Springs, Colo.: This is inspired by a true story about the savage fighting in Italy during WWII. Four members of the 92nd Division, Buffalo Soldiers, get trapped behind enemy lines. They are given shelter by the villagers and become involved with partisans. They are drawn to trying to protect and save a small Italian boy. There is cruelty, passion, heroism, and love. I am reading it right now because it covers three topics that interest me: WWII, African American experiences in the war, and Italy, which I am hoping to visit this year. Goodreads review 81. "A Thousand Ships" by Natalie Haynes Sarita Arden of Pittsford, N.Y.: (From Goodreads) "From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war." I loved that "A Thousand Ships" is the story of the Trojan War, written in the voices of the women, girls, and goddesses. Refreshingly centered on them and their experiences of the war. Goodreads review 82. "The Rose Code" by Kate Quinn Ellen M. of Concord, N.H.: Very engaging story of three young women growing up and breaking code at Bletchley Park in England. Plenty of romance, but not too much, if you like that sort of thing. Plenty of royalty, bombings, secrets and secret meetings. I read it in large chunks, which is not typical of me, because I just couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the author's notes at the end where she explains which book characters are based on real people, which incidents were adapted for the sake of the story, and so forth. Pretty hefty summer read at 600+ pages. Barbara Burke of Westbury, N.Y.: Fascinating account of the code breakers at Bletchley Park, most of whom were women or men too old or unfit for combat, who worked tirelessly to break German codes and helped turn the tide of the war. A well-written and well-researched look at those who worked behind the scenes, with no recognition even after the war ended, combined with stories of love and friendship. One of the best books I've read in a long time! Goodreads review 83. "Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory" by Ben Macintyre Cathy Mueller of Grand Rapids, Mich.: Macintyre writes a spellbinding account of how the British convinced the Germans into believing the invasion of the Allies from Africa was going to happen in Greece rather than the obvious Sicilian route. Floating a dead body with appropriate classified documents and theater tickets off the Portuguese coast are just a couple of the many, many details and timing issues the Brits had to coordinate in a planned air crash. Goodreads review 84. "The Summer Before the War" by Helen Simonson Wendy Prest: This book is set at the beginning of the first world war. It has a wonderful atmosphere, a fine love story, and what (to me) seemed like a Jane Austen heroine, who is perfectly capable but whose inheritance is in the charge of a parsimonious aunt. There is certainly a strong sense of the miseries caused by war as the novel progresses. It's a super book. Goodreads review 85. "War" by Sebastian Junger (basis for the documentary "Restrepo") Stephen King: Truth is, I'd read anything by him: "The Perfect Storm" etc. This book is about a firebase in Afghanistan named after a deceased army medic. It details the day-to-day and person-to-person experiences of what we think of as modern day war. It's enlightening, dark and disturbing all at once, revealing how little we've traveled in this arena since Vietnam. Junger reports from the base itself and so is both national and personal in perspective.It makes you contemplate the reality and need. Goodreads review More next week. Thanks for reading. It's stunning just how much easier and safer life is in other developed countries. It just shouldn't be that way. E-mail comments and suggestions to teresa.hanafin@globe.com, or follow me on Twitter @BostonTeresa. See you next week.   Please tell your friends about Fast Forward! They can sign up here. 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