Pistols! Treason! Murder!: The Rise and Fall of a Master Spy [Paperback]

Jonathan Walker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

An original historical work, this fascinating biography of the 17th-century Venetian spy Gerolamo Vano is told through the blending of fact and fantasy—surviving surveillance reports and ancient archives mesh with comic strips, imagined conversations, and vignettes of the author’s self-reflection while on a pub crawl in modern Venice. With great diligence and careful research, this biography pushes the boundaries of how history is told while drawing insightful parallels between spy and historian and uncovering the coded world of politics, espionage, terror, and intense paranoia found in Venice in the 1600s.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A remarkable book, indeed a work of history of quite astonishing originality and brio. It is history that speaks to the tastes of the young of today in a way that few modern or postmodern histories have managed. It is a book that breathes new life, shape, and vigor into a discipline that has become flooded with stock and derivative studies.

(Iain McCalman, University of Sydney 2009)

Walker handles the telling of this complex tale quite brilliantly through a series of varying narrative, graphic, and typographic techniques. This is an exhilarating and learned book, properly adventurous, pleasurably readable, likely to make its mark (and lift the occasional eyebrow).

(Ian Donaldson, former director of the Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University 2009)

A fascinating read for anyone interested in the seventeenth century, in Italy, or in the history of the spy business in general.

(Loretta Carrico-Russell Internet Review of Books )

In this highly original study, Walker uses conventional narrative together with comic-book graphics, varied type-faces, interview transcripts and quotes from contemporary plays to explore the process of history writing.

(P.D. Smith Guardian )

This book will infuriate as many scholars as it excites, but it is original, well written, and good. It should intrigue anyone who likes reading history.

(Library Journal )

Walker's diagnosis of the Venetian underworld is canny and his trespasses across the boundaries between author and subject lighthearted and fun.

(Thomas V. Cohen Renaissance Quarterly )

Walker blazes an important new path, and for this historians of the early modern world are much in his debt.

(Elizabeth Horodowich Journal of Modern History ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Jonathan Walker is a senior international research fellow at the University of Sydney. His articles on topics such as gambling and espionage have appeared in numerous academic journals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Melbourne University Publishing (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0522852556
• ISBN-13: 978-0522852554
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #246,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the author of Pistols! Treason! Murder!: The Rise and Fall of a Master Spy and Five Wounds: An Illuminated Novel (both illustrated by Dan Hallett). I also regularly publish academic articles on the history of Venice, and on related subjects. I currently live in Australia.

My website is www.jonathanwalkervenice.com

My blog is www.jonathanwalkersblog.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why can't I just write a normal history book?, February 3, 2010

By 

ROROTOKO (rorotoko dot com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pistols! Treason! Murder!: The Rise and Fall of a Master Spy (Paperback)

"Pistols! Treason! Murder!" is on the ROROTOKO list of cutting-edge intellectual nonfiction. Professor Walker's book interview ran here as the cover feature on February 3, 2010.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Researching and analyzing primary sources, December 30, 2009

By 

Miriam B. Kahn "mbkcons" (Columbus, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pistols! Treason! Murder!: The Rise and Fall of a Master Spy (Paperback)

Jonathan Walker researches the elusive life and career of a 17th century Venetian who spied for the Spanish Empire. The aim of Walker's study is to teach readers how to uncover and analyze primary sources to ferret out clues that become the basis of research projects. Perfect for upper level undergraduates and graduate students.