Inside Terrorism

Bruce Hoffman’s classic book, Inside Terrorism, has remained the seminal work for understanding the historical evolution of terrorism and the terrorist mindset. This new edition maps terrorism’s historical trajectory from its ancient origins through the 19th and 20th Centuries to the rise of ISIS and stubborn resilience of al Qaeda. It specifically explores the timeless demographics of terrorists throughout the ages; the reasons behind the continued salience of suicide terrorism as a fixture of contemporary political violence; terrorism as an historically pernicious form of violent communication, including the exploitation of new communications media and social networking technologies; the radicalization and foreign fighter phenomena; and, potential future trends, including the repercussions of a post-caliphate ISIS and the potential resurgence of al Qaeda. Closer to home, the books also examines the resurgence in the United States of violent, anti-government militants, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists. Arguing that war on terrorism did not end with Osama bin Laden’s killing, Inside Terrorism depicts how ongoing instability and strife in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Libya, and Yemen, among other places, will sustain terrorist movements both in those regions and elsewhere and have broad implications on domestic and international security everywhere.

A vitally important book. Bruce Hoffman has for decades been one of the world's greatest scholars of terrorism, and this new edition of his classic study is impressively wide-ranging and authoritative. Covering key issues such as definition, historical evolution, and internationalization, it also addresses thematic subjects such as religious terrorism and suicide attacks. The book serves as a valuable corrective to the amnesia of so much recent work on terrorism, and it will offer readers powerful insights for many years. (Richard English, author of Does Terrorism Work?: A History)

Bruce Hoffman has produced a most welcome new and updated edition of his classic work, a book that provides an essential foundation for understanding the rapidly changing contours of terrorism. The third edition of Inside Terrorism is as timely, relevant, and analytically probing as ever. (Martha Crenshaw, Stanford University, coauthor of Countering Terrorism: No Simple Solutions)

The classic work from the dean of terrorism studies. No one who cares about the struggle of our time should miss this book. (Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 and The Terror Years: From Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State)