An urgent and pertinent exploration of how and why the suicide bomber has shaped the modern age, written by a multi-award winning investigative journalist and human rights campaigner.
We live in the age of the suicide bomber. The suicide bomb itself takes more lives than any other type of explosive weapon. Moreover, in the last 5 years more people have been killed by suicide attacks than at any other time in history. How has this descent deep into the heart of terror escalated in such a way? What drives people to blow themselves up and what are the consequences? More importantly perhaps, what can be done to combat the rising spread of this form of violence? Investigative journalist Iain Overton addresses the fundamental drivers of modern day suicide attacks in this fascinating and important book, showing how the suicide bomber has played a pivotal role in the evolution of some of the most defining forces of the modern age from Communism and the Cold War, to the modern day War on Terror. Interviewing Russian anarchists, Japanese kamikazes, Hezbollah militants, survivors of suicide bombings and countless other sources of valuable information, while travelling to places such as Iran, Iraq and Pakistan, Overton skilfully combines historical narrative, travelogue, interviews and testimonies, and brings his research alive thanks to potent facts and visceral storytelling.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA NON-FICTION DAGGERIn some places, it's easier to get a gun than a glass of water. In some places, you are allowed to carry concealed firearms into schools. In some places, there are more guns than people to shoot them. There are almost one billion guns across the globe today - more than ever before. Every minute of every day, someone somewhere is shot. Gun Baby Gun is a hard-hitting and urgent investigation into the gun's lifespan, into our hugely complex relationship with firearms and their undeniable, long-reaching and often hidden impact. Along the way, award-winning journalist Iain Overton unearths some stark truths about the everyday human cost of gun crime.