The gun-toting woman holds enormous symbolic significance in American culture. For over two centuries, women who pick up guns have disrupted the popular association of guns and masculinity, spurring debates about women's capabilities for violence as well as their capacity for full citizenship. In Her Best Shot, Laura Browder examines the relationship between women and guns and the ways in which the figure of the armed woman has served as a lightning rod for cultural issues. Utilizing autobiographies, advertising, journalism, novels, and political tracts, among other sources, Browder traces appearances of the armed woman across a chronological spectrum from the American Revolution to the present and an ideological spectrum ranging from the Black Panthers to right-wing militias. Among the colorful characters presented here are Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself as a man to fight in the American Revolution; Pauline Cushman, who posed as a Confederate to spy for Union forces during the Civil War; Wild West sure-shot Annie Oakley; African explorer Osa Johnson; 1930s gangsters Ma Barker and Bonnie Parker; and Patty Hearst, the hostage-turned-revolutionary-turned-victim. With her entertaining and provocative analysis, Browder demonstrates that armed women both challenge and reinforce the easy equation that links guns, manhood, and American identity.

The author shares her perspective on such topics as the 2000 election, present-day civil rights activists, and the relationship between the United States and Canada.

As the winter cold settles over Upper and Lower Canada, sparks still fly between the provinces. But while the fate of the colony is debated in the British parliament, a more pressing danger threatens the fledgling state: American militia is raiding across the border, intent on annexing the Canadian provinces by any means necessary. Following a battle along the border, a high-ranking American officer is wounded and captured. Brought back to Toronto, he is scheduled to be tried and executed in order to send a message to the encroaching Americans. The American colonel has a penchant for showmanship, and trouble always follows closely in his wake. But the American colonel’s boasts of escape and revenge are cut short when he is poisoned in his cell. All fingers point to Billy McNair, a young Canadian militia officer and the same man who saved the American colonel from dying from his wounds on the battlefield. Into this turmoil steps Marc Edwards, a decorated army officer who has traded his military uniform for a lawyer’s robes. Marc is convinced that the accused is innocent, and so, with the aid of Constable Cobb, he sets forth to track down the killer. But the investigation is nowhere near straightforward. Spies are everywhere, spreading lies and half-truths, and everyone has an agenda, some personal and some political. With time running out and the ever-present threat of attack from a foreign army looming, Marc must rely on his every skill to secure a future not only for his friend, but for his entire country.

For the past three decades, many history professors have allowed their biases to distort the way America’s past is taught. These intellectuals have searched for instances of racism, sexism, and bigotry in our history while downplaying the greatness of America’s patriots and the achievements of “dead white men.” As a result, more emphasis is placed on Harriet Tubman than on George Washington; more about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II than about D-Day or Iwo Jima; more on the dangers we faced from Joseph McCarthy than those we faced from Josef Stalin. A Patriot’s History of the United States corrects those doctrinaire biases. In this groundbreaking book, America’s discovery, founding, and development are reexamined with an appreciation for the elements of public virtue, personal liberty, and private property that make this nation uniquely successful. This book offers a long-overdue acknowledgment of America’s true and proud history.

Reproduction of the original: An Unofficial Patriot by Helen Gardener