American Assassins: The Darker Side of Politics [Paperback]

James W. Clarke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1990

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 or did kill our presidents and other prominent politicians. Lawrence, who thought himself to be King Richard Ill of England, was so obviously insane that he was acquitted of his crime. Were the other assassins and would-be assassins equally ill? Classifying the attackers into four psychological types, James Clarke introduces evidence of real differences among men and women who until now have been lumped together as delusional or deranged.

Product Details

• Paperback: 321 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr (March 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691022216
• ISBN-13: 978-0691022215
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #284,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading!, August 23, 2000

By 

Amir Talai (hollywood) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Assassins: The Darker Side of Politics (Paperback)

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.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simple-to the point like the cross-hairs of an assassin, July 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: American Assassins: The Darker Side of Politics (Paperback)

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.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Provocative, October 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: American Assassins: The Darker Side of Politics (Paperback)

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.