Assassination: A History of Political Murder - Hardcover

Porter, Lindsay

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1590203488 ISBN 13: 9781590203484

Publisher: Overlook Books, 2010

Synopsis

Assassination - the politically motivated killing of high-profile individuals - has always been part of man's struggle for power, from the removal of tyrants in Classical civilizations to the state- sanctioned 'decapitation strikes' of the present day. Chillingly effective as a political tool, assassination is also immensely compelling as an idea. This book examines the concept of political murder, asking questions such as: What did Julius Caesar's death mean to the Romans? How can assassination be justified? Have our attitudes towards it shifted through time? And why do the circumstances surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy continue to haunt our collective consciousness?

From Caesar and Thomas Becket to Archduke Franz Ferdinand and beyond, this visually striking and intriguing book focuses on the most (in)famous examples of assassination through history, and uses them to explore its various meanings, myths and cults.

Fully illustrated with paintings, drawings, photographs and archival documents, Assassination shows how the violent deaths of leaders and statesmen have played out in the popular and artistic imagination from earliest times to the present, illuminating both contemporary responses to assassinations and their lasting impact on our world.

About this title

About the Author:

Lindsay Porter, author and art historian, has published widely on conspiracy theories and secret societies. Her previous publications include Who Are the Illuminati? and she contributed to Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia. Currently she is researching conspiracies in the French Revolution at the University of York.

Review:

³With brief, well-written and nicely illustrated chapters detailing famous assassinations in history, Porter thoroughly examines both the ends and means of political murder as it developed throughout historyŠ the format of the book‹hardcover, glossy, almost-but-not-quite coffee table material‹invites the reader to peruse rather than plow straight through, a good approach for such a dark subject.² -- PopMatters.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Overlook Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1590203488
• ISBN 13: 9781590203484
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192