Psychology of Terrorism: Coping with the Continuing Threat

Easily the most thorough treatment of terrorism's complexities on the market today is how one reviewer described the set from which this single volume is drawn: the 4-volume Psychology of Terrorism. Here, Editor Chris E. Stout presents seven classic chapters from across that multivolume set, which brought together experts from around the world in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Stout includes a new introduction with this condensed version, along with appendices that will enable lay readers and professionals to recognize and treat symptoms of biological attack, take basic steps to prepare for terrorist incidents, and find resources for more information.

Seven articles from the 2002 four-volume The Psychology of Terrorism present the views of US psychology scholars on terrorism and how to respond to it. A United Nations humanitarian affairs officer also discusses how to the make UN peace operations more rapid and effective. Appendices offer advice on recognizing a terrorist attack, and how individual can prepare and respond. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

This timely book addresses a subject that may be crucial to confront if Americans are to progress beyond the clich s about why terrorists "hate" us. Stout, a well-published academic who has served in several governmental and UN positions, presents a condensed version of his four-volume Psychology of Terrorism with additional information. Notable contributors drawn primarily from the fields of psychology and psychiatry cover issues like the complex causes of terrorist behavior, the role of trauma as an antecedent, and combating terrorism through the UN and other means. The book concludes with useful resources and practical suggestions for disaster readiness. Research citations mined especially from the subfields of social psychology and group dynamics are abundant but well integrated into the smoothly flowing text. Ultimately, this book successfully counters the simplistic notion that terrorists are pathological personalities while acknowledging the limits of applying a psychological perspective to a fundamentally political problem. Authoritative yet highly readable, this compilation is recommended for large public libraries and academic collections that do not own the full set.-Antoinette Brinkman, MLS, Evansville, IN Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

CHRIS E. STOUT is a licensed clinical psychologist serving as Illinois' first Chief of Psychological Services for the Department of Human Services/Division of Mental Health. He is also Clinical Full Professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry, and a Core Faculty at their International Center on Human Responses to Social Catastrophes. He also holds an academic appointment in the Northwestern University Medical School and is Visiting Professor at Rush University. He served as NGO Special Representative to the United Nations and as an advisor to the White House under both parties. He has published or presented more than 300 papers and 27 books or manuals, many of those translated into six languages. He is the editor of The Psychoogy of Terrorism, 4 volumes (Praeger, 2002).