His entry begins:If you don’t count children’s stories at bedtime, the book I’ve read more than any other is probably The Day of the Jackal, by Frederick Forsyth. I haven’t just read it; I’ve studied it. Nobody has ever written a better thriller. The characters are well drawn and the story moves at a brisk pace. The setting may be more dated than it once was, but now it seems rooted in history rather than surpassed by events. You know how the tale has to finish: It cannot end with de Gaulle’s assassination. Yet you’re never too sure, and you desperately want to learn how the...[read on]John J. Miller writes for National Review, the Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. He is the author of several books, a contributing editor of Philanthropy magazine, and a consultant to grantmaking foundations.
Among the early praise for The First Assassin:
Visit John J. Miller's website.“An excellent book—it’s like The Day of the Jackal set in 1861 Washington.”
—Vince Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Pursuit of Honor
“Packed with fascinating information, superb characters, and sublime plot twists, The First Assassin is one of the most exciting thrillers I have read in a long, long time. This is historical fiction at its best and John J. Miller is the hot new author everyone will be talking about.”
—Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Apostle
“The story moves with swift suspense, but Miller’s real achievement is to take us inside a mindset nearly lost to time, and to create identifiable, sympathetic characters on all sides, including those who are willing to do murder to preserve the Confederacy and its ‘peculiar institution.’”
—Andrew Klavan, author of Empire of Lies
Writers Read: John J. Miller.
--Marshal Zeringue
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