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Kris Hollington looks at hired killers and their role in history. He covers the years from 1950 to 2000. The book looks at the deaths of about 4,000 well-known people. These include 40 heads of state. It probes the past, rather than acting as a crime reference book. It deals with crime, politics and the effects of murder.

He asks what drives killers and how their cases link. He looks at secret plots and the killers’ minds. He studies the brief moments when killers strike. Why do some attempts work while others fail? He also asks how people might stop such attacks.

Weapons range from homemade guns to advanced machine guns. Some killers use hidden bombs or chemicals that kill. Others use poisoned arrows or shellfish rigged to harm. Some use gold-plated swords or martial arts, which are combat skills. The book also covers planes packed with explosives. It looks at deadly umbrellas too.

He uses facts and figures to compare weapons and results. He tracks the odds that killers will escape and live. He seeks patterns in the sites and seasons of attacks. He then traces how murders changed history in unforeseen ways.

Hollington is British and writes nonfiction: books based on facts. He also writes about crime as a freelance journalist. He has written more than 20 books. Some deal with organised crime and became bestsellers. Some became TV dramas or films about real events. His books have also earned award nominations. He won the nonfiction People’s Book Prize in 2017. He wrote Corrupt Bodies with Peter Everett. The Crime Writers’ Association placed it on its nonfiction longlist. He has written for The Guardian, Newsweek, Times and Mirror.

Iris Manuela Anghel translated this edition from English. Its original title is How to Kill. The Definitive History of the Assassin.