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A review by xxstefaniereadsxx
The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Brought the World to War by Tim Butcher
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Gavrilo Princip was born in 1894 in Bosnia. He was Serbian, which is a Southern Slavic ethnic group. His parents had nine children, he was number two, but six died in infancy. In 1908, the Austro-Hungarian empire annexed the slavic states. A lot of student groups were formed in the wake of that in these states, including Bosnia, that promoted nationalism and anti-imperialism. Princip was exposed to these groups and ideals, as well as communist and anarchist writings. He joined the group Young Bosnia. He attended a demonstration against Hungary in 1912 that ended up with him getting roughed up. He threatened other students at school who were unwilling to participate in the demonstrations against Hungary, and all those shenanagins caused him to get expelled from school. He traveled around a little bit, landing in Belgrade, where he discovered that Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Duchess Sophie, would be in Bosnia. He made the decision to lead a group to assassinate them. Princip shot the Duchess in the abdomen and the Archduke in the neck. He then swallowed some cyanide pills, but they did not kill him. He was arrested and tried for his crimes, but was too young to be executed. Instead, he was chained to the wall of the prison, where he suffered from tuberculosis and generally horrible conditions.
I can understand why people in countries that are invaded and taken over have negative feelings. Most of the time, it is a negative experience. I think it is a shame that they tried to bury him an an undisclosed, unmarked grave because they were worried his bones would be made into a shrine for those who were anti-imperialist. There are several historical markers and monuments, and his body was recovered and properly buried. Of course, the impact of his assassinations were felt all over the world and involved more aspects than just the annexation of slavic states. This is a good book for those interested in the start of World War I. I really enjoyed it.
I can understand why people in countries that are invaded and taken over have negative feelings. Most of the time, it is a negative experience. I think it is a shame that they tried to bury him an an undisclosed, unmarked grave because they were worried his bones would be made into a shrine for those who were anti-imperialist. There are several historical markers and monuments, and his body was recovered and properly buried. Of course, the impact of his assassinations were felt all over the world and involved more aspects than just the annexation of slavic states. This is a good book for those interested in the start of World War I. I really enjoyed it.