1952. Stalin's Russia. Persecuted by vicious MVD agent Vladimir Primakov, betrayed by his beautiful wife and forced to the very bottom of life by the cruel system he lives under, war hero and former professor Aleksei Klebnikov is offered a mission by the notorious theif-in-law Ivan Bessonov: to assassinate six leading Communists, all of them evil men. Aleksei agrees to undertake it, this mission, after which he will finally have his revenge on Primakov, who also stole his wife. But when, with just one man left to kill, Aleksei is suddenly reunited with her, he discovers that all is not quite what it seems, and that perhaps he has an even greater enemy that Primakov, his wife and the Communist system.

The New York Times bestseller from the author of The American. “A non-stop action thriller that never slows down . . . incredibly exhilarating.” —Midwest Book Review A weapon of catastrophic destruction. A nation on the brink of unspeakable disaster. And the ultimate enemy lies closer to home than anyone realizes. Only maverick CIA agent Ryan Kealey sees the threat for what it really is—but Washington refuses to listen. With the lives of millions at stake, Kealey has only one option: to take matters into his own hands. And the clock is ticking . . . Supercharged and fiercely intelligent, The Assassin is an action-packed international thriller where no one can be trusted—and the final aftershocks are felt until the very last page. Praise for Andrew Britton's The American “Brilliantly well-written with plotting sharper than a fence full of razor wire, a sizzling page-turner . . . even Washington insiders will be reading this thriller not once, but twice!” —Brad Thor, USA Today bestselling author “A terrifying and gripping journey into the mind of a terrorist.” —Stephen Frey, New York Times bestselling author “Like Tom Clancy . . . a thriller that makes current terrorist threats all too real . . . highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review)

Reprint of the original, first published in 1866.

Of the many causes that conspired to bring about the lamentable failure of "self-government" in ancient America the most general and comprehensive was, of course, the impracticable nature of the system itself. In the light of modern culture, and instructed by history, we readily discern the folly of those crude ideas upon which the ancient Americans based what they knew as "republican institutions," and maintained, as long as maintenance was possible, with something of a religious fervor, even when the results were visibly disastrous...

Assassins have been killing the powerful and famous for at least three thousand years. Personal ambition, revenge, and anger have encouraged many to violent deeds, like the Turkish sultan who had nineteen of his brothers strangled or the bodyguards who murdered a dozen Roman emperors. More recently have come new motives like religious and political fanaticism, revolution and liberation, with governments also getting in on the act, while many victims seem to have been surprisingly careless: Abraham Lincoln was killed after letting his bodyguard go for a drink. So, do assassinations work? Drawing on anecdote, historical evidence, and statistical analysis, Assassins’ Deeds delves into some of history’s most notorious acts, unveiling an intriguing cast of characters, ingenious methods of killing, and many unintended consequences.