Understanding Terrorism in America From the Klan to Al Qaeda

The terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001 seemed to initiate the United States into the full horrors of international terrorism. Yet the US is no stranger to terrorism. Since 1950 there have been over three thousand terrorist attacks, ranging from the Ku Klux Klan's campaign of terror against the civil rights movement, through the waves of attacks by neo-nazi and militia groups to the activities of Osama Bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network. Christopher Hewitt's book is a vivid survey of the causes and strategies of terrorism and possible governmental responses to it. He examines the organizational structure of terrorist networks, how they are financed and their ideological agendas. His comprehensive portrait examines the complete spectrum of terrorist groups active in the US including Islamic fundamentalists, white supremacists, African-America racists, revolutionary communists, neo-nazis, militant Jewish groups, èmigrè groups and anti-abortionists. This book is essential reading for students of American politics and terrorism. It also provides a highly readable account for interested readers wishing to know the background to a subject which has recently become even more tragically relevant in world affairs. Christopher Hewitt is Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, USA. He has published widely on all aspects of terrorism and is a regular commentator in newspapers and on television.Hewitt, Christopher is the author of 'Understanding Terrorism in America From the Klan to Al Qaeda', published 2002 under ISBN 9780415277662 and ISBN 0415277663.