The Book of Assassins: A Biographical Dictionary From Ancient Times To The Present

by George Fetherling

Until now, there has been no single source for the life stories of assassins in various eras and the infamous ones and the surprisingly forgotten, the ideologues and the zealots, the sociopaths and the mercenary killers. A Biographical Dictionary of the World's Assassins fills this gap for the benefit of the true-crime fans, the historian, the student and the general reader alike. We all know the names Lee Harvey Oswald and John Wilkes Booth. But who assassinated the Archduke Ferdinand in 1914, igniting the First World War? What wealthy aristocrat killed Rasputin and lived on until 1967? How many different people attempted to assassinate Hitler - or Queen Victoria? Which modern world leader holds the record for escaping assassins' plots - and, more to the point, who were the plotters? How have assassins in Japan, say, differed from those in the United States? What assassins have been produced by such famously peace-loving societies as Canada and Australia? Providing answers to these questions and many more, this is a work in which to browse or to read from cover to cover, whether as a refreshingly new take on history and politics or as a psychological portrait of the assassin personality. It is much more than a ready-reference, and has no political subtext. Rather, it is a collection of biographical stories, a few well-known but most obscure, dealing with individual assassins from the ancient world to the present day. Researched with care and told with style and insight, A Biographical Dictionary of the World's Assassins is a complete chronicle of some of the most influential crimes in history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, True Crime

391 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2001

About the author

Douglas George Fetherling (born January 1, 1949) is a Canadian writer, poet, novelist, biographer, artist, and cultural commentator. One of the most prolific figures in Canadian letters, he has written or edited more than fifty books.
He previously published under the name Douglas Fetherling until 1999, and thereafter under the name George Fetherling, switching to his middle name to honor his father George, after recovering from life-saving surgery for the same medical condition that had killed his father.
One of his most popular works is Travels by Night: A Memoir, which recreates leading personalities and events in the fabled Canadian cultural renaissance of 1965–75.
Fetherling is also a visual artist. He lives in Vancouver.

Reviews

[GoldGato · Rating 3 out of 5]

There certainly have been an overabundance of nutbuckets on this planet, at least according to this book. Representing a wide net of successful and not-so-successful assassins over many centuries, author George Fetherling provides mini-bios for the wacked, the upset, and the power-hungry.

Although the book is set up in alphabetical order of each assassin's last name, it would have been more interesting to view the same murderers in the categories that Fetherling states as the main assassin groups.

TYPE 1 ASSASSINS
Most numerous in the ancient ages, these individuals were in it to take power from those who ruled. Death by poison and death by betrayal were normal. Think the Roman Emperors and the Byzantines.

TYPE 2 ASSASSINS
Mercenary killers. These were/are the professionals who sell their services (Carlos The Jackal, the Cold War).

TYPE 3 ASSASSINS
Ideological/religious fanatics. More common in Europe than the New World, these are the ones who believe they hear a calling or simply don't agree with someone else's beliefs.

TYPE 4 ASSASSINS
Celebrity hunters. These are the nuts who go after famous people simply because they are famous.

TYPE 5 ASSASSINS
Those who pursue personal revenge for perceived wrongs.

There is a lot of information in this book, which required me to be on tap with Wikipedia and/or going back and forth between the alphabet (as some assassinations were by groups). Interesting concept, but it could have been more without the dictionary concept. The author stays fairly objective unless it's the Lincoln and Kennedy killings, then the passion flows.

Anyway, too many nutbuckets.

Book Season = Autumn (perfect for moody ones)

[Bryan Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title suggests, this reference work focuses not on famous people who fall victim to assassination but rather on the assassins themselves. Or at least that’s the goal. The entries are somewhat uneven, sometimes providing run-of-the-mill descriptions of victims or crimes rather than biographies of criminals. In general the book is better when it plays by the rules, though occasionally even the good entries go bad (such as when the author joins the society of people who claim to have definitively figured out Lee Harvey Oswald and then fail to convince). I also think I would have defined terms slightly differently, probably focusing more on politically-motivated homicide and excluding celebrity stalkers from the set. Still, the text does a reasonably good job of covering a vast subject and bringing a new perspective – not to mention some fascinating historical tidbits – to the endeavor.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The research and presentation was pretty impressive. It was likely not a small feat to put this book together. I also enjoyed that the author chose to include a diverse group of subjects. Pretty much every continent is represented here.

Since it is laid out like an encyclopedia, reading can be cumbersome. Rather than group assassins together (by type of assassin or even by who was assassinated) you have to refer back to where you read the person's name before. This is especially challenging for assassins who were involved in the same plot (like Lincoln's assassination) or even separate attempts on the same person (such as Hitler or Queen Victoria).

Overall, a lot of great information! Just don't plan to read it conventionally.

[Logan Maire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very helpful to me for my school work and assignment. George Fetherling used intensive research as well as speculation in order to show the reader why the assassins did what they did. The tone was very melancholy and lacked any emotion, but I believe that this was useful in helping me read because I did not get distracted by His feelings and was instead able to focus on my own. Certain characters within the book had more information than others but that was because certain people had more research and information available to the public. I believe that Fetherling could have been a little more emotional but It was indeed very helpful.

[Nicholas Maulucci · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting. I read it over the period of several months as the list of assassins gets monotonous.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, this book is very interesting. It's given me a glimpse into the minds (or lack thereof) of the various types of assassin. I would have liked it better if the assassins were not in alphabetical order, but the assassinations and assassination attempts were put in chronological order. While it would change the focus of the book to the events instead of the assassin's mind, I would still find it a bit more entertaining.

[Alexander]

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