Book Review: Assassination: A History of Political Murder

• Date: 01 December 2011
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567711431125
• Published date: 01 December 2011
• Author: Jeanne Subjack
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

and prevention programs for less serious youthful offenders. Chapter 7 then brings the book to its

culmination asking critical questions about the fruitfulness or folly of emerging policies and the

future of youth justice in Scotland.

In addition to being well organized, the editors do a particularly nice job of setting up the mission

of the book and providing the reader with pertinent background information. For example, a glossary

of key terms is provided in the beginning rather than in the end of the book. This is quite beneficial to

the non-Scottish reader. Although the system appears to work in a very similar fashion to the Amer-

ican system, as always, it has its own unique terms and acronyms. As a reader, I found having the

knowledge of these terms before engaging in the individual readings to be of great value and to save

considerable time in navigating the manuscript. The editors also provide the reader with a brief bio-

graphy of each contributor. Knowing this background helps the reader to assess the qualifications of

each author and to be alert for any preassumed biases that might be concealed in the writing.

In sum, this book provides the reader with a thorough introduction to current youth justice prac-

tices in Scotland and addresses critical questions for the student of youth and criminal justice to con-

sider. Although specific to one nation, the messages read true to the situations faced in many

jurisdictions across the globe. This final point, however, leads to my main criticism of the book

which is its failure to recognize the path being taken by Scotland as one that has been well traveled

by other nations over the past two decades. Indeed, the demonization of youth and get tough

approaches plaguing Scotland currently were experienced by America in the early- to mid-1990s.

Their aftermath has been the topic of many scholarly articles and books. If the editors truly want

answers to their questions regarding the future of Scottish youth justice, they might do well to look

to the experiences of other countries as a starting point. Despite this one criticism, however, I found

Youth Justice to be a worthwhile and educational read and could envision using it in an upper-level

undergraduate or master’s level course on comparative criminology.

Lindsay Porter

Assassination: A History of Political Murder New York, NY: The Overlook Press, 2009. 192 pp. $35.00. ISBN 978-

1-59020-348-4

Reviewed by: Jeanne Subjack, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA

DOI: 10.1177/1057567711431125

On Friday, November 22, 1963, the United States experienced a shock that haunted the nation when

PresidentJohn F. Kennedy was assassinatedin Dallas, Texas. Kennedy’sassassination is justone exam-

ple of politicalmurder that has occurredacross time and throughoutthe world. Viewed as a methoduti-

lized by radical indi viduals to bring about p olitical change, ass assinations have pla gued societies for

centuries and will continue to be a threat to political figures. In light of this fact, Lindsay Porter, the

author of Assassination: A History of PoliticalMurder, contributes to theknowledge base of assassina-

tions and political murder, the threat of which politicalfigures everywhere must consider.

Porter’s book offers a brief but thorough introduction into assassinations as political murder. Her

book indicates how assassinations have progressed as methods and weapons have changed. Porter

emphasizes the shift from actually killing the head of the state to killing those who represent it to

destroying abstract symbols representing the government. As a newcomer to the literature of

assassinations, this book introduces the key concepts necessary in understanding political murder.

The accounts are arranged in chronological order, which allows the reader to see the progression

of assassinations.

470 International Criminal Justice Review 21(4)