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Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism Paperback – July 25, 2006

by Robert Pape (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 122 ratings
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Includes a new Afterword

Finalist for the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award

One of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject of suicide terrorism, the esteemed political scientist Robert Pape has created the first comprehensive database of every suicide terrorist attack in the world from 1980 until today. In Dying to Win, Pape provides a groundbreaking demographic profile of modern suicide terrorist attackers–and his findings offer a powerful counterpoint to what we now accept as conventional wisdom on the topic. He also examines the early practitioners of this guerrilla tactic, including the ancient Jewish Zealots, who in A.D. 66 wished to liberate themselves from Roman occupation; the Ismaili Assassins, a Shi’ite Muslim sect in northern Iran in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; World War II’s Japanese kamikaze pilots, three thousand of whom crashed into U.S. naval vessels; and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, a secular, Marxist-Leninist organization responsible for more suicide terrorist attacks than any other group in history.

Dying to Win is a startling work of analysis grounded in fact, not politics, that recommends concrete ways for states to fight and prevent terrorist attacks now. Transcending speculation with systematic scholarship, this is one of the most important studies of the terrorist threat to the United States and its allies since 9/11.

“Invaluable . . . gives Americans an urgently needed basis for devising a strategy to defeat Osama bin Laden and other Islamist militants.”
–Michael Scheuer, author of Imperial Hubris

“Provocative . . . Pape wants to change the way you think about suicide bombings and explain why they are on the rise.”
–Henry Schuster, CNN.com

“Enlightening . . . sheds interesting light on a phenomenon often mistakenly believed to be restricted to the Middle East.”
–The Washington Post Book World

“Brilliant.”
–Peter Bergen, author of Holy War, Inc.
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  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    July 25, 2006
  4. Dimensions
    5.19 x 0.83 x 8 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0812973380
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0812973389
  7. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
122 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's research quality good and its thesis well-thought-out. They appreciate the new and valid ideas it offers, and that it challenges common views on terrorism and suicide terrorism.

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Research qualityTerrorism coverage
10 customers mention "Research quality"10 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's research quality. They find it insightful, with a well-developed thesis and valid ideas. The book challenges stereotypes with evidence and facts, providing an eye-opening study of the history of suicide terrorists. While some readers feel the book is repetitive, they appreciate the author's deep understanding of the topic and challenge of stereotypical assumptions.

"...statistical facts presented in this book make it an original, praiseworthy work...." Read more

"Pape gives us an eye opening study of the history of suicide terroists...." Read more

"This was a really interesting and I thought it provided a relatively well thought out thesis. Spoiler alert (see below):..." Read more

"This is a book that is well researched, and sheds light on the topic of suicide terrorism in a new way. It was a paradigm shifter for me." Read more

3 customers mention "Terrorism coverage"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's coverage of terrorism. They say it sheds light on the topic of suicide terrorism in a new way and does an excellent job at silencing the generic outlook on terrorism and suicide terrorism in particular.

"...Gulf state, I must say, this book truly represents how and why "suicide terrorism," (although it's commonly known here as "martyrdom operations,")..." Read more

"...Robert Pape does an excellent job at silencing the generic outlook on terrorism and suicide terrorism in particular." Read more

"This is a book that is well researched, and sheds light on the topic of suicide terrorism in a new way. It was a paradigm shifter for me." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Mira
    5.0 out of 5 stars Allahu Akbar!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    Being an Arab and a Muslim from a conservative Gulf state, I must say, this book truly represents how and why "suicide terrorism," (although it's commonly known here as "martyrdom operations,") is supported, sympathized with and (in rare instances) celebrated in this part of the world.

    Robert Pape did a brilliant job in researching this critical topic. I do not think he was particularly sympathetic toward any of the causes (or cases) he had covered in his book. He simply shared a narrative in an unbiased manner to prove his points. In fact, in his conclusion, it seemed Pape's main concern was to come up with a more effective approach to secure US interests that will not trigger retaliatory suicide attacks.

    The information provided in this book is considered common sense in this part of the world (countries where "terrorists" supposedly come from), but the statistical facts presented in this book make it an original, praiseworthy work.

    Are all those people who engage in or support "suicide terrorism" disturbed or perhaps uneducated? Do they come from underprivileged backgrounds? The research done by Dr Pape may provide unexpected answers (to some). Is it really religion that drives people into committing an act of indiscriminate terror? I always thought that at least half the time, the answer is no. The book proved my assumption to be true.

    I recommend this book be part of your book-collection if you are interested in knowing why "suicide terrorism" is popular in this part of the world, and why some Arabs and Muslims - Easterners, to be more accurate - support it.
    17 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • craig williams
    5.0 out of 5 stars Dying to know the truth
    Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2006
    Verified Purchase
    Pape gives us an eye opening study of the history of suicide terroists.

    While our mainsrtream media has portrayed these people as religious

    extremist, Pape's investigtion into the lives of over 400 reviel their

    political as opposed to religious agenda. In a world where one country

    maintains military superiority over all other countries , our military

    experts concede that the only option for a weaker military force are resistence

    movements employing terrorist tactics.Military experts may also concede that

    terrorism comes with the territory of being the global superpower and an occupier

    of another nation.

    Reverting to suicide attacks starting in 1988 in Lebonon according to the author

    changed the world.He also offers some realistic options for negoitiating our way out

    of the Iraqi fiasco.
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • Emily
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Well Written Thesis (warning contains spoilers)
    Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This was a really interesting and I thought it provided a relatively well thought out thesis. Spoiler alert (see below):

    He mixes both empirical statistics (quantitative) and qualitative data (case studies) to form his thesis. Pape examines 500 and something examples of suicide terrorism up until 2010 or so. He basically assumes the position that suicide terrorism is caused by foreign occupation and people feeling repressed either socially, academically, culturally, economically, spiritually, or a combination of the aforementioned.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Ross Raffin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Read This Book or Stop Watching the News
    Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    Everything we "know" about suicide terrorism is dead wrong. That is the most succint way to put it.

    We are completely wrong and we need to rethink RIGHT NOW how America is going to fight terrorism if it does not understand it.

    Pape finally puts forward a thesis which has explanatory power not only over Muslim suicide terrorism but suicide terrorism throughout the entire world. This is a must-read for anyone, their parents, and their communities.
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • Lauren Ogi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great piece with legit theories and extensive supporting evidence!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This is a great piece for anyone to read. Robert Pape does an excellent job at silencing the generic outlook on terrorism and suicide terrorism in particular.
    Helpful
     Report
  • ahmad Al
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very well researched
    Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This is a book that is well researched, and sheds light on the topic of suicide terrorism in a new way.
    It was a paradigm shifter for me.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Elias Davidsson
    3.0 out of 5 stars Two major scholarly sins mar the quality of the book
    Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2014
    Many of the authors dealing with the issue of terrorism can be dismissed as purveyors of junk science. One of those who does not deserve that label is Robert A. Pape. His seminal study on suicide terrorism remains till today the best in its kind. Yet, even he sins in a number of ways against the rules of serious scholarship. His work, based on examining 315 cases of suicide terrorism relies almost entirely on what third parties (governments, law-enforcement agencies, mass media, organizations claiming the act) have designated as a “suicide operation.” The author saved himself the effort to assess the forensics of the cases, i.e. to determine, independently, that the particular events under consideration were actually suicide operations. Admittedly, such work would have required efforts beyond his capacity. On the other side, taking into account the propagandistic nature of terrorism, a scholar cannot take at face value claims by interested parties regarding the nature of the operation. Another failure was to disregard entirely the phenomenon of synthetic terrorism (sometimes called ‘false-flag terrorism’), namely operations covertly staged by governments to appear as authentic terrorism. Was the author unaware of Operation Northwoods (USA, 1962) and of the synthetic terrorist acts committed in Italy and Belgium in the Cold War, commonly known as Operation Gladio?

    These two sins by the author seriously mar the value of his study.

    An impatient and informed reader might already close the book after reading the very first paragraph of the first chapter, in which the author claims, self-confidently, that the attacks of September 11, 2001 were perpetrated by Muslim terrorists. By 2005, the year of the book’s publication, the author should have been aware that the US authorities had not produced any evidence for their claim that 9/11 was the work of Muslim terrorists (the names of the alleged terrorists do not figure on any authenticated passenger list, no one has seen them board any of the four flights, their bodily remains were not identified, and even the FBI regards their identities as questionable [see appropriate FBI website]) He should have been aware of a large and growing skepticism among US scholars toward the official account. He should have been aware of a documented relationship between Western intelligence agencies and Al Qaeda. He should have taken note of the fact that none of the perpetrators or planners of 9/11 had been brought to court. Taking into account these facts would have led him to qualify his conclusions and examine whether some of the other cases of terrorism he listed might also have been synthetically manufactured by state agencies. To the extent that these scholarly sins can be attributable to a blind spot in the author’s perspective, they may be remedied by him. Having said so, readers might still find the book useful, keeping in mind that the conclusions of an author who relies on corrupt data, must be considered with great circumspection.
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Parsa
    5.0 out of 5 stars extremely important
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Unlike most works on suicide terrorism children book almost completely & utterly (and quite rightly) ignores the philosophical/theological attempts at the explanation of the phenomenon, in its place he utilises statistical analysis on an exhaustive volume of data, comparative study of cases spanning various cultures, religions, ideoligies and nations and interviewing many suicide bombers, obviously failed ones, as well as critically analysing their rhetoric & propaganda. The conclusions are valuable for policy makers but it is for the best if the plebs are kept in the dark about this since it might prove harder to whip them up into an agreeable mood to enable our state to successfully carry out policies in differing circumstances.
    Report
  • トルーパー
    5.0 out of 5 stars 自爆テロ戦略を分析した貴重な研究である
    Reviewed in Japan on May 10, 2008
    Verified Purchase
    本書は自爆テロという手法の戦略的側面について分析した貴重な研究である。根拠となるデータは膨大であり、極めて説得力がある。データがあるため文章もわかりやすい。現代の「戦争」を理解する貴重な研究である。
    Report
  • Aram
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is brilliant...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This is a very nice book. I hope that most people have time to read it. It gives you a clear vision regarding the main factors behind committing Suicide bombers...
    Report
  • Elias Davidsson
    3.0 out of 5 stars Best book in its genre but with two major flaws
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Many of the authors dealing with the issue of terrorism can be dismissed as purveyors of junk science. One of those who does not deserve that label is Robert A. Pape. His seminal study on suicide terrorism remains till today the best in its kind. Yet, even he sins in a number of ways against the rules of serious scholarship. His work, based on examining 315 cases of suicide terrorism relies almost entirely on what third parties (governments, law-enforcement agencies, mass media, organizations claiming the act) have designated as a “suicide operation.” The author saved himself the effort to assess the forensics of the cases, i.e. to determine, independently, that the particular events under consideration were actually suicide operations. Admittedly, such work would have required efforts beyond his capacity. On the other side, taking into account the propagandistic nature of terrorism, a scholar cannot take at face value claims by interested parties regarding the nature of the operation. Another failure was to disregard entirely the phenomenon of synthetic terrorism (sometimes called ‘false-flag terrorism’), namely operations covertly staged by governments to appear as authentic terrorism. Was the author unaware of Operation Northwoods (USA, 1962) and of the synthetic terrorist acts committed in Italy and Belgium in the Cold War, commonly known as Operation Gladio?

    These two sins by the author seriously mar the value of his study.

    An impatient and informed reader might already close the book after reading the very first paragraph of the first chapter, in which the author claims, self-confidently, that the attacks of September 11, 2001 were perpetrated by Muslim terrorists. By 2005, the year of the book’s publication, the author should have been aware that the US authorities had not produced any evidence for their claim that 9/11 was the work of Muslim terrorists (the names of the alleged terrorists do not figure on any authenticated passenger list, no one has seen them board any of the four flights, their bodily remains were not identified, and even the FBI regards their identities as questionable [see appropriate FBI website]) He should have been aware of a large and growing skepticism among US scholars toward the official account. He should have been aware of a documented relationship between Western intelligence agencies and Al Qaeda. He should have taken note of the fact that none of the perpetrators or planners of 9/11 had been brought to court. Taking into account these facts would have led him to qualify his conclusions and examine whether some of the other cases of terrorism he listed might also have been synthetically manufactured by state agencies. To the extent that these scholarly sins can be attributable to a blind spot in the author’s perspective, they may be remedied by him. Having said so, readers might still find the book useful, keeping in mind that the conclusions of an author who relies on corrupt data, must be considered with great circumspection.
    Report