Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the Nra

A blistering exposé of the National Rifle Association, revealing its people, power, corruption, and ongoing downfall, from acclaimed NPR investigative reporter Tim MakThe NRA once compelled respect-even fear-from Republicans and Democrats alike. Once a grassroots club dedicated to gun safety, in the 1990s the NRA ballooned into a powerful lobbyist organization that maintained an iron hold on gun legislation in America. The executives of this influential non-for-profit raised millions in small fees from mom-and-pop club members across the country, as well as massive corporate donations, which funded hidden, personal lifestyles of designer suits, private jets and yachts, martini lunches and Champagne dinners-all in violation of the law-while the group seduced and manipulated legislators and flirted with a Russian spy.Yet in 2012, the NRA's grip on Washington began to loosen in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. Facing nationwide outrage, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre gave a speech claiming the solution was not fewer guns, but more guns, in schools. The group's rhetoric only escalated from there, a misstep that finally sparked a backlash and invited the scrutiny of law enforcement.Misfire is the result of a four-year investigation by journalist Tim Mak, who scoured thousands of pages of never-before publicized documents and cultivated dozens of confidential sources within the NRA itself, as well as its affiliate marketing firm, Ackerman McQueen, to paint a vivid picture of the gun group's rampant corruption and slow decline, marking a sea change in the battle over gun rights and control in America.Story Locale: USA and Russia