“The authors document campaigns of letter bombs by anarchists, fascists and national liberation movements. . . . Roth and Cengiz have gone to great lengths to collect so many examples across several hundred years. . . . Murder by Mail provides absorbing and grizzly insight into this centuries-old deadly tactic that has so rarely been examined.”

Irish Times

"Author Jonathan Swift is best known for Gulliver’s Travels, but few know that in 1712 he defused one of the first letter bombs. Here criminology professor Roth and terrorism expert Cengiz tell . . . about Murder by Mail."

Sunday Post, Scotland

"Murder by Mail is a fascinating and well-researched account of a deadly tactic used by terrorists, criminals, and others throughout history. Roth and Cengiz have uncovered long-forgotten cases from around the world where various individuals and groups have used letter and package bombs to kill and maim their victims. An impressive book that sheds light on an important topic."

Jeffrey D. Simon, author of "The Bulldog Detective: William J. Flynn and America’s First War against the Mafia, Spies, and Terrorists"

"Murder by Mail is a fascinating historical study that introduces you to an understudied problem that finally gets the analysis it deserves. Well written and researched, [it reveals] that mail can be deadly to recipients. Analysis of the history of toxic mail introduces the reader to important and often overlooked social and political movements."

Louise Shelley, Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Endowed Chair, Distinguished University Professor, and director of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC), George Mason University

"According to the US Postal Service the chance of opening a mail bomb is more than 10 billion to one; nor do most mail bombs explode as intended. Re-examining the history of the letter bomb, Roth and Cengiz carefully dissect a central mystery of modern terrorism: the yawning discrepancy between limited means and general effects. Unlike its occasionally gruesome subject matter, Murder by Mail represents a very welcome delivery indeed."

Tim Wilson, Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, University of St Andrews

"Decades of research on political violence do not preclude me from always learning something new. Murder by Mail: A Global History of the Letter Bomb by Roth and Cengiz, two noted scholars in criminal justice, have written the definitive history of attacks delivered by post. As is often the case, the tactic is far older than we think. Their book begins with the first device in 1712—loaded pistols rigged to fire at the recipient when the parcel was opened. Informative and a good read, Murder by Mail is destined to become the essential reference work on this unique tactic."

Brian Michael Jenkins, the RAND Corporation, author of "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?"