Excellent collection of first-hand interviews with a range of actors who commit terroristic acts in the name of religious beliefs. The loose method understandably prevents the drawing of any firm or final conclusions, but Stern's summary chapter does an good job of presenting a balanced case. ( )

Explores why religious extremists resort to terrorist acts as well as the structure of terrorist groups, and what makes a structure successful. The grievances that lead to joining such groups are alienation, humiliation, demographics, history and territory. Effective terrorist structures are a function of resilience (ability to withstand loss of personnel; redundancy and minimal communication) and capacity (ability to optimize the scale of attack; recruiting personnel with special skills).

The entire planet is now subject of terrorist attack. This book seeks to answer why the most religious become the most murderous. The unique aspect of the work is that Berger interviews terrorists in a number of countries and seeks to provide context for a group's grievances. Fundamental to Islamic Jihadists is a sense of humiliation at the hands of modernity; while other nations profit, Islamic nations muddle through as they have done for one thousand years. There is genuine revulsion at aspects of the New World Order and globalization: for example, the secularism of major international organizations such as the UN and World bank, rampant consumerism, the empowerment of women and minorities, freedom of religion, and a blind spot about how all this effects Muslim populations. A variety of "management styles" are examined as they are employed by various groups, and also the role of the state (which often supports these groups until they grow too powerful and then turn on the governments that helped them.) Informative, well-written, and possibly the best book yet about explaining the motivations of suicide bombers. ( )

An excellent book for anyone wanting to know how a terrorist thinks, what makes them choose the path of violence, and the various types of terrorists. The author talks about Al Qaeda operatives, anti-abortionist killers, jihadi militants and suicide-bombers. Her book is written from the interviews done with these types of individuals, giving us an inside look at the way they think about what they do, and how remorseful or not they are when killing others, in the name of God. The deep causes of global terror are outlined and discussed, with a plea for policy initiatives to be tempered by cultural understanding and ethical reflection. Terror in the Name of God was difficult to read because it makes the fear real; this is not going to go away and the more we know the better we can understand and be aware of what is going on around us. Jessica Stern is a very brave woman who sat down with the terrorists and then writes about her interviews. Don't miss reading this book, to be able to understand the difficulties we are up against in today's world. ( )

I see this book as essential for any who would curtly dismiss violence and terror as problems that exist only with 'other' religions, or those that suggest the rationale for terrorist attacks such as those of september 11, 2001 are commited simply due to 'their' hatred of 'our' freedom and way of life. While the descriptions of each encounter/interview may seem a little dry and cumbersome, Stern provides readers with a interesting investigation of the mind of those who would commit acts of violence in the name of religious belief. ( )