The age of lone wolf terrorism /

Much recent scholarship on counterterrorism focuses on international sources and sponsors of terrorism, including such well-known entities such as ISIS and al Qaeda. While these threats are serious and worthy of continued academic and practical consideration, recent experience suggests the chief terrorist threat to Western nations is actually action by the so-called lone wolf--"terrorist actions carried out by lone individuals, as opposed to those carried out on the part of terrorist organizations or state bodies." An alarming number of successful attacks in the last 10 years fit this description. Hamm and Spaaij offer an impressive examination of the rise of lone wolf terrorism and its implications for Western counterterrorism strategy. They outline the many challenges confronting law enforcement efforts to preempt lone wolf activities versus the more easily discovered, organizationally sponsored terrorist cell. The authors' research is extensive and notably includes a number of firsthand interviews with convicted terrorists. Most intriguing perhaps is the concluding chapter on mitigating the lone wolf threat and the authors' recommendations for more of a "soft power" approach to FBI sting operations. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Robert D. Stacey, The Saint Constantine School