The title, "More Guns, Less Crime," really says it all. According to Lott, efforts to limit the availability of guns mostly serve to make innocent citizens more vulnerable to criminals. By making crime, safer and more rewarding, such measures also make it more common. By contrast, Lott finds that when states relax gun-control laws -- particularly by making it easier for law-abiding citizens to carry guns concealed -- criminals rationally respond to the increased risk by shifting to nonconfrontational crimes (e.g., auto theft, burglary of empty buildings) or by moving. The book relies on the most extensive study of gun and crime data anywhere, encompassing *every* county in America rather than just a few selected locations. And some of the studies were coauthored with Lott's extremely eminent University of Chicago colleague William Landes. A first rate book, informative, readable, and persuasive.

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