View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.

aAs a recognized expert in the field, Hamm is eminently qualified to prepare this text on the subject of terrorism from the criminal law perspective. . . . The text is written in a clear, lively manner.a
--"Choice"

aDrawing on six case studies of terrorist attacks by radical Islamists and right-wing racists, Hamm writes that American counterterrorist agencies have neglected some basic insights from scholarly criminology.a
--"The Chronicle of Higher Education"

"Read this book to understand the important nexus between terrorism and crime! This cutting edge analysis suggests a new approach to defeat the terrorist threat to the United States."
--Marc Sageman, author of "Understanding Terror Networks"

"Hamm's clear writing style, careful research and theoretical insights promise to make this a classic in criminology."
--William J. Chambliss, author of "Power, Politics, and Crime"

"[Provides] the first detailed account of how crime provides logistical support for terrorist strikes. By blending the study of terrorism and criminology, Hamm offers the possibility of detecting and stopping terrorism through the pursuit of conventional methods of criminal investigation."
--Gary LaFree, Director, START, National Center for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism University of Maryland Department of Criminology/Democracy

Car bombing, suicide bombing, abduction, smuggling, homicide, and hijacking are all profoundly criminal acts. In Terrorism as Crime Mark S. Hamm presents an understanding of terrorism from a criminological point of view, arguing that the most successful way to understand, detect, prosecute and deter these acts is to use conventional criminal investigation methods. Whether in Oklahoma City or London, Terrorism as Crime demonstrates that criminal activity is the lifeblood of terrorist groups and that there are simple common denominators at work that can remove the mystery surrounding many of these terrorist groups. Once understood the vulnerabilities of these organizations can be exposed.

This important volume focuses in on six case studies of crimes committed by jihad and domestic right wing groups, including biographies of more than two dozen terrorists along with descriptions of their organizations, strategies, and terrorist plots. Terrorism as Crime offers an original and significant framework for explaining international and domestic terrorism, as well as how future acts might be detected or exposed.

American Skinheads is the first criminological analysis of organized hate crime violence. Mark Hamm presents historical specificity for a modern theory of hate crime, then rigorously tests the theory with interview data derived from skinheads who have committed an array of violent acts against persons because of their race, religion, or sexual preference--people who are members of the classic outgroups of American society. Part One traces the roots of the Skinhead Nation through the Beats, Mods, Hippies, and Punks in London, and then examines the rise of the Neo-Nazi Skinheads in the United States, including a look at Neo-Nazi offshoots (Romantic Violence, The Aryan Youth Movement), recruiters (Tom Metzger), and recruitment tools (W.A.R. Magazine and Hotline, electronic mail, Race and Reason), and appearances on the Oprah Winfrey and Geraldo Rivera shows. In Part Two, Hamm discusses the accepted sociological perspectives on terrorist youth subcultures (not gangs), then presents findings of his own study of 36 skinheads, including social and economic characteristics, psychological profiles, the role of skinhead girls, use of drugs and weapons, satanism, and neo-fascism. Part Three assesses the future for American Neo-Nazism and recommends steps for preventing skinhead terrorism.

The Madrid train bombers, shoe-bomber Richard Reid, al-Qaeda in Iraq, and the 9/11 attacks-all were led by men radicalized behind bars. By their very nature, prisons are intended to induce transformative experiences among inmates, but today's prisons are hotbeds for personal transformation toward terrorist beliefs and actions due to the increasingly chaotic nature of prison life caused by mass incarceration. In The Spectacular Few, Mark Hamm demonstrates how prisoners use criminal cunning, collective resistance and nihilism to incite terrorism against Western targets. A former prison guard himself, Hamm knows the realities of day-to-day prison life and understands how prisoners socialize, especially the inner-workings and power of prison gangs-be they the Aryan Brotherhood or radical Islam. He shows that while Islam is mainly a positive influence in prison, certain forces within the prison Muslim movement are aligned with the efforts of al-Qaeda and its associates to inspire convicts in the United States and Europe to conduct terrorist attacks on their own. Drawing from a wide range of sources-including historical case studies of prisoner radicalization reaching from Gandhi and Hitler to Malcolm X, Bobby Sands and the detainees of Guantanamo; a database of cases linking prisoner radicalization with evolving terrorist threats ranging from police shootouts to suicide bombings; interviews with intelligence officers, prisoners affiliated with terrorist groups and those disciplined for conducting radicalizing campaigns in prison-The Spectacular Few imagines the texture of prisoners' lives: their criminal thinking styles, the social networks that influenced them, and personal "turning points" that set them on the pathway to violent extremism. Hamm provides a broad understanding of how prisoners can be radicalized, arguing that in order to understand the contemporary landscape of terrorism, we must come to terms with how prisoners are treated behind bars.

View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.

aAs a recognized expert in the field, Hamm is eminently qualified to prepare this text on the subject of terrorism from the criminal law perspective. . . . The text is written in a clear, lively manner.a
--"Choice"

aDrawing on six case studies of terrorist attacks by radical Islamists and right-wing racists, Hamm writes that American counterterrorist agencies have neglected some basic insights from scholarly criminology.a
--"The Chronicle of Higher Education"

"Read this book to understand the important nexus between terrorism and crime! This cutting edge analysis suggests a new approach to defeat the terrorist threat to the United States."
--Marc Sageman, author of "Understanding Terror Networks"

"Hamm's clear writing style, careful research and theoretical insights promise to make this a classic in criminology."
--William J. Chambliss, author of "Power, Politics, and Crime"

"[Provides] the first detailed account of how crime provides logistical support for terrorist strikes. By blending the study of terrorism and criminology, Hamm offers the possibility of detecting and stopping terrorism through the pursuit of conventional methods of criminal investigation."
--Gary LaFree, Director, START, National Center for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism University of Maryland Department of Criminology/Democracy

Car bombing, suicide bombing, abduction, smuggling, homicide, and hijacking are all profoundly criminal acts. In Terrorism as Crime Mark S. Hamm presents an understanding of terrorism from a criminological point of view, arguing that the most successful way to understand, detect, prosecute and deter these acts is to use conventional criminal investigation methods. Whether in Oklahoma City or London, Terrorism as Crime demonstrates that criminal activity is the lifeblood of terrorist groups and that there are simple common denominators at work that can remove the mystery surrounding many of these terrorist groups. Once understood the vulnerabilities of these organizations can be exposed.

This important volume focuses in on six case studies of crimes committed by jihad and domestic right wing groups, including biographies of more than two dozen terrorists along with descriptions of their organizations, strategies, and terrorist plots. Terrorism as Crime offers an original and significant framework for explaining international and domestic terrorism, as well as how future acts might be detected or exposed.

The Madrid train bombers, shoe-bomber Richard Reid, al-Qaeda in Iraq, and the 9/11 attacks-all were led by men radicalized behind bars. By their very nature, prisons are intended to induce transformative experiences among inmates, but today's prisons are hotbeds for personal transformation toward terrorist beliefs and actions due to the increasingly chaotic nature of prison life caused by mass incarceration. In The Spectacular Few, Mark Hamm demonstrates how prisoners use criminal cunning, collective resistance and nihilism to incite terrorism against Western targets. A former prison guard himself, Hamm knows the realities of day-to-day prison life and understands how prisoners socialize, especially the inner-workings and power of prison gangs-be they the Aryan Brotherhood or radical Islam. He shows that while Islam is mainly a positive influence in prison, certain forces within the prison Muslim movement are aligned with the efforts of al-Qaeda and its associates to inspire convicts in the United States and Europe to conduct terrorist attacks on their own. Drawing from a wide range of sources-including historical case studies of prisoner radicalization reaching from Gandhi and Hitler to Malcolm X, Bobby Sands and the detainees of Guantanamo; a database of cases linking prisoner radicalization with evolving terrorist threats ranging from police shootouts to suicide bombings; interviews with intelligence officers, prisoners affiliated with terrorist groups and those disciplined for conducting radicalizing campaigns in prison-The Spectacular Few imagines the texture of prisoners' lives: their criminal thinking styles, the social networks that influenced them, and personal "turning points" that set them on the pathway to violent extremism. Hamm provides a broad understanding of how prisoners can be radicalized, arguing that in order to understand the contemporary landscape of terrorism, we must come to terms with how prisoners are treated behind bars.

The candid, first-person accounts of their experiences, especially in illegal, immoral, and dangerous situations, reveal the horrors, perils, and joys of ethnographic research. The methodological, theoretical, and political implications of field work are also thoroughly discussed. Describing their deep involvement with such diverse groups as skinheads, phone sex workers, drug dealers, graffiti artists, and the homeless, many of the authors confess to their own episodes of illegal drug use, drunk driving, weapons violations, assault at gunpoint, obstruction of justice, and arrest while engaged in ethnographic studies.
Although field research is seldom safe, convenient, or above professional criticism, this volume demonstrates that it is vital for providing a fuller understanding of deviant and criminal populations.

American Skinheads is the first criminological analysis of organized hate crime violence. Mark Hamm presents historical specificity for a modern theory of hate crime, then rigorously tests the theory with interview data derived from skinheads who have committed an array of violent acts against persons because of their race, religion, or sexual preference--people who are members of the classic "outgroups" of American society. Part One traces the roots of the Skinhead Nation through the Beats, Mods, Hippies, and Punks in London, and then examines the rise of the Neo-Nazi Skinheads in the United States, including a look at Neo-Nazi offshoots (Romantic Violence, The Aryan Youth Movement), recruiters (Tom Metzger), and recruitment tools (W.A.R. Magazine and Hotline, electronic mail, Race and Reason), and appearances on the Oprah Winfrey and Geraldo Rivera shows. In Part Two, Hamm discusses the accepted sociological perspectives on terrorist youth subcultures (not "gangs"), then presents findings of his own study of 36 skinheads, including social and economic characteristics, psychological profiles, the role of skinhead "girls," use of drugs and weapons, satanism, and neo-fascism. Part Three assesses the future for American Neo-Nazism and recommends steps for preventing skinhead terrorism.