The Infernal Machine

In a Narrative combining extraordinary sweep with riveting historical detail, writer and journalist Matthew Carr demonstrates how terrorist violence-however deplorable-is a tactic with deep roots in the contemporary history of the Western world. Chronicling the major episodes of terrorist violence that have occurred since the spectacular bombing assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881, The Infernal Machine weaves together this fascinating and urgent history for the first time and reveals stunning similarities in how rulers have consistently seized on terrorist attacks as a pretext for a massive counterassault, sacrificing civil liberties and curtailing democratic institutions in the name of security and counterterrorism. Concise and lucid, this remarkably comprehensive narrative allows us to see our current predicament against a background of striking historical parallels, presenting a dramatic reframing of our troubled new century. Book jacket.

Matthew Carr is a writer, broadcaster, and journalist who has reported on a number of violent conflicts. He is also the author of the acclaimed memoir My Father's House. Carr lives in Derbyshire, England