The Rise of Devils: Fear and the Origins of Modern Terrorism - Softcover

Crossland, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1526178192 ISBN 13: 9781526178190

Publisher: Manchester University Press, 2024

Synopsis

In the dying light of the nineteenth century, the world came to know and fear terrorism. Like today, this was a time of progress and dread, characterised by political and technological breakthroughs and waves of immigration that swelled the populations of ever-expanding cities.

The era also simmered with political rage and social inequalities, which drove nationalists, nihilists, anarchists and republicans to dynamite cities and gun down presidents, police chiefs and emperors. This wave of terror was seized upon by an outrage-hungry press that peddled hysteria, conspiracy theories and fake news in response, convincing many that they were living through the end of days.

The rise of devils chronicles the journeys of those who provoked this panic and created modern terrorism – revolutionary philosophers, cult leaders, criminals and charlatans, as well as the paranoid police chiefs and unscrupulous spies who tried to thwart them. In doing so, the book explains how radicals once thought just in their causes became, in the words of Pope Pius IX, ‘devils risen up from Hell’.

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About this title

About the Author

James Crossland is Professor of International History at Liverpool John Moores University. He is the author of several books, most recently Rogue Agent: From Secret Plots to Psychological Warfare, the Untold History of Robert Bruce Lockhart (2024). -- .

From the Back Cover

In the dying light of the nineteenth century, the world came to know and fear terrorism. Like today, this was a time of progress and dread, characterised by political and technological breakthroughs and waves of immigration that swelled the populations of ever-expanding cities.

The era also simmered with political rage and social inequalities, which drove nationalists, nihilists, anarchists and republicans to dynamite cities and gun down presidents, police chiefs and emperors. This wave of terrorism was seized upon by an outrage-hungry press that peddled hysteria, conspiracy theories and, sometimes, fake news in response, convincing many a reader that they were living through the end of days.

Against the backdrop of this world of fear and disorder, The rise of devils chronicles the journeys of the men and women who evoked this panic and created modern terrorism - revolutionary philosophers, cult leaders, criminals and charlatans, as well as the paranoid police chiefs and unscrupulous spies who tried to thwart them. In doing so, this book explains how radicals once thought just in their causes became, as Pope Pius IX denounced them, little more than 'devils risen up from Hell'.

Edition details

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1526178192
• ISBN 13: 9781526178190
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 376