American Assassins: The Darker Side of Politics

by James W. Clarke

Book Overview

From Richard Lawrence, who attempted to shoot President Andrew Jackson in 1835, to the assailants of contemporary American political leaders, this book examines the lives of sixteen individuals who tried to kill of did kill our presidents and other prominent politicians.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691076375
• ISBN13: 9780691076379
• Release Date: September 1982
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 321 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Just a review to offset the conspiracy nut

Beware disinformation my eye -- this is a thoughtful treatise on the assassin's mind. JFK conspiracy buffs focus on ballistics which, like statistics, can be molded to make your case. But knowing the true Oswald is the best immunization against the conspiracy nuts, for no narcissistic depressed loner like Oswald would EVER have been recruited by ANYONE for ANYTHING! The JFK conspiracy industry is just the insane underbelly of our already narcissistic and paranoid country.

Essential reading!

I first came across this book in preparation to direct the musical "Assassins". It was extremely helpful, because of its extremely insightful look into the 16 men and women who have tried (successfully and unsuccessfully) to assassinate national political figures, including (but not limited to) the President. Clarke has a simple, easy to read chapter on each assassin. He explains that very few of these people were actually insane, and goes on to suggest that thinking them insane does not serve to explain them, and therefore does not help to prevent future assassinations. He explains their actions without excusing them, and allows us to understand them and their acts without presuming them "insane" or "evil" ahead of time. I highly recommend this book.

Powerful and Provocative

For those of you familiar with the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins, this book is essential to understand the show's themes in a historical context. Clarke suggests that there's something uniquely American about these assassinations, and his conclusions are as brilliant as they are disturbing.

Simple-to the point like the cross-hairs of an assassin

This book was great. It was full-filling, Clarke places the asssasins and victims in their times (their environment). For instance, when I first read about Boothe and Lincoln I did not know that President Lincoln was targeted for kidnapping and then scheduled to be handed over to the confederates with the help of Boothe and his associates (which failed and lead to the assassination). This book was indepth, but easy to read. For people interested in assassinations this book is a must, and if for the people who are not "it is definitely interesting." This book should be used as a text book for criminology classes at the University level because of its multi-dimensional structure and scholarly presentation.