cover image Wolves, Jackals, and Foxes: The Assassins That Changed History

Wolves, Jackals, and Foxes: The Assassins That Changed History

Kris Hollington, . . St. Martin?s/Dunne, $25.95 (426pp) ISBN 978-0-312-37899-8

Ripped from the headlines of the 2007 killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, Hollington’s informative primer on assassinations spells out the high cost around the world when governments, terrorists or maniacs take matters into their own hands. The London-based journalist details the motives for such eliminations as political beliefs, and the desire for power or notoriety; there are professionals who kill for profit (wolves and jackals) and the untrained amateurs (foxes). History buffs will revel in the vivid capsule descriptions of several successful and attempted assassinations, starting with the 1950 near-shooting of President Truman, the tag team effort of the Mafia and CIA to kill Castro in 1961, the infamous 1975 assassination of Saudi king Faisal by his nephew and the 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy slayings. The roll call of the politically and culturally prominent targets is lengthy, with a pope, a pornographer and two recent presidents among them. This book is a riveting glimpse of random and sanctioned killing. (Aug. 7)