Rating: 
Summary: A Look Behind The Hype
Review: The topic of terrorism used to be in the political realm, but the past decade has seen a decided shift to the religious. Professor Stern has done an admirable job trying to get past generalities and actually study the people and their motivations. Through an unprecedented collection of interviews with the actual terrorists themselves, she helps to lift the veil a little bit, and peer underneath it. It's admirable that she undertakes this work when it in the post 9/11 world it is fraught with politics and colored by personal views, and also an issue that has no easy answer. Terrorism is in the eye of the viewer. What is one person's terrorist is another's justified protector and fighter. To see this, look at the breadth of reviews already posted here. She tries to find both sides in each movement she studies, looking how the movement came to be, and what keeps it going. What makes people send their children to be martyrs to a movement? Stern attempts to discover what is behind this. The book is thorough, but not overly dense. One of the biggest drawbacks is that Stern's academic background shines through, and sometimes the prose is a bit dry. But this is the best work I've read so far to examine terror movements both domestic and international. Well worth the read if you are interested in learning more on this hot button issue.
Rating:
Summary: Bold, Informative - an inside look at the religious militant
Review: This is a very interesting and informative look into the minds of today's religious militants.Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this work, is the fact that a fortyish Jewish/American woman gathers her data by roaming around the streets of Gaza, Islamadad, and Kashmir (amoung many others). For the most part, these militants treated the author with respect - and often went out of their way to make her feel comfortable. It reminds us that these are people, despite their radical beliefs and actions. I found the right-wing Chrisitan and radical Jewish content a little less interesting. Nevertheless, this book was very well-written, thorough and enlightening to say the least.
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