The history of assassination roadshow hits Wootton

Looking forward to delivering one of the famous Wootton Village Hall talks in Oxfordshire on Friday. Subject - the history of assassination. I'll be talking about the world's first assassination; asking whether London was the scene of the world's first assassination by firearm; examining the surprising carelessness of some victims - like Abraham Lincoln, who let his bodyguard go off for a drink; and telling the story of the weird ones - murder by booby-trapped statuette, poisoned umbrella and man disguised as bear. 

Drawing on my book Assassins' Deeds. A History of Assassination from Ancient Egypt to the Present Day (Reaktion Books), I'll also be detailing the most famous ones - such as Julius Caesar, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, JFK, as well as the not very famous British prime minister who was the only one to be assassinated. 

And, of course, Friday being Valentine's Day, the talk will include a love story. All proceeds go to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

http://www.woottontalks.co.uk/

Was Trump’s escape a miracle, or predictable? A historian of assassination sheds light

Many Donald Trump supporters see his escape from an assassination attempt as a divinely ordained miracle, so what does history tell us? I studied more than 260 assassinations going back to the dawn of history for my book Assassins’ Deeds. A History of Assassination from Ancient Egypt to the Present Day (Reaktion Books). 

That told me that successful assassinations by snipers using a rifle at a distance, in other words the method employed against Donald Trump, were extremely rare, accounting for only four out of 266, while more than 90 of the assassinations involved firearms at closer quarters.

Even when firearms replaced stabbing as the favoured means of assassination in the 19^th century, it was generally the handgun at close quarters rather than the sniper’s rifle. Assassination remained predominantly up close and personal.

There were, of course, exceptions. Assuming you accept the official versions of events, and not everyone does, both civil rights leader Martin Luther King in 1968, and President John F Kennedy in 1963 were shot from a distance.

But the other three American presidents who were assassinated, Lincoln in 1865, Garfield in 1881 and McKinley in 1901 were all killed at close quarters. A sniper had tried to assassinate Lincoln in 1864, but had hit his hat instead.

In 2003, snipers successfully killed the Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjić, who had helped to bring down Slobodan Milošević. He was shot as he was going into a government building.

Then in 2010 while Thailand was bitterly divided between the yellow-shirts, largely supported by royalists and the urban middle class, and the red-shirts, whose members were mainly rural workers, the red-shirts’ head of security, Major-General Khattiya Sawasdipol, was killed by a sniper, while he was being interviewed by a reporter. Sawasdipol’s insistence on always wearing his green military uniform among his red-shirted supporters made him an easy target.

Perhaps the identification of 'assassin' with 'sniper' results from the success of Frederick Forsyth’s novel The Day of the Jackal. In it, perhaps the most famous assassin in fiction plans to shoot President de Gaulle from an upstairs window as he is handing out decorations to war heroes. It is hard to imagine a more meticulously planned attack, but it fails. As the assassin takes aim, the president bows his head to kiss a wounded veteran, and the shot just misses.

A similar thing, of course, happened with Donald Trump, just as it had in a London theatre in 1800. As King George III stood for the national anthem, a mentally disturbed ex-soldier fired at him, but George bowed to the audience and the shot whistled past.

In fact, most assassination attempts fail. Two American researchers examined 289 serious attempts on political leaders across the world between 1875 and 2007, and found that only 59, just over one in five, succeeded.

Assassins’ Deeds 

https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/assassins-deeds

The 5 most fascinating assassinations in history - my podcast

Dr James Rogers has just issued a challenge to me on his fascinating Warfare podcast - 'talk about the 5 most interesting assassinations in history'. Apparently it's the most popular episode this month.

We discuss methods, motives, causes, consequences, strange coincidences and weird twists of fate, drawing on my book 'Assassins' Deeds. A history of assassination from ancient Egypt to the present day.' (Reaktion Books).

Who did I pick? Do you know who was the only British prime minister to be assassinated? Which assassin did John Wilkes Booth quote when he shot Abraham Lincoln? And what role did love play in the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand?

The answers are here. See what you think of my choice:

https://podfollow.com/the-world-wars/episode/bb75567eb5c5c89aad148a90bb15da032ba16f30/view

History of Assassination: my North London talk in January

I'm honoured to have been invited to speak again at the Crouch End & District u3a in North London, this time on the history of assassination.

Drawing on my book Assassins' Deeds. A History of Assassination from Ancient Egypt to the Present Day (Reaktion), I'll be talking about murder by poisoned umbrella or booby-trapped toy or killer disguised as a bear.

The most notorious assassinations will, of course, be there - Julius Caesar, Good King Wenceslaus, Thomas Becket, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, JFK, Martin Luther King, John Lennon, Kim Jong-nam, as well as the ones that got away: Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Hitler, Stalin, Queen Victoria. How might history have been different if their would-be killers had succeeded?

Because dynastic ambition was so often the motive, perpetrators were often spouses, parents, children or siblings. One Turkish sultan had 19 of his brothers strangled. The powerful have always tried to protect themselves, but that can misfire as a dozen or so Roman emperors were murdered by their guards. On the other hand, many victims seem to have been surprisingly careless. Abraham Lincoln had let his bodyguard go for a drink. 

I'll also be examining the thorny question of whether assassination works.

The talk is on 19 January at 1030. https://cedu3a.org.uk/monthly-meetings/

 

The comedian, the sculpture, the pop song, the book....and the assassins!

One of the exhibits at the 'Summer' Exhibition at London's Royal Academy is a collection of eight little wooden models by the comedian, Harry Hill. They carry clues - Ford's Theatre, Dealey Plaza. 

Ah! I realised, fresh as I was from writing Assassins' Deeds. A history of assassination from Ancient Egypt to the present day. (Reaktion books) The little models all represent the sites of famous, or notorious, assassinations.

As I wracked my brains to identify them all, I could have saved myself some trouble by looking at the catalogue. The title of the piece is Abraham, Martin, John, Mahatma, Leon, Che, Malcolm and John. So Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi, Leon Trotsky, Che Guevara, Malcolm X, and John Lennon.

Is Hill's poignant piece inspired by the 1968 pop song Abraham, Martin and John, which was a hit for Dion? That mourns the deaths, and celebrates the lives of Lincoln, Martin Luther King and JFK, and concludes with the assassination of Bobby Kennedy.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Assassins-Deeds-History-Assassination-Ancient/dp/1789143519

My history of assassination: 'Assassins' Deeds'. Two American professors say it will be 'the definitive treatment of its subject for years to come'! How kind!

 

'As Withington observes in Assassins’ Deeds, his detail-rich study of the form from ancient times to the present, more often than not the best-laid plans of would-be history-changers go unrealized, as the new tends to replicate the old and the iron law of unintended consequences does its grim work. . . . Impressively researched and engagingly narrated, Assassins’ Deeds will likely stand as the definitive treatment of its subject for years to come.'

So write Jerald Podair, Professor of History and Robert S. French, Professor of American Studies, Lawrence University.  The full review is here:

 https://clcjbooks.rutgers.edu/books/assassins-deeds-a-history-of-assassination-from-ancient-egypt-to-the-present-day/

Assassins' Deeds is published by Reaktion Books. It tells how assassins have been killing the powerful and famous for at least 3,000 years. Personal ambition, revenge and anger have encouraged many to violent deeds, such as the Turkish sultan who had nineteen of his brothers strangled or the bodyguards who murdered a dozen Roman emperors. More recently have come new motives like religious and political fanaticism, revolution and liberation, with governments also getting in on the act, while many victims seem to have been surprisingly careless – Abraham Lincoln was killed after letting his bodyguard go for a drink.

So do assassinations work? Drawing on anecdote, evidence and statistical analysis, Assassins’ Deeds delves into some of history’s most notorious acts, unveiling an intriguing cast of characters, ingenious methods of killing, and those unintended consequences.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Assassins-Deeds-History-Assassination-Ancient/dp/1789143519/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=assassins%27+deeds&qid=1629191824&s=books&sr=1-1 

My new book 'Assassins' Deeds' - 'entertaining and haunting' says an expert on terrorism

Thank you to Dr Tim Wilson, Director, Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV), University of St Andrews, for his comments on my new book:

 ‘Like Shakespeare himself, Assassins’ Deeds offers us a stage memorably strewn with the most distinguished of corpses. ‘Bloody instructions’ (as Macbeth called them) are certainly to be found here in abundance. But there are also wise words about how often incompetence and unintended consequences derail the best laid plans. Assassination, Withington instructs us in entertaining style, is no exact science. A messy tale: and a haunting one.’

Assassins' Deeds. A History of Assassination from Ancient Egypt to the Present Day, published by Reaktion, is out on 12 October.

http://www.reaktionbooks.co.uk/display.asp?ISB=9781789143515&aub=John+Withington&m=2&dc=4

It delves back 4,000 years to seek out the first known assassination, then examines the famous killings - Julius Caesar, Thomas Becket, Abraham Lincoln, JFK, right up to Qasem Soleimani, while also uncovering some less well-known deeds like those of the Turkish sultan who had nineteen of his brothers strangled. 

It examines how motivation has changed, and how methods often altered surprisingly little, in spite of great technological changes. It shows how often assassinations go wrong and how many victims were surprisingly careless. Abraham Lincoln had let his bodyguard go for a drink. Finally it investigates whether assassination works.