Terrorism (Library in a Book) - Hardcover

Harry Henderson is a professional writer specializing in technical and reference works for adults. Among his numerous publications are Privacy in the Information Age, Gun Control, and Capital Punishment, Revised Edition, all of which are part of Facts On File's Library in a Book series. He lives in El Cerrito, CA.

The United States suffers very little from acts of terrorism compared with Europe and the developing world. In fact, an American citizen is more likely to be killed by lightning than by a terrorist attack. Nevertheless, fear of terrorism remains widespread. The U.S. government defines terrorism as "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience." The bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, which resulted in 168 deaths, is the worse incident of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. These are but a few insights provided in this one-volume reference, written by freelance writer Henderson (Privacy in the Information Age, 1999) as part of the publisher's "Library in a Book" series. This informative work provides a historical overview of the topic, a chronological survey of major terrorist attacks and trials, brief biographies of leaders of terrorist groups and academic and counterterrorism experts, a glossary of terms and acronyms, and a guide to further research on terrorism. Henderson indicates that terrorism is a form of communication with acts of violence as the message and that such behavior violates international humanitarian law. An adequate reference survey on terrorism, this book is recommended for large public and academic libraries only. Libraries already owning Jay Robert Nash's Terrorism in the Twentieth Century (LJ 11/1/98) need not purchase. Tim Delaney, Canisius Coll., Buffalo, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.