The Infernal Machine: A History of Terrorism - Hardcover

Carr, Matthew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1595581790 ISBN 13: 9781595581792

Publisher: The New Press, 2007

Synopsis

A highly accessible account of the history of terrorism that places 9/11 and Al Qaeda in historical context

Today, political violence has become the scourge of our world and terrorism is routinely described as a uniquely modern evil. Yet however unprecedented in scope the new terrorist organizations might appear, Matthew Carr argues in this definitive history of terrorism that they are merely offshoots of a spectacular bombing in 1881: the assassination of Tsar Nicholas II by terrorists . . . or were they freedom fighters?

Thus begins a narrative of extraordinary sweep that Publishers Weekly called “engrossing, unsettling” and the Boston Globe praised as “brave and wise” and “a book for the ages.” In The Infernal Machine, Carr unearths the complex realities of terrorist violence and its indelible impact on nations as different as Italy, Argentina, France, Algeria, Ireland, Russia, Japan, and the United States.

Spanning over a century of world history, The Infernal Machine reveals stunning similarities in societies’ responses to terrorism despite profound political and cultural differences. Carr demonstrates again and again that the true impact of terrorism has been felt in the overreactions of government and the media to acts of political violence. This “encyclopedic and diagnostic . . . primer for our frightening times” (Edmonton Journal) allows us to see our current predicament against a background of striking historical parallels.

About this title

About the Author

Matthew Carr is the author of several books of nonfiction, including Blood and Faith, Fortress Europe, and Sherman’s Ghosts (all from The New Press), and a novel, The Devils of Cardona. He has written for a variety of publications, including the New York Times, The Observer, The Guardian, and others. He lives in the United Kingdom.

Reviews

British author and journalist Carr (My Father's House) bookends his engrossing, unsettling history—including accounts of murderous organizations like the 19th-century anarchists, the IRA, Mau Mau, Red Brigades, Basque separatists, FLN, PLO and Hezbollah and the onset of international terrorism 30 years ago—with a scathing critique of the Bush administration's "authoritarian responses" to the attacks of 9/11. Amid an avalanche of information, Carr argues that most terrorist groups—those with a distinct political goal and popular support within their country—are essentially uncrushable, but negotiating with them (Britain and the IRA, for example) has worked. Carr relates scores of terrorist outrages and devotes equal space to brutal government counterterrorism that, he demonstrates, is not only ineffectual, but also nourishes terrorism. Instead of today's war on terror, Carr calls for addressing the wider causes: "the present eruption of Islamist violence is perhaps a symptom of an imbalance of power and the consequence of decades of manipulation, deceit and hypocrisy in Western foreign policy towards the Arab world." Though his analysis of Middle East politics is open to debate, Carr presents an impressive compendium of terrorist violence and government response. (Apr.)
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It would be useful to understand the origins of terrorism as a tactic, as well as placing that tactic in its proper historical perspective. Carr, a broadcaster and journalist, certainly has an ambitious goal: tracing the history of modern terrorism from late-nineteenth-century Russia to our present duel with Islamic jihadists. Along the way, he provides often-fascinating accounts of various movements, including the People's Will in Russia, the Mau Mau in Kenya, and the Baader-Meinhof gang in Germany. Carr offers some credible explanations for the resort to violence by these groups; most of them seemed outraged by a sense of powerlessness, while motivated by a frightening confidence in their own moral superiority. Unfortunately, in his desire to see common threads linking the past to the present, Carr ignores fundamental differences between various groups. Also, he frequently falls into the trap of "moral equivalency," equating government actions to resist terrorism with terrorism itself. Although Carr has given us some valuable information here, this is hardly the sober, disinterested examination of modern terrorism that our age requires. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: The New Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1595581790
• ISBN 13: 9781595581792
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 416