The Hate Trap: The Anatomy of a Forgotten Assassination

by Haluk Şahin, Betsy Göksel (Translator)

The first bullets of a bloody campaign of terror. Two Turkish diplomats were killed by an elderly Armenian-American on January 27th 1973 in Santa Barbara, California. What appeared to be a freak crime committed by a "maniac" later proved to be the opening shots of a campaign of terror against Turkish diplomats and officials that lasted two decades, taking the lives of dozens of Turkish diplomats along with more than 60 others in nearly 600 terrorist attacks around the world. This book focuses on the first "forgotten assassination" and presents shocking new information derived from the recently declassified FBI documents, court transcripts and the findings of historians. How did the murderer, Gourgen Yanikian, set his trap? What did he really want to achieve? Why was the trial of Soghomon Tehlirian , the Armenian hit man who killed Talat Pasha in Berlin in 1921, so important for him? What were the human and historical ramifications of this double assassination? How is it linked to the murder of Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist, in 2007? The author was a friend of one of the slain diplomats and journalist Dink. Yet, his book is an objective account of one of the most consequential political crimes of the 20th Century. It covers much new ground and reads like a detective story. Its powerful message against racial hatred and violence is perhaps more important today than ever. Paperback. Cr. 8vo. (20 x 14 cm). Edition in English. 488 p. The hate trap: The anatomy of a forgotten assassination. [= Unutulmus bir suikastin anatomisi]. Translated by Betsy Göksel. Edited by Enis Batur.

488 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Haluk Şahin is a Turkish journalist, academic and television producer. Having received his PhD from Indiana University in 1974, he now lectures at Istanbul Bilgi University.

Shortly after the release of the film Troy in 2004, an article in Radikal written by Şahin and entitled "Were the Trojans Turks?" attracted public interest and generated a debate over the significance of Troy and the Trojan War in modern Turkey. In 2006 he was among five journalists who stood trial on charges of attempting to influence the outcome of a trial through their writing, and of publicly denigrating Turkish identity and the institutions of the Turkish state. The charges were later dropped

Reviews

[Mustafa Sütlaş · Rating 3 out of 5]

haluk şahin bir arkadaşına yönelik vicdani borcunu öderken, zavallı bir adamdan bir katil yaratmış. söz ettiği adam biri arkadaşı olmak üzere iki insanı öldürmüş, buna dair gerçeğin ortaya konulması önemli ama, böyle bir anlatıyla değil. bir de kullandığını söylediği üç kaynak (biri fbı raporları, diğer ikisi akademik çalışma) kullanmış ama okurken bunların yeterince irdelenmediği duygusu oluşuyor insanda. ama iyi yönü de var: türkiye'de yeterince bilinmeyen bir insana dair bir şeyler yazmış olması. söz ettiği adamın birkaç kitabı var, gerek ermenistan'da gerekse amerika'da yayınlanmış. bunların çevrilmesi ve yayınlanması, dahası adamla ilgili bir filmin yapılması (belki de vardır) ne güzel olurdu.