Scheming and slaughter

NIGEL JONES appraises an extensive survey of assassinations throughout history, from the blood-soaked stabbings of ancient Rome to the drone strikes of modern warfare

- NIGEL JONES

Considering its frequency, assassination – the murder mainly of rulers and politicians – has not attracted much attention from serious historians, so it is refreshing to see that Professor Michael Burleigh has devoted a thoughtful and eminently readable book to the subject.

It is often said that assassination changes nothing, but that is clearly untrue. The killing of Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand triggered events that led to the First World War, and millions of lives could have been saved if the bombs set by either Georg Elser or Claus von Stauffenberg had succeeded in killing Hitler.