Customer Reviews

Allah's Bomb: The Islamic Quest for Nuclear Weapons

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Reviewed by William E. Cooper for Reader Views (4/07)

I am a retired Chief of Police who was on the job on the morning of September 11, 2001. As with most local law enforcement organizations, we had little to no experience with international terrorism. Over the past five years I've not only studied terrorism, attended many seminars on the subject, and investigated terrorism cases, I now speak to government and private sector organizations, as well as civic groups on the reality of terrorism and the implications for the United States. Given that background I quickly asked for the opportunity to read and review "Allah's Bomb," authored by Al J. Venter.

Having read the book, I may safely say that Mr. Venter has written a book that is an absolute must read for every American. The book belongs in every home, every library, every government and private sector agency, and certainly in every educational institution. Mr. Venter's extensive experience as an international correspondent and his association with the widely respected Jane's organization certainly qualify him to write this book.

International terrorism is the defining issue of this generation and the risks associated with it grow at an ever-accelerating pace. As our country grows ever more polarized on the Global War on Terror, and the information presented continues to be inadequate to the problem, the need for Americans to understand what we are dealing with grows proportionally. Never has our country faced an enemy that has so clearly stated its hostile intentions towards us. Those intentions include the use of nuclear weapons, which Osama bin Laden has authorized. Mr. Venter makes a compelling case for America to be not only aware, but engage in significant levels of preparedness. Finally, Mr. Venter makes the case of additional risk die to other countries attempting to produce nuclear weapons.

I endorse Mr. Venter's work and give "Allah's Bomb" a very high rating. Well done sir!

Received book free of charge

I don't doubt that Islamic terrorists would love to acquire nuclear weapons and use them against any number of targets or that it would be easier than it ever should be to get many of the materials to build the weapon, but the presentation presented in Allah's Bomb : The Islamic Quest for Nuclear Weapons though greatly informative in parts like where it talks about the South African nuclear weapons program and how Israel has acquired its' largely unacknowledged though assumed weapons lacks clarity and coherence at points. Particularly early in the book, the main text is often separated by these large gray boxes that explain various parts and principles of nuclear weapons. Despite the high information value, these boxes are misplaced because by the time I was done reading through the often technical boxes, virtually forgotten what was in the main text on the page before. The text is dense, you will not read this in one day and it may take two or three readings to fully grasp the authors points. Lastly, the glossary of common nuclear terms is in the back of the book...this would've been better suited to go in the front because its' bothersome to keep flipping back to look up this acronym or that word. Intresting information, but I can't help but wonder how many people put the book down early because of the organization.