The Age of Terror

KLIATT

The last two years have been one of the most agonizing, contentious, and fast-moving periods in modern American history. The average citizen may acquire a reasonable awareness of the major events that are taking place around him, but the sum total of the warnings, military actions, accusations, legislation, and political posturing are thoroughly bewildering to most. When even the heads of major nations have trouble making out a clear path ahead, it is doubly hard for anyone else to make sense of the world. Fortunately, Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institution, and Nayan Chganda, an executive at the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, have attempted to redress the situation. Their book consists of eight thought-provoking essays about world events, all written by recognized experts in international affairs. The essays all have a thoughtful and dispassionate tone. In fact, just from reading them, it is hard to determine the intellectual leaning of each author; conservative, liberal or centrist. The topics are especially wide-ranging: from the dynamics of the Moslem world to the economic outlooks of developing countries in Asia, from runaway globalization to the crassness of American popular culture. One essay, by Charles Hill, a career diplomat, is especially valuable in explaining both the myths and the realities of Arab terrorism. Taken all together, the essays add genuine perspective to what we learn from the daily news reports. Although the book is clearly aimed at the adult reader with some understanding of the world and its affairs, it would also be suitable for enrichment programs for YAs. All that is really required from the reader is an inquiring curiosityabout the world, and the path that it is taking. KLIATT Codes: A; Recommended for advanced students and adults. 2001, Basic Books, 232p. index., Puffer