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Metzl's book is both a detailed look at one particular mass shooting that took place at a Nashville Waffle House in 2018, and a wider consideration of the role that guns play in American society, and the degree to which a public health framing of the gun issue has helped or hindered the cause of limiting gun violence in the United States. Metzl is a careful observer as well as participant in these debates, and it is clear from his writing that he wants to take seriously the claims of Southern white people who feel that they must rely on guns for their safety, despite all evidence to the contrary. At the same time, Metzl does not shy away from the brutal reality of the role that racial animus plays in our gun policy. I'm paraphrasing Metzl’s text from memory here, but for many white Americans a Black person with a gun is a threat and a white person with a gun is a neighbor. A national politics that keeps white people aggrieved and seeing themselves as the victims only drives them deeper into a belief that possessing an armory is a necessary part of self-defense. It is difficult to walk away from this book feeling hopeful about the future of the country, but Metzl does close with some ideas at the end of the book for how to move forward. It's a start.

Sachs's book is not strictly a biography of Schoenberg -- he acknowledges up front that there are other, more detailed treatments of Schoenberg's life out there -- but Sachs definitely hits the highlights, and, more importantly, explores the question of why this composer's music and philosophy had the impact that they did on the wider musical world. I don't think I've ever read a book that starts with "A Warning," in which Sachs states plainly that Schoenberg's music is rarely performed by major orchestras around the world. But reading the book it is clear that Schoenberg had an impact on everyone he met; no one came away from him indifferent. Sachs concludes that if we can make room for novels or visual arts that challenge the reader/viewer, then surely we can have challenging music as well. The catch, of course, is that music requires an intermediary (the musicians) in between composer and listener; if no one wants to play the music, we won't hear it in the concert hall. But Schoenberg continues to have his advocates, and the place of his students Berg and Webern seems to be solid as well. The subtitle is a statement (why he matters), not a question (does he matter?) -- Schoenberg is a composer worth taking the time to listen to.