An examination of the real reasons for 9/11 that will provoke fundamental rethinking of the War on Terrorism "A level-headed, intelligent, thorough and accessible survey of modern Islamic militant thinking."-Jason Burke, Guardian "Concise and sober. . . . Quite simply the best single volume currently available on this topic."-Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times After September 11, Americans agonized over why nineteen men hated the United States enough to kill three thousand civilians in an unprovoked assault. Analysts have offered a wide variety of explanations for the attack, but the one voice missing is that of the terrorists themselves. This penetrating book is the first to present the inner logic of al-Qa'ida and like-minded extremist groups by which they justify September 11 and other terrorist attacks. Mary Habeck explains that these extremist groups belong to a new movement-known as jihadism-with a specific ideology based on the thought of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Hasan al-Banna, and Sayyid Qutb. Jihadist ideology contains new definitions of the unity of God and of jihad, which allow members to call for the destruction of democracy and the United States and to murder innocent men, women, and children. Habeck also suggests how the United States might defeat the jihadis, using their own ideology against them.

World War I, the first "total war" in history, set in motion profound changes in the economies, demographics, and philosophies of the warring states. In this book, leading experts on the Great War discuss its causes, character, and legacy. Their writings show that to study World War I is to encounter not only the dissolution of the four defeated empires-Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey-but also the collapse of the optimistic assumption of progress that had defined the nineteenth century. The analysis of the Great War, in fact, provides an essential framework for our understanding of the entire twentieth century. The book draws together military history, international history, and cultural history to offer a wide-ranging summary of current knowledge and debate regarding the First World War. Contributors to this volume: Modris Eksteins, Gerald Feldman, William C. Fuller, Jr., Mary R. Habeck, Holger H. Herwig, John Horne, Michael Howard, A. S. Kanya-Forstner, Leonard V. Smith, Zara Steiner, David Stevenson