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Book Review

What the Book Is About

Hoffman’s (2006) book is titled “Inside Terrorism” and published by “Columbia University Press, New York.” The book is a second edition, which the author terms as a “Revised and Expanded Edition.” Hoffman’s (2006) book does not focus on a specific geographic area but on the issue of terrorism around the world. However, the key event that the book zeroes in on is the 9/11 attack that happened in the United States. As such, the book’s content is majorly focused on events in the US. Since the book was written between March and July 2005, it covers the timespan before the said period. Specifically, apart from the terrorist events that occurred before 1998 (when the first edition of the book was published), this second and revised edition covers terrorism as it has changed between 1998 and 2005 due to the 9/11 attack.

Book’s Key Argument/Point

            The central theme/ argument of Hoffman’s (2006) book is that the nature and characteristics of terrorism have mutated throughout the years because of the presence of new adversaries who have different motivations and reasons for undertaking their terror activities. Additionally, the author asserts that new forms of terrorisms have emerged that have served to challenge the traditional and conventional wisdom, which was already held about terrorism and terrorists. Moreover, it is a primary argument of Hoffman (2006) that the period between 1998 and 2006 should be regarded as a new regime of terrorism, which is characterized by even more destructive, bloodier, and vicious attacks than those seen before. One of the examples of the bloody nature of the new era of terrorism is the 9/11 attack, which demonstrates that terrorists are even more focused on publicity as opposed to killing, and their mindsets are even bloodier than before. The higher levels of lethality with regard to contemporary forms of terrorism is an aspect that the author has emphasized throughout the book. In the quest to support his central theme, Hoffman (2006) relied on a wide array of methodologies and sources.

Book’s Sources and Methodology

            The book is heavily reliant on both primary sources and secondary sources in support of the primary arguments made by the author. The primary sources are in the form of photographs, which show an example of terrorism and the ruin that has been caused by terror activities. For example, on the cover page of the book, a terrorist photograph is displayed as well as the destruction that was occasioned by the 9/11 attack. Additionally, the photos of four persons waiting to be executed by terrorists are displayed, which are aimed at giving the readers a sense of what terror looks like in contemporary times. Moreover, important quotes from primary documents have been used that are intended to provide the audience with firsthand information about terror. However, secondary sources have been used to support some of the assertions made. For instance, a wealth of scholarly articles and books have been extensively used. The author used primary evidence in the form of such photos and statements from the original communicators to support the points about the shifting nature of terrorism. The use of such sources and methodology results in different advantages. One of those is that the book’s arguments are valid and reliable because they are pegged on both primary and secondary sources. Additionally, the citation of the different statements made in the book gives credits to the authors of such words and ideas and makes the book have a high degree of credence. The arguments made in the book can be assessed for their validity based on comparison from other sources, which have addressed the aspect of terrorism.           

Analysis of Whether the Argument Holds Water

            The argument about the changing nature of terror, in terms of the motivation behind it and the vicious nature of terrorist attacks, holds water because the ideas used to support such an assertion have been well made and supported. Hoffman (2006) has not just focused on making the argument but has used various pieces of evidence to support such an argument. For instance, he has provided the vicious nature of the 9/11 attack to support the idea that current terror attacks are bloodier than those of the previous times. Additionally, the publicity that the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack received is evidence enough to prove that the motivations for terror attacks have now changed from the urge to shed blood to the need to get attention from the world. Moreover, the point that high levels of lethality have been witnessed has been well made and supported by evidence of the destruction that arose from terror attacks in the 21^st century and the high number of lives lost. the devastating nature of the current terror attacks is well stated and supported by Hoffman’s (2006) book. Moreover, the arguments made align with other authors who have handled the same subject matter. For instance, according to Coaffee (2016); Dudley (2017), the modus operand of terror groups and the nature of terrorism has changed. Similarly, David, Asuelime, and Onapajo (2015) argue that the quest for more blood and attention has led to a more destructive and pronounced attack. Based on the support that Hoffman’s (2006) argument received from other authors, then his argument holds water.

My Take

            I thought that the book was well written, educative, and enlightening. Hoffman (2006) has arranged the book into nine key chapters with each talking about different aspects of terror. He starts very well by defining terrorism from different authors and dictionaries and the origins of contemporary terrorism. As such, as I read through the book, I was taken step by step about how terror has changed from when it was purely for religious purposes to the contemporary times where is being conducted for publicity. I was surprised at the number of sources used by the authors and the wealth of information that he assembled to come up with the book. The most interesting part of the book was how it connected the new media to terrorism and how the global opinion on terror has shifted because of the devastating nature of terror attacks. After reading the entirety of the book, I felt enlightened on the history of terrorism and where we are in terms of the dynamics of terror. I felt educated reading about how the 9/11 attack was a game-changer for the US government in terms of its response to terror. The use of paragraphs and well -structured sections make the book easy to read. Hoffman’s (2006) book is well written with no glaring spelling and grammatical mistakes and the different sections are well organized. I feel like reading the book again and again to gain more knowledge about how terrorism has evolved over the years.

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