History Is an Awful, Bloody Mess

It's an awful thing what people do to each other. Sometimes the only solace is the fact that we've been doing it for centuries and just have to deal with it. Looking back, you might even start to think we've been getting more peaceful.

Starting from sweet home Chicago, The Gang is a 1927 study detailing the behavior of Chicago street gangs, following their evolution from groups of tweens with too much time on their hands to criminal organizations with political connections. Not only is it a keenly observant work of sociology, it's also a time capsule for a very specific period of Chicago history.

But we can't limit ourselves to one, little metropolis. When America's history can be told through its guns, you really get a feel for how exceptional we Americans are. American Gun, written by the late Chris Kyle, goes one by one through a series of famous firearms, explaining their significance in the nation's history. You'd think a book like this would devolve into a morbid exercise, but the author has a genuine, thoughtful appreciation for the crafting of the guns themselves and how their construction shaped historical events.

And it's not just Americans who have this bloody mindset. There are plenty of people across the world and all of history who spend their idle time murdering each other. A History of Violence examines the declining rate of homicide in Europe since the Middle Ages, including tons of fun facts about duels and public executions. Not surprisingly, most of the murder came at the hands of frustrated, overly exuberant young men, and bringing them under control has proved to be quite the task.

There's plenty of violence to go around. Reading about it gave me one more thing to worry about.