Reviews
Praise for The Dynamite Club "In The Dynamite Club, John Merriman brings together his astonishing knowledge of nineteenth-century France, his unmatched skills as an archival 'detective,' his marvelously lucid writing style, and his uncanny talent for bringing historical figures to life. The result is a searing portrait of the tensions and violence that lurked behind the glittering façade of fin-de-siècle France and eerily foreshadowed the terrorist threat of the present day." -- David Bell, author of The Cult of the Nation in France and The First Total War "Those who think of terrorism as an inexplicable evil produced by an alien culture will have their eyes opened by this fascinating study of nineteenth-century anarchist terrorists . . . [An] absorbing true crime story, with Dostoyevskian overtones, about high ideals that motivate desperate acts." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review "John Merriman has told an absorbing story of the strange world of anarchism in late-nineteenth-century France. Replete with uncanny and uncomfortable similarities to the 'war on terrorism' today, The Dynamite Club portrays a society swept up in the fear of bombers who are certain that they are achieving immortality for a righteous cause. This saga of Émile Henry and his motley crew of fellow anarchists is hard to put down." -- David Kertzer, author of The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara and Amalia's Tale, Written with elegant brevity, The Dynamite Club is a reminder of an era when violent anarchists acted out their hatred against a repressive civilization., Merriman paints a fascinating picture of the anarchist underworld, giving real-life background to a milieu made famous by novels such as Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent and G. K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday., Praise forThe Dynamite Club"InThe Dynamite Club,John Merriman brings together his astonishing knowledge of nineteenth-century France, his unmatched skills as an archival 'detective,' his marvelously lucid writing style, and his uncanny talent for bringing historical figures to life. The result is a searing portrait of the tensions and violence that lurked behind the glittering façade of fin-de-siècle France and eerily foreshadowed the terrorist threat of the present day." - David Bell, author ofThe Cult of the Nation in FranceandThe First Total War"Those who think of terrorism as an inexplicable evil produced by an alien culture will have their eyes opened by this fascinating study of nineteenth-century anarchist terrorists . . . [An] absorbing true crime story, with Dostoyevskian overtones, about high ideals that motivate desperate acts." -Publishers Weekly,starred review"John Merriman has told an absorbing story of the strange world of anarchism in late-nineteenth-century France. Replete with uncanny and uncomfortable similarities to the 'war on terrorism' today,The Dynamite Clubportrays a society swept up in the fear of bombers who are certain that they are achieving immortality for a righteous cause. This saga of Émile Henry and his motley crew of fellow anarchists is hard to put down." - David Kertzer, author ofThe Kidnapping of Edgardo MortaraandAmalia's Tale, "Gripping as a narrative, necessary as a historical lesson, Merriman''s "The Dynamite Club" reads like a great novel -- all in the service of bringing novel insight into the birth of modern terrorism.", Merriman leads the reader through a succinct history of anarchism and the rise of dynamite during this period...[his] account complements other sources on the history of terrorism by putting a human face on this and other acts. Well told and thoroughly researched..., Praise for The Dynamite Club "In The Dynamite Club, John Merriman brings together his astonishing knowledge of nineteenth-century France, his unmatched skills as an archival #145;detective,' his marvelously lucid writing style, and his uncanny talent for bringing historical figures to life. The result is a searing portrait of the tensions and violence that lurked behind the glittering façade of fin-de-siècle France and eerily foreshadowed the terrorist threat of the present day." -- David Bell, author of The Cult of the Nation in France and The First Total War "Those who think of terrorism as an inexplicable evil produced by an alien culture will have their eyes opened by this fascinating study of nineteenth-century anarchist terrorists . . . [An] absorbing true crime story, with Dostoyevskian overtones, about high ideals that motivate desperate acts." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review "John Merriman has told an absorbing story of the strange world of anarchism in late-nineteenth-century France. Replete with uncanny and uncomfortable similarities to the #145;war on terrorism' today, The Dynamite Club portrays a society swept up in the fear of bombers who are certain that they are achieving immortality for a righteous cause. This saga of Émile Henry and his motley crew of fellow anarchists is hard to put down." -- David Kertzer, author of The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara and Amalia's Tale, "Gripping as a narrative, necessary as a historical lesson, Merriman's "The Dynamite Club" reads like a great novel -- all in the service of bringing novel insight into the birth of modern terrorism.", Praise for The Dynamite Club "In The Dynamite Club, John Merriman brings together his astonishing knowledge of nineteenth-century France, his unmatched skills as an archival ‘detective,' his marvelously lucid writing style, and his uncanny talent for bringing historical figures to life. The result is a searing portrait of the tensions and violence that lurked behind the glittering façade of fin-de-siècle France and eerily foreshadowed the terrorist threat of the present day." — David Bell, author of The Cult of the Nation in France and The First Total War "Those who think of terrorism as an inexplicable evil produced by an alien culture will have their eyes opened by this fascinating study of nineteenth-century anarchist terrorists . . . [An] absorbing true crime story, with Dostoyevskian overtones, about high ideals that motivate desperate acts." — Publishers Weekly, starred review "John Merriman has told an absorbing story of the strange world of anarchism in late-nineteenth-century France. Replete with uncanny and uncomfortable similarities to the ‘war on terrorism' today, The Dynamite Club portrays a society swept up in the fear of bombers who are certain that they are achieving immortality for a righteous cause. This saga of Émile Henry and his motley crew of fellow anarchists is hard to put down." — David Kertzer, author of The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara and Amalia's Tale, Merriman paints a fascinating picture of the anarchist underworld, giving real-life background to a milieu made famous by novels such as Joseph Conrad''s The Secret Agent and G. K. Chesterton''s The Man Who Was Thursday., "Yale historian John Merriman does many things in "The Dynamite Club," his book about the bombing, and does them quite well...In describing the fate of a single terrorist, Merriman has skillfully illustrated how social alienation fueled the rise of extremist ideas and acts. The lethal impulses that motivated Henry aren''t so different, the author concludes, from the impulses that lead to terrorism today. This accessible account is historically eye-opening and psychologically insightful.", Reading a book on nineteenth-century anarchism by John Merriman is a bit like reading one on the semicolon by Strunk and White. Merriman's A History of Modern Europe (1996) is perhaps the best survey of the era, but by narrowing his scope from five hundred years of Continental history to a few bomb-throwing anarchists in Belle Epoque France, he is able to pack in riveting detail., Questioning why terrorists attack people like us may lead to answers that call for us to examine our own roles in creating and maintaining the social, economic or political conditions that give rise to terrorist acts. This examination is what makes The Dynamite Club so important. Merriman demythologizes �mile Henry and the loosely organized international group of anarchist thinkers who inspired and supported him. Merriman also comments, without being heavy-handed, on the conditions European anarchists were trying to change., A notable scholar of French history, Merriman recounts an episode of terrorism in 1890s Paris that plumbs the motivations of one particular bomber. He was Émile Henry, who at age 20 rejected a potential career in the French army and embraced anarchism...Reconstructing Henry's own attacks, Merriman allies a forensic eye with the texture of Paris de la belle Époque, ably renders Henry's personality, and implicitly invites comparison of his with the mind-sets of contemporary terrorists., "Yale historian John Merriman does many things in "The Dynamite Club," his book about the bombing, and does them quite well...In describing the fate of a single terrorist, Merriman has skillfully illustrated how social alienation fueled the rise of extremist ideas and acts. The lethal impulses that motivated Henry aren't so different, the author concludes, from the impulses that lead to terrorism today. This accessible account is historically eye-opening and psychologically insightful.", Those who think of terrorism as an inexplicable evil produced by an alien culture will have their eyes opened by this fascinating study of 19th-century anarchist terrorists., Praise for The Dynamite Club"In The Dynamite Club, John Merriman brings together his astonishing knowledge of nineteenth-century France, his unmatched skills as an archival detective, his marvelously lucid writing style, and his uncanny talent for bringing historical figures to life. The result is a searing portrait of the tensions and violence that lurked behind the glittering faade of fin-de-sicle France and eerily foreshadowed the terrorist threat of the present day." David Bell, author of The Cult of the Nation in France and The First Total War"Those who think of terrorism as an inexplicable evil produced by an alien culture will have their eyes opened by this fascinating study of nineteenth-century anarchist terrorists . . . [An] absorbing true crime story, with Dostoyevskian overtones, about high ideals that motivate desperate acts." Publishers Weekly, starred review"John Merriman has told an absorbing story of the strange world of anarchism in late-nineteenth-century France. Replete with uncanny and uncomfortable similarities to the war on terrorism today, The Dynamite Club portrays a society swept up in the fear of bombers who are certain that they are achieving immortality for a righteous cause. This saga of mile Henry and his motley crew of fellow anarchists is hard to put down." David Kertzer, author of The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara and Amalias Tale, A notable scholar of French history, Merriman recounts an episode of terrorism in 1890s Paris that plumbs the motivations of one particular bomber. He was Émile Henry, who at age 20 rejected a potential career in the French army and embraced anarchism…Reconstructing Henry's own attacks, Merriman allies a forensic eye with the texture of Paris de la belle Époque, ably renders Henry's personality, and implicitly invites comparison of his with the mind-sets of contemporary terrorists., A notable scholar of French history, Merriman recounts an episode of terrorism in 1890s Paris that plumbs the motivations of one particular bomber. He was Emile Henry, who at age 20 rejected a potential career in the French army and embraced anarchism...Reconstructing Henry's own attacks, Merriman allies a forensic eye with the texture of Paris de la belle Epoque, ably renders Henry's personality, and implicitly invites comparison of his with the mind-sets of contemporary terrorists., In The Dynamite Club, his enthralling and cinematic account of a Paris cafe bombing in 1894, Merriman achieves that rare thing: virtuosic storytelling that doubles as superb history., A notable scholar of French history, Merriman recounts an episode of terrorism in 1890s Paris that plumbs the motivations of one particular bomber. He was �mile Henry, who at age 20 rejected a potential career in the French army and embraced anarchism.Reconstructing Henry's own attacks, Merriman allies a forensic eye with the texture of Paris de la belle �poque, ably renders Henry's personality, and implicitly invites comparison of his with the mind-sets of contemporary terrorists., Questioning why terrorists attack people like us may lead to answers that call for us to examine our own roles in creating and maintaining the social, economic or political conditions that give rise to terrorist acts. This examination is what makes The Dynamite Club so important. Merriman demythologizes Émile Henry and the loosely organized international group of anarchist thinkers who inspired and supported him. Merriman also comments, without being heavy-handed, on the conditions European anarchists were trying to change.
