Terrorism research and public policy /

These three books, all anthologies and all products of the academic industry on terrorism, appear to have been published mainly to catch the trade winds generated by the enduring interest in their subject. Why else put out such expensive, short, and relatively undistinguished collections? That said, it should be pointed out that at least one of the three Tolerating Terrorism is organized around a central theme (the domestic effects of, or responses to, terrorism), and that in each book there are one or more useful, or illuminating, essays. All this makes Tolerating Terrorism the most interesting of the three collections: Peter Waldman's contribution on the Basque ETA is a useful addition to the relatively slim bibliography on that group; Noemi Gal-Dor's essay, "Tolerating Terrorism in Israel," provides insight into Israel's home-grown Jewish terrorism; and Francesco Sidoti examines the reasons why some of Italy's terrorist groups enjoyed so much sympathy and support at home. In Terrorism Research and Public Policy, linkage to public policy and/or policymakers is ostensibly the main justification for the book, but the most interesting contribution is by Everett Wheeler, whose "Terrorism and Military Theory" connects the two in historical perspective. Finally, Terrorism and Politics is simply an anthology, in which two essays are of more than casual interest: Barry Rubin's attempt to pinpoint the reasons the PLO turned to terrorism, and Michael Eisenstadt's description of Israel's special anti-terrorist operations. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and general readers.-V. T. Le Vine, Washington University