Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981

by Michael Newton

These were the crimes that were meant to change the world, and sometimes did. The book connects the killing of the Kennedys or the murder that sparked the First World War with less well-known stories, such as the Berlin shooting of an instigator of the Armenian genocide or the attack on an American 'robber baron'. Taking in Malcolm X and Queen Victoria, Adolf Hitler and Andy Warhol, Charles Manson and Emma Goldman, Tsars, Presidents, and pop stars, "Age of Assassins" traces the process that turned thought into action and murder into an icon.

In tackling the history of political violence, the book is unique in its range and attention to detail, summoning up an age of assassination that is far from over.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History

736 pages, ebook

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Michael Newton has taught at University College London, Princeton University, and Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design, and now works at Leiden University. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children, Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981, and a book on Kind Hearts and Coronets for the BFI Film Classics series. He has edited Edmund Gosse's Father and Son for Oxford World's Classics, and The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories and Conrad's The Secret Agent for Penguin. He has written and reviewed for the Times Literary Supplement, London Review of Books, the New Statesman, and The Guardian.

Reviews

[M.R. Dowsing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This history of assassination (both successful and attempted) concentrates on Europe and especially on the USA and takes us from Lincoln to Reagan. The author gives little credence to conspiracy theories, but gives us plenty of context on each assassination, so that we understand both the motivation and consequences. Few historical subjects are as inherently dramatic as assassination, so naturally this is fascinating stuff. He spends a great deal of time on the anarchists, especially Berkman and Goldman, while other assassinations (George Lincoln Rockwell and Harvey Milk for example) are dealt with in a couple of pages. But this is far more than a collection of "greatest hits"; Newton demonstrates convincingly how assassination in the West has changed in character over the years, originally arising from idealism, however misguided, until finally ending up largely as a drastic means of gaining fame. The Reagan incident is, of course, a perfect illustration of this - an attempted assassination of a political leader motivated not by politics but by a desire to impress a film actress whom the perpetrator had not even actually met. Newton also shows how each assassination has been to some extent influenced by those that have gone before. This is a thoroughly researched, extremely well-written, insightful and penetrating work.

[Ryuta Fukuya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly I expected this book as a kind of thriller like the day of Jackal. My expectation was betrayed. In this meaning my rate is 3 stars.
But this is well reserched through the assasin's psychological point of view. I was able to understand the psychological background on each assasinations. As academical thesis, this book should be rated 4 or 5 stars.

[Book Grocer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purchase Age of Assassins here for just $12!

Newton writes a fascinating account of assassination in the Western world. In a riveting sequence of stories, he brings to light some of the most shocking acts of murder and political violence in the 20th century – and provides us a glimpse of the people responsible.

Allison - The Book Grocer

[Björn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Þetta er einstaklega skemmtileg bók. Mér fannst hún dreifa fókusnum aðeins undir lokin, þar sem áhersla á pólitísk morð færist yfir í selebbdráp. Það eru tengingar við tilræðin við forsetana en mér sýndist þetta aðallega vera til þess að taka á bandarískum samtíma, sem hefur verið meira og minna laus við pólitískt ofbeldi -- af því tagi sem Newton ræðir. Hann nefnir þá staðreynd að pólitísk morð séu algengari annarstaðar í heiminum þessa dagana en einhverstaðar verður maður jú að draga landamærin, annars reynir bókin að fjalla um allt.

Tesan er sú að vestræn menning sé of upptekin af poppkúltúr og sjálfinu til þess að íhuga pólitískt morð, þar sem einstaklingurinn vegur annan einstakling í þágu hreyfingar. Nema þegar árásarmaðurinn er geðveikur, en þar með eru hugsjónir hans ógildur hvati. Á öðrum sviðum hefur pólitískt ofbeldi beinst gegn almenningi, það er eitthvað sem Newton snertir á en, aftur, liggur það utan mæra bókarinnar. Kannske er það viðsnúningur hinnar hliðarinnar, þar sem einn áhrifamaður er ekki lengur gilt skotmark.

Einhvernveginn get ég ekki hætt að hugsa um DeLillo. Hann kemur í hugann aftur og aftur þegar ég les þessa bók. Libra náttúrulega, og Mao II.

Allavega, bókin missir aðeins fókusinn undir lokin, en í heild er hún frábær lesning, allt fram að enda. Skemmtilegar sögur, áhugaverðar pælingar, vel skrifuð. Hún stoppar upp í hinar og þessar eyður sem ég vissi ekki að væru til staðar. (Nema hvað.)

[Paul Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dense, academic study of the assassination in the modern age starting from Lincoln and ending with Reagan. In addition to providing context to the political and populist circumstances of the various assassination, Newton spends much time on examining the assassins themselves, opening up very interesting views of nihilists, anarchists and eventually lonely outcasts of the 20th century. The books requires much efforts at times, particulalry on some of the less known assassinations (Russians nihilists by the second chapter is tough!), but is very rewarding both from a deeper understanding of well worn events such as RFK and JFK, but also from the perspective of the move from political to the fame-induced assassinations of recent years.

[Jonathan t · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried hard to read this book but it's just so messy that I gave up .There's no cohesion and no style. It's curiously detached .To access the million footnotes ,for example,you are required to go online .
I didn't bother and am not sure many will.
One for the bargain bin only.