Tommy: The Gun That Changed America

In this biography of a gun and the times in which it lived, Blumenthal traces the Thompson submachine gun, a.k.a. the Tommy. After the Spanish-American War, an Army officer, John Thompson, believed that America needed a lightweight, automatic, hand-held rifle in order to be prepared for the next conflict. The Army did not share his opinion, so he left the service and developed his own weapon, completed with superior bad timing on Armistice Day in 1918. Without a ready military market Thompson found other avenues for disbursement, and an open market (along with a few robberies) put the Tommy in the hands of the crooks and bootleggers terrorizing the next two decades in American history. At this point Blumenthal turns her attention to these criminals as well as the lawmen trying to stop them. Although short-lived, the Tommy finally realized its creator’s dream, becoming a valuable weapon during World War II, but one replaced at war’s end. In a third thread of her narrative, Blumenthal also examines the history of gun laws in America. With thorough research and impeccable documentation, the author shows the complexity of gun culture, leaving more questions than answers concerning contemporary use and misuse of firearms and the future of Second Amendment battles. Appended with an extensive bibliography and source notes; index not seen. betty carter

Meticulously researched and compelling, this fascinating narrative will engage diverse readers-those interested in American history, military history, inventors and inventions, weapons, crime, and the law and civil liberties. The book highlights a dilemma not often shown in works about inventions and their inventors: the discrepancy between the inventors' intentions for their creations versus how the inventions are actually used. In this case, John Talliaferro Thompson designed the Tommy gun for U.S. soldiers to win World War I, not as a go-to weapon for gangsters and terrorists. Karen Blumenthal's polished prose and eye for detail make for an absorbing read: "the Chicago police brought out a force capable of destroying a small platoon to meet [bank robber John Dillinger]. . . . Several hundred onlookers watched as he was pushed into a car, wearing only a blue suit and shivering without a coat or hat. Then a long caravan of police cars, carrying at least six Tommy guns, several dozen pistols, and assorted rifles and shotguns, escorted Dillinger to a jail that was supposed to be escape proof." Numerous reproductions of period photographs and newspaper articles reveal the extent of organized crime in the United States during the 1920s and '30s-and how often Tommy guns were used in these crimes. The documents make it easy to understand why a debate about gun control ensued. This thoughtful treatment of the role of guns in society offers much fodder for discussion. Blumenthal notes that criminal use of Tommy guns inspired the 1934 National Firearms Act (the first federal gun legislation in the United States), and asks: "What is the right balance between individual freedoms and community safety? And how do we effectively address the danger of powerful weapons in the wrong hands?"

This biography of a gun traces the Thompson submachine gun (a.k.a. the Tommy) from its 1918 invention--by former Army officer John Thompson as a potential military weapon--to its use by crooks and bootleggers terrorizing people throughout the next two decades. With thorough research and impeccable documentation, Blumenthal also examines the history of American gun laws, showing the complexity of gun culture. Bib., ind.