James Crossland. The Rise of Devils: Fear and the Origins of Modern Terrorism. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2023. xxvi + 345 pp. £20.00, cloth, ISBN 978-1-5261-6067-6.
Citations
Altmetric:
Soloist
Composer
Publisher
Michigan State
Date
2024
Additional date(s)
Abstract
The Rise of Devils is a welcome addition to the growing body of scholarship on the history of terrorism, and it signals how to push the field beyond the limits of scholars working on national histories or specific terrorist groups by examining transnational connections. Crossland is at his best in telling stories that let us peer into the left-wing radical milieu of late nineteenth-century Europe, full as it was of heady debates and grand schemes as well as petty bickering and betrayal. He makes a convincing case for viewing theories of terrorist violence as being solutions to the tactical dilemmas faced by European revolutionaries. Alas, he also makes a convincing case for why, despite the litany of false starts, failures, and damp squibs described in his book, terrorism still works: namely, that discontents of all descriptions can use violence to demand our attention and manipulate our worst fears.
Contents
Subject
Subject(s)
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Genre
Description
Format
Department
History