From Publishers Weekly
An updated version of Laquer's 1977 Terrorism, the present study seeks to disentangle truth from the mythology of terrorism that has emerged during the last two decades. The arguments are essentially negative: terrorism is neither a new phenomenon nor a "natural" response to oppression; terrorist organizations are not shoestring operations with deeply ideological foundations nor are they primarily based in the Middle East; and state-sponsored terrorism is "not a far more dangerous threat than any previous movement." In the author's controversial view, terrorism is a side-show affecting the lives of a relative handful of people; it has not brought about any major political, economic, social or cultural upheaval; the damage caused by terrorists has been repaired without much delay and at comparatively little cost; the political impact of terrorism is inversely proportional to the attention it receives in the media. As Laquer sees it, the danger of international terrorism is not in the acts themselves but in the possibility of triggering a full-scale war.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Laqueur has returned to his excellent 1977 work, Terrorism, and completely revised and updated it in light of events of the past decade. The result is most worthwhile, a book that presents a sound, sensible analysis of terrorism that neither exaggerates nor dimininishes the phenomenon. Laqueur begins with the origins of the term, and comparisons with other forms of violent intimidation, but it is in the chapter on the "Philosophy of the Bomb" that we come to the heart of the matter, with his delineation of the terrorist's vision of the cleansing power of violence and an absolutist view of right and wrong. Laqueur then explores the theories about and wellsprings of modern terrorist movements. A book full of erudition and insight and a most welcome addition to the expanding literature on terrorism. Richard B. Finnegan, Political Science Department, Stonehill College, North Easton, Massachusetts
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
