THE NEW TERRORISM

Originally published in 1999, this book could not be more valuable or relevant. Laqueur systematically reviews terrorism's historical roots and current variations, then moves on to offer chilling hypotheses about the possibility of terrorists using weapons of mass destruction. Edward Holland narrates this sweeping study with extreme clarity, handling the technical vocabulary needed to understand chemical and biological warfare and the names of dozens of terrorist groups with equal ease. Holland reads at a steady pace, allowing readers sufficient time to digest these complex issues. The only weakness to his narration is his intellectual distance from the material; he seems unaffected by the grotesque slaughters he narrates. G.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 02]