Simon Heffer

From Fenian to Jihadist

Blood and Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism

By

HarperPress 545pp £25 order from our bookshop

Having written with depth and brilliance about the Third Reich and the influence of religion on politics and power, Michael Burleigh is the ideal man to look at the history of modern terror. It is a story that takes us from the Fenian brotherhood in the 1860s to the jihadists of the present day, and terrorism’s ability to bring us grief is apparent on every page of this comprehensive, wide-ranging and superbly written book. Terrorists seem to operate mainly, but not exclusively, in civilised and democratic societies. They seek to obtain by terror what they cannot have through democratic means. We have seen this at close hand in our own lifetimes, first with the IRA, then with the Islamic extremists.

Sign Up to our newsletter

Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.

Follow Literary Review on Twitter

  • Last Tweets

    • RT : Founded in 1979, is a trusted independent source for reviews of new books across a variety of genres. A… ,
    • RT : Here we are - "Shelf Indulgence" by Ed Potten, a wonderful read, well worth your time: @Lit_Review,
    • 'Like going to a party hoping to get away as quickly as politeness allowed and at 4am finding myself still engrosse… ,
    • 'Neville never shed his sense of being the junior, and perhaps least-deserving Chamberlain.' From the archive, Mic… ,
    • 'The erecting and immediate destruction of a series of straw men rather detracts from what is for the most part an… ,
    • RT : A magnificent demolition job on this "acid laced tirade...unpleasantly self-obsessed...self pitying polemic...book… ,
    • 'Seventy years on, the time we have left to gather such first-hand testimony is running out.' John Keay on the sig… ,
    Follow Us