2 comments about The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to al-Qaeda.

1. Based on interviews and quotes, the author profiles many movements whether open insurgencies or relatively close - small groups. From Europe to America and the Middle East, strikingly many share the same "normal" perspective: "I'm fighting against the aggressor".



2. If you ever wonder how those terrorists can do what they do this is the book for you. This book is the best one volume catch all book on about every terrorist group that there is. The author does a great job diagnosing what motivates each of those groups he highlights. He puts you into the mind of each group in a short, concise narrative on the group. You can see what motivates them to do what they do. His information is very applicable, right out of the newspaper. He goes over both FARC and PKK. Both groups recently had their chapters of fame in the world's newspapers just within the past month. Through every chapter you can see terrorists aren't like us. Each group is motivated by a slightly different cause. However it is easy to say that they all aren't like the average American. We are fooling ourselves to think otherwise. The author does offer some great tips on how to fight terrorism. His tips are real thought provoking and worthy of a look by all.

5 comments about Through Our Enemies' Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America, Revised Edition.

1. Fabulous book, well written, eye opening. Every Christian in America needs to read this Scheuer book. The future is frightening, and Scheuer explains why in no uncertain terms.



2. A phenomenal perspective and one every citizen of the US should read (especially the idiots in the Bush Administration).



3. Michael Scheuer wrote an excellent, eye-opening treatise on the mindset of bin Laden and his camp. Indeed, it not only explains their thinking but also is a psychological exposure of the evolution of a a well-raised and kind man into a fanatical extremist. The comparison with American revolutionary heroes - John Bunyan, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine - shows that the state of righteous passion is treacherous, for it can easily advance from good into evil. Thus, we read that early in his life those who knew him described him as kind, humble, compassionate and gracious, while others saw him grow into a messianic zealot. Anyone wanting to understand the angry mind of the Arabs and the Islamic world should read what Scheuer enumerated as bin Laden's views of his foes and what he accuses them of: Islam's 1400 years of defensive struggle against the crusading worshippers of the cross; western atheism and barbarism in wars; the economic sanctions against Iraq and the starvation of its children, and so on. It is easy to see how an ill informed and opinionated mind can be beckoned into vengeful and retaliatory rage. Quickly, the eruption of explosive fear will create visions of an infidel predator or of the menacing claws of a hegemonic demon. Quickly also, the self-deception of divine inspiration can evoke Allah's order to slay the pagans wherever they can be found. All this can readily be seen as the derailment of a devoted, passionate and angry mind. Our leaders, who are charged with the handling of the enraged Islamic world will gain invaluable information from Scheuer's perceptive analysis. It is a must-read text for those who wish to avoid making tragic miscalculations.



4. 
   Having read this, not sure what to call it, in 2008 in retrospect this writing has not proved valid. To charecterize bin Laden as "distinguished" one wonders how the author would define Joe Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Idi Amin etc. Bin Laden has a "passion for martydom" seems easy enough to accomplish yet he has avoided "martydom" for more than 10 years. "Bin Laden has survived by the grace of God ... just as Iraq's Saddem Hussein has kept his regime intact". AHH on second thought...
   
   To compare this terrorist with the heros of the American Revolution is pure drivil. Who were the suicide bombers in 1776? Bin Laden started the jihad because american military were stationed in Saudi Arabia. Why where they there? Because bin Laden was trying to overthrow the Saudi government. This book is not worth 5 minutes of your time.



5. Written by the former head of the CIA's Bin Laden unit, the book documents Al Qaeda's historical rise, goals, and motivations. Although the author is an American patriot, you should be aware that it generally gives Al Qaeda the benefit of the doubt insofar as motivations and history are concerned. In that respect, if it's the only book you read on the subject you may be doing yourself a disservice because Scheuer does have a serious man-crush on Al Qaeda as an operational organization and Bin Laden as a great, if sometimes misguided man.
   
   Scheuer's second and third books (Imperial Hubris and Marching Toward Hell) are also heavily recommended, but they are much more polemical and political in nature than the first. In other words, be prepared for blunt, politically incorrect and iconoclastic writing. They should be read extremely critically, but are a nice change of pace from the usual euphemism-filled and cautiously middle-of-the-road circle-jerk analsys that often comes out of Washington.

5 comments about Inside the Jihad: My Life with Al Qaeda.

1. Interesting story, but self-serving when describing his motivations and insights. In truth he sounds like a sociopath who conned everyone he dealt with, for his own ends. Said he didn't write under his real name because he wouldn't be safe, but gave details, if true, that would make it clear who he was, e.g., he lived at one point in his home with his brother where an international jihad newsletter was published & mailed. Some things not plausible, e.g., that he told his co-terrorists that he was an agent for an anti-terrorist government agency, but they had no reaction. So there is a question as to how much of his story is fiction. But it's still an interesting story.



2. Under the auspices of "inside information" on the workings of the Jihad, this book is a piece of subjective propaganda - not all that cleverly camouflaged - an should be tagged as such.



3. I first picked up this book b/c I noticed the review by Michael Scheuer on the back sleeve. The book itself is an excellent account of Nasiri's life inside of radical Islam while serving as a spy for the DGSE (French security service). He takes you through his journey from Europe to Afghanistan's and finally back to London. It reads like the best Clancy novel and it times you are forced to pinch yourself as a reminder that this is nonfiction. I'm still not clear on what drove Nasiri to spy for the DGSE but his account is exception. He is by no means pro-Western, and concludes the book with a damning account of our interference in the affairs of the Muslim world. He reiterates the fact that he remains a devout Muslim and, to this day, would go to war for his faith. A great read.



4. Omar Nasiri's "Inside the Jihad" covers terrorism during the nineties in Brussels, London, and Afghanistan. Nasiri (not his real name) an Algerian became a spy for French intelligence, DGSE, after being recruited into a terrorist cell by his brother. He discusses the ammunition trade he did for his brother's "friends" or supplying the jihad. Nasiri never seems too concerned about the fight in Algeria between the GIA and the secularist regime.
   
   Nasiri describes nerve wracking missions such as crossing heavily armed borders, Afghani terrorist camps, and mosque infiltration. The insider account he is able to publish at a great risk to his life should be read by all who want to further understand terrorism. Nasiri is eloquent in his manners and blunt with his stories and views. Us in the West will never truly understand how people kill in the name of religion, yet Nasiri clues us into some of the reasons terrorists kill innocents and foes alike. He does not agree with the killing of innocent lives, but does believe any force from a foreign force on Muslim land is a rational call for "jihad" in the name of Allah.
   
   He describes things that I had not heard about the Taliban and Al Qaeda. He does make clear the jihad started way before Osama Bin Laden showed his face to the world in the nineties. The loose structure of terrorism can be clearly seen throughout the book. Only cells know their actual job and not anyone else. He showed the cells to be living independent organisms. The description of Chechens, Saudis, and others at the camps training together affirms the loose connections between cells and brothers; the silence of the brothers' past and future also showed the independence of each person and group in the camps.
   
   Nasiri's account should be read by those wanting to understand the history of the nineties from the inside. He was never a high ranking member with knowledge of attacks and other plans; however, he did meet many of the players that would later raises their heads in the attacks against the West. Many of the main players of terrorism will be quickly recognized by readers of terrorism and the Middle East. This is not a hard book to approach by newcomers studying terrorism because Nasiri does a great job introducing the reader to the characters in his book.



5. As a military member, it was nice to read a book with the good of the reader in mind and without a political agenda. The story was was a fast read, interesting to the very end, and extremley detailed as to the in's and out's of the terrorist training camps. Overall, a great read!

5 comments about Tower Stories: An Oral History of 9/11.

1. This is a fantastic book. It gives a clear accounting of what happened from each person's point of view, people who were actually there, in their own words. Some of their descriptions are pretty graphic, but they are telling it like it is, the way they saw it. This is a book that should be read, cherished, kept and passed down through the generations to children and grandchildren, so future generations will be able to read about what happened and get the truth from the people who experienced this horrific crime against America. You will shed many tears reading this book, but they are necessary tears....may we never forget what these awful, amoral, barbaric murderers have done to us. This is one book I will never sell or let out of my family. You need to get this book!



2. This book was very gripping. Some of the stories raised the hair on the back of my neck. We should never forget what happened that awful day. More of these books with survivor stories are needed.



3. I am still reading it, but this book is riveting. It is better than I expected, because it includes interviews with all kinds of people involved in the 9/11 tragedy. If you have become absorbed by this event and, like me, are trying to define it for yourself by reading and watching everything you can about it, add this book to your collection.
   
   A few survivors of the Towers are interviewed, but so are "ordinary" people like those who work(ed)or live(ed) in the general area, rescue/recovery workers and the volunteers who helped transport, feed, water, comfort, and clothe the workers.



4. ... it is sad that this happened but when bad things happend to us, we become stronger...



5. This book is an awesome look into what really happened with People who were involved with the Towers. It is very touching and inspirational as well. I would recommend this to even go into schools for future children to understand more about the Awful time in our history. Excellent

5 comments about What Is Life Worth?: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Fund and Its Effort to Compensate the Victims of September 11th.

1. Feinberg gives the reader two experiences in one book. First he explaind the rationale behind the compensation fund and provides thoughtful anlaysis and criticism of the fund legislation. This is a useful exercise even for persons experienced in alternate forms of dispute resolution.
   Second, and to my mind more importantly, he gives us a vivid perspective on how the victims of 9/11 reacted to their extraordinary loss. He does so in a factual, non-voyeuristic way, but his account is nonetheless very moving.
   It's a good book and it's an important book. That's not a combo you see often.



2. Overall i felt the book accomplished most of what it was after. after seeing mr feinberg on television i was moved by him and how the experience made him more "humanistic" but upon reading the novel i felt it missed the point
   
   It gave a very raw reason unto why the fund was established.
   
   It offered great insight into how difficult a task it was
   
   His background wasn't that bad to read about
   
   but what it did lack was the answer to his title "What is life worth?"
   
   It didnt answer that question and meerly glazed over it in like 3 sentences in the last 10 pages of the book.
   
   i bought the book hoping i would see 2 books, the Victims compensation fund how he handled that and why, and peoples' reactions and i wanted the second book to be about what he has learned about the human condition, about what makes a person a person about why he feels they do the things they do, seeing so much grief one has to notice a pattern somewhere.
   
   so in that aspect I'am dissapointed because the book failed to deliver on that, if someone wants to read about the Victims compensation fund, they are at the right place, if you want to study humanity from a person who spent 2 and a half years living and breathing peoples' lives, hopes, dreams and sorrows then you need to go somewhere else.



3. It is clear from reading this account of the 9/11 Victim's Compensation Fund that Kenneth Feinberg is a compassionate man who bore a tremendous burden in administering the Fund. It is less clear why he alone could have done it.
   
   This is because there is not much in this book about the legal aspects of the Fund. For example, the statute passed by Congress is Feinberg's contant response to criticism about the "economic loss" criteria for awards, but he does not quote it or even use it in the appendix. I would also have liked to read more about how the Fund differed from past compensation funds that Feinberg had worked with, such as the Agent Orange fund. Finally, for a person with such great discretion over awards, I would have liked to hear about how that discretion was exercised in some difficult or unusual cases -- not just that it was used to narrow the range of total awards.
   
   This criticism probably all comes from my legal background, and What is Life Worth? is not a book for lawyers. In place of the technical details is a measured and sympathetic description of the reaction of the victims' families to the 9/11 tragedy -- from a person who may have spend more time talking to more different families than anyone else. This is a very valuable contribution to the history of 9/11 from a unique perspective.
   
   While the book is a quick read at 190 pages, its emotional weight is much greater and is really its focus. Perhaps Feinberg or one of his colleagues will one day write a more academic assessment of the Fund that will satisfy the desire to understand some of the day-to-day decisions that the administrators had to make.



4. I thought this book functioned as a "report to the taxpayers", perhaps a counterpart to Kenneth Feinberg's report to the president, on his administration of the compensation fund for victims of 9/11 created by Congressional statute immediately after the 9/11 attacks. The writing is clear and very articulate. Mr. Feinberg does not seem to me to be self-promoting, as another reader commented, but simply reiterating his qualifications and his rationale for the way he administered this fund. For purposes of this review, I am attempting to keep my feelings about the creation of the fund itself separate from Mr. Feinberg's administration of it and his account of that process. His account of it is a very engrossing read - something that came as a surprise to me. I read it twice, once to myself and once aloud to the family. I think this should be required reading in high schools and colleges because it is an extremely important facet of the whole event (which we are still in the throes of) that we speak of as "9/11". There are ethical, philosophical, political, legal and undoubtedly many other positions from which to view the fund and its administration vis a vis history, precedent, and so on. This book is an extremely important report to the taxpayers. I only wish there could be a countervailing report FROM the taxpayers! I do think Mr. Feinberg performed good service to Congress' wishes expressed in the statute creating the fund. However, to refer to the fund as reflective of the great generosity of American taxpayers is a bit disingenuous since American taxpayers did not have a say in the creation or any other aspect of the fund. It was created very quickly after 9/11 and was completely open-ended, an unprecedented action. Its creation raises far more questions than are answered and the implication that it was used to squelch asking many questions still haunts the whole process. However, that was not Mr. Feinberg's issue; he had the statute and the fund and the victims to deal with and his report covers his purview with excellent clarity. I highly recommend this book to every American and would like to see it on bestseller lists, ahead of Ms. Coulter's recently published rant. Mr. Feinberg is obviously an intelligent, dedicated, conscientious, fair-minded man whose very thoughtful account of this particular facet of 09/11 warrants widespread attention.



5. In a book in which he assesses the worth and effectiveness of his own role in implementing a post 9/11 policy to compensate those whose loved ones died in the tragedy, it's not hard to see how Feinberg judges the job done to be an excellent one. Between patting himself on the back for how charming he is in a variety of social settings to the condescending way he looks at the worth assigned to the lives of those who died, this book resembles an extended version of a job interview more than it does a soul searching account of his role in a highly emotional process or a serious analysis of government policy. In short, don't believe the hype and don't waste your time.

5 comments about Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill.

1. This is coming from someone that hasn't done any prior research into the subject, but has certainly given it a lot of thought. The book is an vivid evaluation of different types of religious terrorists and their motivations. Furthermore, it reveals the practical details on how the organizations function in terms of finance, hierarchy, etc.



2. While it is critically important to understand why terrorists commit the atrocities they do, a much more significant book is needed to gain those insights.
   What you will learn from this book is that most religious terrorists feel humiliated and deprived. How novel. You'll also learn the difference between terrorism and jihad. The latter only kills soldiers and elected officials or particular targets, but not woman, old people and infants. Unless of course, you're talking about attacks against Israel, where anyone is fair game. All that's needed is to redefine who is in the military (any potential will do) and their death is deemed ok. Sounds like old news to me.
   Stern always described how she dressed during interviews, what she was served to eat, any gifts she was given, and never failed to mention that she usually bestowed upon her interviewees a Harvard pen. Thrilling. What any of that had to do with her subject matter is beyond me.
   Her chapter on Al Qaeda was the best written part of her book, and it is chilling. And her analogy of terrorism as being like a virus is unfortunately all too accurate.
   Her recommendations for combating terrorism are for the most part weak.
   Karen Armstrong is the kind of writer who could tackle this subject competently.



3. A real page turner! I have never felt compelled to write a book review . . .until now. Dr. Stern has spent years interviewing American terrorists motivated by faith and international jihadists and has compiled an interesting profile of the religious terrorist. What I found so very refreshing was that she does not write like most academics; rather, she writes and approaches the topic like a novel. Considering the sensitive topic of religion, Dr. Stern has approached the subject in a fair and, in what I believe, impartial matter. I would urge attorneys representing terrorist suspects, or prosecutors for that manner, analysts, investigators and the like, to read this book and keep it close for future reference.



4. Jessica Stern provides insight to the behavior of religious extremists through her personal interviews with members of different religious sects in America and around the world. This is not written as an "edge of your seat" or "read one weekend" style of book. It is a means of educating the reader though sections of the book are filled with suspense and espionage. Stern provides details to the way of life of religious extremists, their surroundings, family, who they trust, who they want to kill and why.
   
   The book is well written with the right amount of detail to place your mind on the dusty road traveling to the mountain camp where Stern will have her interview, to the apprehension she feels of not knowing what will happen next.
   
   The descriptive interviews and statements Stern makes in her book are supported by news casts of today. Stern enlightens the reader to the complexity of the militant's way of thinking and provides reasons for no easy solution to stopping their growth around the world.
   
   An excellent read by an impressive author.



5. Although the concept is interesting, this book was not as accurate as I would have hoped. It was also fairly monotonous. I saw Stern speak in person; she never answered the questions from the audience and did not really even know her own book well enough to be informative.

No comments about The 9/11 Mystery Plane: And The Vanishing of America.

5 comments about Why I Am Not a Muslim.

1. Why I Am Not a Muslim
   
   A need to read book.



2. You know, sometimes I really hate writing these things, but some of them really deserve a bit of an enlightening oppinion. Okay Ibn Warraq it seems to me was a frustrated child who was never listened to, but that's neither here nor there since this is supposed to be a review on the work and not the creator of the work.
   
   I'll start with the first mistake that I noticed in this work. Warraq says in the Qur'an Surah 1 Verse 29 it states, On the day we shall unto hell, art thou full? And it shall reply, is there yet any more? Now any layman that is familiar with the Qur'an can see that this is ridiculous. For starters, the opening of the Qur'an mentions nothing about hell. Secondly, the opening chapter of the Qur'an is called the cure. Now why if this chapter is called a cure would it perscribe something like hell as a remedy. Thirdly, if you didn't already know, the opening chapter of the Qur'an which is the Fatihah has only and I repeat ONLY, seven verses. And he says Surah 1 verse 29. Check for yourself.
   
   Next he talks about the Trinity in the Qur'an and gives three proofs (so he says). And one of them is Surah 4 verse 169. In this verse it says, "Except the road of Hell, to abide therein forever; and that is easy for God." Now if you have read what I read, where do you see the trinity labeled in this surah. Nothing remotely points out a trinity. Warraq also points out two others in the Qur'an that talks about the trinity. They are Surah 5 and verses 77 and 116. They are too large to write in this review to show of warraq's incompetence on his "knowledge" of the Qur'an. I encourage all to go and look up these accusations for themselves.
   
   Lastly, Warraq talks about Zoroastrianism, which I will not go into in great detail for the sake of space, but in his explanation of Zoroastrianism he fails to introduce and inform the reader of what Zoroastrianism really is. Warraq makes the false claim that Islam origins can be found in Zoroastrianism, which is a totally false claim. Zoroastrianism is or was the end product of an evolutionary process which began with nature worship, passed through a more discrete polytheism, and finally concluded with a monotheistic deity. (Zepp Muslim Primer)
   
   I say all this to say that as readers we should be careful in the information we receive from writers like Warraq. He appears to be knowledgeable, because he was raised Muslim and taught the Qur'an at a young age until as he says "was able to think for himself." He seems not to either have not been taught correctly or he may have forgotten what he was taught, because this book is filled with numerous fallacies that can be taken to heart by the ignorant reader. Warraq needs a revised version of this book or needs to cease in writing about things he really has no idea of himself. To be so blatant in his claims, but yet so ignorant in his knowledge of the subject matter is absolutely perfidious.



3. You'll see right away why this book gets such a range of reviews. The man speaks his mind. After 9/11, when I set about clarifying my own beliefs about gods and religions, this and Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian were the two most useful books I found. No great surprise of course that the have much the same things to say. I appreciated Warraq's going into some detail about Islamic history and culture. Shame on my ignorance. But of course Jewish/Christian/Muslim are shoots of a common seed. An Episcopal priest friend of mine describes himself as a rabbi, and Muslims acknowledge Moses and Jesus. The pond is small. I used to make Buddhism a benign exception to what goes wrong in other religions but not so much anymore after a glimpse of Sri Lankan history. Take Me With You When You Go Nutty to Meet You! Dr. Peanut Book #1



4. I am a Muslim. Take it as you will when reading the following.
   
   I've been studying Islam since the age of 10. I am now 24, and have still continued my pursuit in obtaining knowledge in Islamic theology, methodology, etc. Even so, I still find myself interested in reading books such as these, simply because my curiosity intrigues me to listen to the other side.
   
   Yes, "the other side", as I am not convinced Ibn Warraq actually knows the religion he claims to have once been a part of. Indeed, after reading his book I was baffled at how it has sold so many copies. Then it struck me: Ibn Warraq does a phenomenal job and redefining Islam, and feeding it to his innocent audience, who without knowing, eats it up. It is not the audiences fault that the author is telling you "Boogieman: Islam Edition". How are they to know?
   
   What do I mean by this? Imagine if you were interested in buying a Hondo, but had never owned a Japanese car in the past. I offered you a book called, "Why I would never own a Japanese car", and as such, claimed I was once a prominent investor in Honda Motors. Throughout the book, I would paint my audience a picture of children in sweat shops, building these cars by hand. On top of that I would use auto-junkie vocabulary to under-sell the car.
   
   How likely would you believe me? Well... I guess that depends whether or not you realize that sweat shops are predominantly found in China, not Japan ;)
   
   This book is not for those looking to educate themselves on Islam. This is a book for those who need a reason to hate someone who is not like them.



5. 
   This man is extremely intelligent, knowledgeable, incredible! Offering a plethora of information, not only his opinion but countless others' as well as history from I cant even recall how many sources.
   
   **College Level Reading** don't waste your money if your not on the higher end of the grammatical totem poll and have at least a fair knowledge of common Islamic phrases and Arabic.
   
   OVERALL BEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ!

5 comments about The Kill Artist.

1. Sorry, folks. I wanted to like it. I gave it a chance. But it just goes on and on and on ... hardly a page-turner! Too much like Tom Clancy's later books!



2. Let me start by saying that I did not finish the book. I made it about 2/3s of the way through before I put it down. It was not that the book was boring; the story about terrorism and counterterrorism was somewhat compelling. The problem was with the characterizations, especially of the protagonist, Gabrielle Allon. I read this book based on a recommendation of the author by an online pundit. I think I know why he recommended the author; his worldview, at least as it comes across in his blog, is pragmatic. This is a pragmatic book. There were no "good guys" in this book; there were no heroes. The message of this book is that to beat the "bad guys" we have to become like them; we have to become "bad guys" as well. This is a thoroughly pragmatic worldview, and it left me feeling "slimed". Perhaps if I had finished it I would have discovered something uplifting. But life is too short sometimes, and I have other books to read.



3. Reading your first Daniel Silva book will compel you to buy another and another.......which I have done.



4. Full of superfluous description, which impedes the flow of the narrative. Dreary and fake.



5. Hello, Gabriel Allon, you've become a welcome addition to my life.
   
   You really need to get married, though. No spy females, please.
   
   Your creator is as smooth as a vodka gimlet made of France's Grey Goose vodka.
   
   I love this review by Christine Cunningham:[...]
   
   Following the standard rule of rounding, four and a half stars becomes five.
   
   And who says we need to forgive the murderers of our son, the maimers of our wife? Gabriel does in Tariq in the end, as it should be.
   
   An exquisite master art restorer living on the sea shore in Cornwall, England, Gabriel Allon, a lone wolf Mossad assassin, learns to live day by day by meticulous work and sailing a sailboat he restored. The spy is spied on by a young, lonely boy named Peel, whose is a narrative piece of thread I wished had been worked on more.
   
   Allon is pulled back by Amri Shamron, a high level apparatchik Mossad operative and rejoins the hunt. Of humans.
   
   He develops a romantic relationship with a closet Jewess, who is improbably a famous model, Jacqueline. Sarah's her real name. She is used to ferret out the most elusive Palestinian spy Tariq, who was responsible for blowing up Allon's wife's car in Vienna, landing her in an asylum and killing his son.
   
   The intricate, chess-like narrative ends in New York City. Guns are involved, as is that odious former human, Yasser Arafat, who's presented almost nobly.
   
   This is a very welcome beginning of the series staring Gabriel Allon. I have spent many enjoyable hours with him.
   
   Thank you, Daniel Silva!

2 comments about On Suicide Bombing (The Wellek Library Lectures).

1. Rather than giving us more "imaginary" scenarios of what "might be going on in the mind of a terrorist" (as if modern torture methods or any other methods could definitively uncover intentions - a witch hunt mentality), Talal Asad is asking the right questions. What makes terrorism so terrifying that it has to be labeled distinctively - rather, than say, a gun-wielding student running amok at a university, killing 30+ people and then himself? Why does the topic of suicide bombing cause overwhelming horror over and beyond the scope of other horrific acts by state armies or school shootings - the disproportionate maiming and killing of civillians, women and children from far range by modern military weapons? The author doesn't attempt to give simplistic answers and wave the problems away, nor does he apologetically defend any perpetrator of terror - individual dissident or modern government.
   
   What he does is uncover the disturbing truth that the double standard exists in our media and liberal democracy discussions: as soon as a modern government labels a dissident regime or country or religious group as "barbaric" or "uncivilized", it gives itself the right to kill "their" citizens or attack "their" defenses just as it has been previously attacked. Where is the line crossed?
   
   Very deep reading. The author touches on Islamic and Christian culture and compares and contrasts what living and dying mean in each. This was one of its strongest aspects. Once the ideas of living, dying, and sacrifice are understood in terms of a particular culture, only then can its stance on suicide or bombing or terrorism be correctly understood. Do proponents of terrorism or suicide bombing abide by the tenets of their religion or is it a subversion of their teachings? Or does it even depend on their circumstances or our reading of it as a foreign culture with the necessary misinterpretations? It is a highly engaging book and covers many more relevant and related areas. I am glad it covers a side of the issues that is sorely missing and needed and has been missing from the contemporary media and intellectuals/academics who, as usual, are like a flock of sheep, saying about terrorism and the Islamic world just what everyone else does.



2. This book based on the Wellek lectures at U.C. Irvine is the best book on the topic of suicide bombings. As the other reviewer stated, it's approach brings "depth" to the topic, especially an understanding of Islam and the Arabic language, both of which tend to be seen as insignificant not only in the mainstream press but also in academic circles. Asad demonstrates why cultural anthropology has contributions to make to a topic and a region dominated by political science with its biases in which meaning lies away from "the ground up" and for the people it presumes to represent.
   
   Some highlights that struck me--Asad's point that suicide bombing is about histories and the fact that in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the history of Israeli expansion and Palestinian dispossession is always bracketed out, so that various kinds of political violence are abstracted from this political context. Another point he made is about the "West's" own "culture of death." I was very struck by his discussion of colonial and contemporary warfare waged by the West and the development of advanced weaponry designed to beat out at every turn surgical skill. Israel, prior to its departure from Lebanon last summer, left over cluster bombs AFTER the cessation of hostilities. There was no military point, no self-defense or security involved in that act. This act was aimed at a civilian population for no reason at all other than to maim and kill. The U.S. State Dept. "regrets" that Israel still hasn't turned over the maps that show where the cluster bombs were dropped, so that they can be safely disarmed. This is part of a culture of death in which beheadings are seen as more cruel than the machinations of the West's advanced weaponry, not because of any objective measure of "cruelty," but because non-Europeans do it to Europeans and their descendents.
   
   The other point that Asad makes that I found profoundly intriguing was that in the West we impose a Christian understanding of martrydom--i.e.the crucifixion--onto public suicide bombings, but there is nothing redemptive about the suicide, so that leads Westerners to a problem in interpretation which we retreat from via righteous anger.
   
   Asad doesn't try to pretend that the West is just obsessed with suicide bombings because of the media, although his quoting Mai Jayoussi on the I.D.F. figures which show that only 4% of attacks by Palestinians on Israelis are suicide bombings, was startling even to me, and I've lived and done research in the Occupied Territories. He takes on public suicides and shows how interpreting their meaning confounds assumptions in the West about the relationship between the state, the law, and public death.