New Malcolm Gladwell book on American gun violence signed by Abacus 

Abacus has acquired The American Way of Killing by bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell, in which Gladwell argues that “the solution lies not simply in ‘more gun control’, but in a total reevaluation of the issue”.

Publisher Richard Beswick acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Gladwell’s long-time publisher, HBG US, with publication scheduled for 29th September 2026.

In The American Way of Killing, Gladwell, author of books including Revenge of the Tipping Point and Talking to Strangers, “gets to the heart of America’s gun violence crisis”, the publisher says, asking: “Where did America’s violence problem come from? And why has it proven so difficult to address?"

The blurb continues: “From The Tipping Point to Blink to his Revisionist History podcast episodes, Gladwell has returned again and again to the topics of crime, policing and punishment. In The American Way of Killing, he expands on his reporting, originally featured in a series of Revisionist History episodes, with new interviews and research.

“The American Way of Killing is an argument for looking in unexpected places when trying to understand the American problem of lethal violence. Gladwell explores the profound absurdity of the way the nation handles gun violence through a series of stories — the miracle of a young gunshot victim in Washington DC, the legal travails of a 17th-century English knight, a professor in Alabama with a terrible secret, and a prison in Germany that would be unrecognisable to any American, among others."

Narrated by the author, the audiobook will feature original reporting and interviews, archival tape, sound design and more. The audiobook edition will be produced by Pushkin Industries and published by RBmedia.