ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TERRORISM (FACTS ON FILE LIBRARY OF WORLD HISTORY)

Book by Combs, Cindy C., Slann, Martin W.

Focused on a timely topic, this volume is a good companion to the news for the general reader. Recent enough to give coverage to the events surrounding the September 11, 2001, attacks on America, this encyclopedia also includes entries on the history of terrorism. The entries are arranged alphabetically. Most entries are short, but some cover several pages.

Included in this volume are an appendix with charts and graphs, a 33-page chronology called "Major Acts of Terrorism, 1946-2000," and a 27-page chronology called "U.S and International Reaction to September 11, 2001." Entries include personalities, organizations, nations, techniques, weapons, and ideologies of terrorism. Examples of entries include Anthrax, as a biological weapon; Begin, Menachem; bin Laden, Osama bin Mohammed; Black Hand; Christian patriotism; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Iran; Ku Klux Klan; neo-Nazis; al- Qaeda; Rushdie, Salman; Stockholm syndrome; and Zionism. Entries contain cross-references, and many have a short list of suggested readings. The illustrations are black-and-white photographs.

The great advantage that this encyclopedia has over similar works is currency. One excellent source, Political Terrorism: A New Guide to Actors, Authors, Concepts, Databases, Theories, and Literature (North-Holland; dist. by Transaction, 1988) is more comprehensive in scope but less up-to-date. A useful complement is Facts On File's terrorism (2001), part of its Library in a Book series, which includes a bibliography better than those offered in Encyclopedia of Terrorism as well as information on how to research the topic. Encyclopedia of Terrorism will be a useful addition to most reference collections and is recommended for public, high-school, and academic libraries. RBB
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