"It is a pleasure to welcome Ron Eyerman's brilliant contribution to our understanding of the dark dynamics of political assassination, cultural trauma, and collective memory. His work is at once psychologically sensitive and socially perceptive, theoretically sound and empirically informed, subtle and lucid in interpretation, case-based and responsive to comparative cultural context--an exemplary social-science enterprise." -- Neil J. Smelser, University Professor of Sociology Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley "Political assassinations can be deep cultural traumas, and as Ron Eyerman shows, analyzing them can yield important insights into national cultures. This book helpfully broadens thinking about political culture and also shows why certain political events matter beyond the limits of politics narrowly understood." --Craig Calhoun, President, Social Science Research Council; University Professor of the Social Sciences, New York University.