What if everything we understood about gun violence was wrong? In 2007, economist Jens Ludwig moved to the South Side of Chicago to research two big questions: Why does gun violence happen, and is there anything we can do about it? Almost two decades later, the answers aren¿t what he expected. Unforgiving Places is Ludwig¿s revelatory portrait of gun violence in America¿s most famously maligned city. Disproving the popular narrative that shootings are the calculated acts of malicious or desperate people, Ludwig shows how most shootings actually grow out of a more fleeting source: interpersonal conflict, especially arguments. By examining why some arguments turn tragic while others don't, Ludwig shows gun violence to be more circumstantial¿and more solvable¿than our traditional approaches lead us to believe. Drawing on decades of research and Ludwig¿s immersive fieldwork in Chicago, including ¿countless hours spent in schools, parks, playgrounds, housing developments, courtrooms, jails,
