Inside Terrorism, by Bruce Hoffmann (Indigo, £7.99 in UK)

In a century as violent as ours has been, with wars and genocide on a level which dwarfs those of the past, terrorism may seem…

In a century as violent as ours has been, with wars and genocide on a level which dwarfs those of the past, terrorism may seem almost a fringe affair. Its moral effect is out of proportion to the numbers it kills, but that is precisely its strength, which enables it to threaten the fabric of daily life and to defy both national and international law. Bruce Hoffmann considers its various contemporary manifestations around the world, including the emergence of a new kind of terrorist, and reaches the rather grim conclusion that it will continue to be "one of the main threats to international security as we approach the 21st century."

Brian Fallon