Death to Order

A deeply researched history of assassination in the modern world, from Franz Ferdinand to Osama bin Laden. In this incisive new history, Simon Ball shows how targeted political murder has become a tool of democratic states but also a key strategy of those who wish to topple them. Ball introduces us to the techniques of assassination and those who wield them, as well as the security regimes that have developed to prevent this violent practice. From WWI and the age of empire to terrorism and the development of pilotless drones, ‘Death to Order places assassination at the heart of modern political history – and shows how it continues to impact our world.