"Understanding Terror Networks" by Marc Sageman

Understanding Terror Networks warrants close attention and inspection. It surely should be included on the reading lists of every course on modern terrorism (and happily its modest price should present no bar to this). While the data which forms the core of the book may suffer from a variety of limits, this work still provides an important platform for any realistic effort to understand al-Qaeda and extreme Islamist groups. Doubtless, flaws in its analysis will be exposed by future research, but for now, it can be fairly said to represent the best social science currently available on al-Qaeda. It fully deserves the widest readership.