Anatomy of a Killing: Life and Death on a Divided Island

On April 22, 1978, an Active Service Unit of the IRA hijacked a car and killed an off-duty policeman in front of his young son in Lisburn. Award-winning journalist Ian Cobain documents the hours leading up to the killing and the months and years of violence, attrition, and rebellion surrounding it in his book Anatomy of a Killing.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 05 August 2021
Publisher: Granta Books

On the morning of Saturday 22nd April 1978, members of an Active Service Unit of the IRA embarked on a daring hijacking operation, seizing a car and traversing the rural landscape towards the town of Lisburn. Within a mere hour, they carried out a heinous act, assassinating an off-duty policeman in front of his young son. In his groundbreaking work, Anatomy of a Killing, award-winning journalist Ian Cobain delves into the hours preceding the tragic event, as well as the months and years of violence, attrition, and rebellion that surrounded it. Through extensive interviews with those directly involved, as well as accessing court files, police notes, military intelligence reports, IRA strategy papers, memoirs, and government records, Cobain presents a singular and revelatory perspective on the Troubles. This is a meticulously researched and compelling piece of investigative journalism that sheds light on one of the most tumultuous periods in Irish history.

Weight: 202g
Dimension: 129 x 198 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781846276422