"As an avid hunter, outdoorsman, and conservationist--all things that the firearms industry was built on--Ryan Busse chased a childhood dream and built a successful career selling millions of firearms for one of America's most popular gun companies. But blinded by the promise of massive profits, the gun industry abandoned its self-imposed decency in favor of hardline conservatism and McCarthyesque internal policing, sowing irreparable division in our politics and society. That drove Busse to do something few other gun executives have done: he's ending his 30-year career in the industry to show us how and why we got here. Gunfight is an insider's call-out of a wild, secretive, and critically important industry. It shows us how America's gun industry shifted from prioritizing safety and ethics to one that is addicted to fear, conspiracy, intolerance, and secrecy. It recounts Busse's personal transformation and shows how authoritarianism spreads in the guise of freedom, how voicing one's conscience becomes an act of treason in a culture that demands sameness and loyalty. Gunfight offers a valuable perspective as the nation struggles to choose between armed violence or healing."-- Provided by publisher.

"Originally published in hardcover and ebook by PublicAffairs in October 2021"--Title page verso.

Author's note -- Prologue -- One Nation Under Guns -- Hole in the Wall -- Ground Floor -- Rookie of the Year -- Moving Iron -- Killers, Clingers, and Clintons -- Beating a Hangover -- Coffin Factories and Horror Movies -- Was it a Kimber? -- Tobacco and Firearms -- The Wages of Sin -- Busted -- Center of Mass -- Rescued by The Sky People -- Tupperware Party -- Couch Commandos -- ZumboMania -- The Best Gun Salesman in America -- Bulletproof Glass -- Dead Or In Jail -- Keeping Score -- Wearing a Target -- The Trump Slump -- Clenched Fist -- Speaking Truth to Bullshit -- Position of Power -- Totalitario -- Un-American Carnage -- Epilogue.