"Shocked by the epidemic of gun violence in America, acclaimed writer Peter Manseau found himself absorbed by the melancholy accidents that appeared in nineteenth-century newspapers: daily accounts of accidental gun deaths that seemed as unfortunate as they were unavoidable. In Melancholy Accidents, Manseau collects, annotates, and introduces many of these articles, painting a devastating portrait of our nation's long, bloody relationship with firearms. Fully illustrated with period etchings and sketches, Melancholy Accidents is a wholly unique look at the dark side of American history"
