Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Melancholy Accidents
Melancholy Accidents | Peter Manseau
5 posts | 4 read | 10 to read
Did you know that fatal gun mishaps have been so common in America that for centuries, newspapers carried regular columns reporting on "melancholy accidents"? It came as a surprising discovery when, while conducting research that involved reading colonial-era newspapers, acclaimed writer Peter Manseau stumbled upon one report after another of "melancholy accidents"--instances of local people accidentally discharging firearms to disastrous results. Usually, they were brief items, with the concision of dark poetry--hunting accidents, neighbor shooting neighbor, father shooting son. Dark as they were, they were also often bizarre and fascinating--such as the case of one farmer who, trying out his new musket, shot it at his barn, hitting a door hinge that split the musket ball in two, with each half ricochetting off to hit a different, distant person, each of whom was a doctor. In Melancholy Accidents, Manseau collects and annotates a wide-ranging assortment of these woebegone and oddly intimate reports, with numerous illustrations, photos, and visuals from original period newspapers. It makes for a wholly unique contribution to the ongoing consideration of--and the recent heated discussion about--the historic place of firearms in American society.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
quote
kristenlcoates
Melancholy Accidents | Peter Manseau
post image

From the introduction to Melancholy Accidents—which republishes news missives from the past about accidental firearm discharges resulting in catastrophe—after he tells the story of a three-year-old removing a loaded gun from his mother's purse in Walmart and shooting her point blank.

blurb
AEBowenPhD
Melancholy Accidents | Peter Manseau
post image

Excellent end paper in this book!

Loreen Pretty! 8y
4 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
TaylaKaye
Melancholy Accidents | Peter Manseau
post image
Pickpick

It's like someone distilled true crime stories from three centuries down into tweets. But in a good, historic, powerful kind of way. Kudos to @Melvillehouse for great design as well.

3 likes1 stack add
quote
TaylaKaye
Melancholy Accidents | Peter Manseau
post image

Already concerned about where this is going.

quote
DrBird
Melancholy Accidents | Peter Manseau
post image

"As mother and child made their way through Walmart, the toddler unzipped the gun pocket and reached inside. He drew the 9mm out of its Velcroed holster, pointed it up from his seat in the shopping cart, and fired at his mother..." (More in image)

jeff Wow - looks like an intense, but timely read. How is it so far? 9y
DrBird The introductory essay is great. The rest is... Fun and interesting but it's not a story or deep history. Just like reading through the brief write ups. I'm satisfied because the intro was so good. 9y
2 likes1 stack add2 comments