Citation:
Abstract:
“Well-written..."--CHOICE
"for students doing in-depth research, this up-to-date set would be the one to use."--Reed/Elsevier
"packs an impressive selection of primary source material, both in terms of subject coverage and format.” — Booklist, September 2006.
Introduction
Terrorism: Essential Primary Sources provides insight into the scale and complexities of terrorism across a sweeping landscape of time, geography, act, and motive.
Despite the suffering inflicted on the innocent, it is an unarguable political reality that what constitutes terrorism is often contentious and heavily tied to cultural perspective. A suicide bomber labeled as a terrorist by one society may be referred to as a martyr in the news reports designed for more politically sympathetic audiences.
Groups and governments often resort to tortured language and labels as they attempt to either justify or dissociate themselves from often-horrific acts of violence. Moreover, as documents of early Nazi propaganda demonstrate, the label of terrorist is also used as propaganda to stir hatred against ideas, causes, or peoples.
Terrorism: Essential Primary Sources adopts the fundamental view that terrorism refers to an attempt to achieve a goal by violent or destructive acts intended to induce change through fear. The motives of terrorism are as diverse as the acts themselves and cover a range of religious, social, economic, and political passions. (continued... download to read more) -- K. Lee Lerner & Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, editors. London. July, 2005.