cial, intellectual, and cultural history canrnprofitably be integrated, and the authorrndraws on a rich variety of sources whichrnillustrate notions of generational continuityrnand society’s debts to its forefathers.rnParticularly well used are sermons andrncelebrations commemorating the foundingrnof New England communities,rnsources which many modern readersrnwould be tempted to dismiss as boosterrnephemera. Also crucial are what mightrnbe called the “politics of commemoration”rnin the early 19th century, thernintense cultural exercise by Daniel Websterrnand others to create a nationalrnmyth incorporating Plymouth Rock andrnBunker Hill which could ideally providernan ideological cement for the disparaternregions of the new republic: remainingrnone nation became the new generation’srnbest homage to its noble dead. One especiallyrnfresh chapter concerns the usernof the visual arts in constructing a historicalrnmemory for the new United States,rnand includes a stimulating discussion ofrnthe work of George Caleb Bingham.rnThe author has delved into well-knownrnpublished sources as well as newspapersrnand magazines and the manuscript materialsrnof the antebellum period, inrnwhich he is clearly most comfortable. Inrnlight of this, I was surprised not to see atrnleast some reference to the works ofrnNathaniel Hawthorne, whose “The GrayrnChampion” (1835) ends with the stirringrnappeal that “the descendants of thernPuritans [will] show the spirit of theirrnsires . . . [that] New England’s sons willrnvindicate their ancestry” — which arguablyrnthey would a few years later atrnAntietam and Gettysburg.rnWallach is very good at using demographicrnevidence obtained from socialrnscience to counterbalance his literary evidence,rnoffering a constant reminder ofrnwhat a youthful societ}’ America was inrnthe early 19th century (especially in therncities), and that gray-haired patriarchsrnwere as scarce in reality as they werernabundant in political rhetoric. Youngrnmen compensated for this rhetoricalrnoverrepresentation by forming the immensernrange of political clubs, friendlyrnsocieties, temperance groups, and otherrnassociations which were so prominent arnpart of the era, and through which membersrnhoped to preserve or recapture thernold ideals. As Wallach rightly suggests,rnthe story of these fraternal endeavors is arnlarge part of the history of antebellumrnAmerica. The young men’s movementsrnacquired their ideology from the newrnmass medium of the popular press just asrnsurely as a later youth generation was offeredrnits assumptions ready-packaged byrnthe record industry and popular entertainment.rnAll in all, this is at once excellent socialrnhistory and a thought-provokingrnoverview of the politics and culture ofrnmid-19th centur)’America. Dr. Wallachrnis an indecently young man to be writingrnsuch an impressive and widely researchedrnbook. (Whippersnapper!)rnPhilip Jenkins is Distinguished Professorrnof History and ReUgious Studies at PennsylvaniarnState University.rnLast Refuge of the White Manrnby Collie H. OwensrnBars:rnOlder white guys gather in the cool,rndark wooded, neon lit, alcoholicrnhole, away from maddening heat outside,rndo Cuervo shooters or linger on a Bud,rnchuckle, flirt with Kimber, the cute barkeep.rnWith the remote they can control their world:rnthey watch, detached, on several televisionsrnthe collapse of Western Civilization, livernon CNN, or, better, keep the channelrnlocked on ESPN, glance at golf,rnice skating, forget Korea, Vietnam,rnbuddies face down, awash in waves, beheaded,rntortured to death, burned alive, or missing.rnOutgunningrnthe Mediarnby Harry HoganrnThe Great American Gun Debate:rnEssays on Firearms and Violencernby Don B. Kates, jr., and Gary KleckrnSan Francisco: Pacific ResearchrnInstitute for Public Policy;rn300 pp., $16.95rnAreasonable case can perhaps bernmade for some form of firearmrnregulation. However, few in the opinion-rnmolding professions are able to makernit with credibility, unacquainted as theyrnare with up-to-date, scholarly work onrnthe issue. Many journalists who coverrnthe subject continue to recite a collectivernwisdom based on the studies and analysesrnof the 1960’s and 70’s, and it is thesernviews, produced mostly by activists inclinedrnto favor stringent controls, thatrn26/CHRONICLESrnrnrn