Intriguing but stylistically lacking - Rated 
This is an interesting exploration of some of the myths and realities surrounding Al Qaeda, and is a book which remains deeply relevant. Its main insight is that Al Qaeda is a diffuse grouping of like minded individuals lacking any real organisational shape or structure. Instead the main threat it poses constitutes the ideology it represents, which can be self-replicating.
However, although this message is interesting, I found the text to be very dense with names of organisations and individuals, which meant I sometimes got lost amid a plethora of detail. Additionally, once you have grasped the central theme Burke is intending to convey there is little more to his arguments.
Comprehensive, nuanced, readable - glittering - Rated 
This book is the al-Qaeda bible, comprehensive and nuanced enough for academic audiences, while never becoming turgid or unreadable.
The primary contribution of Burke's treatment of the al-Qaeda phenomenon is to counter its depiction as a unified, hierarchical group centred on the leadership of Osama bin Laden. He conceives al-Qaeda in three dimensions; the 'al-Qaeda hardcore', centred on bin Laden; the 'al-Qaeda linked network' and the ideational dimension which he terms 'al-Qaeda-ism'.
Roughly speaking Burke's thesis is that it is al-Qaeda-ism, or the narrative that justifies al-Qaeda-like terrorism, rather than any group of individuals that threatens lives and ways of life. Burke's treatment is sympathetic to the 'humiliation and suffering of Muslim peoples' which underwrites al-Qaeda-like terrorism. He does not justify, but acts as a relay for the discourse.
If I were to be hyper-critical, the academic audience may bore of the reportage that punctuates the excellent analytical content, but even this serves to tie the reader to the experiences from which the author's analysis grows.
Perhaps the best insight into Al Qaeda there is - Rated 
Jason Burke's book is an illuminating guide to Al Qaeda, perhaps the single best study there is on the subject (Burke can also be seen interviewed in the superb BBC documentary series, The Power of Nightmares). Burke has spent over ten years covering the events of the Middle East and has interviewed many key figures, from Taliban commanders to Western intelligence officers.
Burke guides the reader through the history of the phenomenon, looking at its rise in the Middle East and how one of its earliest thinkers was influenced by his experience in the United States. Burke then takes the reader up to the present day, looking at current events through a post-9/11 prism.
Jason Burke also proposes and attempts to answer some intriguing questions, such as, does Al Qaeda have an ideology? is Al Qaeda a monolithic entity with an identifiable leader? would removing a visible figurehead or dismantling a group actually reduce the threat of terrorism? Burke also teases out similarities of perspective betwixt Al Qaeda and the neoconservatives who drive U.S. foreign policy, such as the idea that the existing 'war on terror' is a generational stuggle ("won't end in our lifetimes") with cosmic dimensions, quite literally a fight between good and evil.
For a study that gets behind the headlines and beyond the facile 'analysis' of "why do they hate us?" and "clash of civilisations" and so forth, Jason Burke's Al Qaeda provides a deeper understanding of a pervasive phenomenon.
A welcome antidote to oversimplification - Rated
Jason Burke provides a wide-ranging and coherent description of the rise of radical Islam, and a persuasive analysis of how the conditions which the world is now facing have come into being. In doing so, he explodes a number of the myths which we are used to seeing in the media - including that of Osama Bin Laden as the evil genius whose capture will make everything right - and illustrates how the failure of governments around the world to act on the conditions which foster radicalism has contributed more to its rise than the actions of any individual or group. Written after the attacks on the World Trade Centre and in Madrid, but before the London bombings this book has begun to explain to me why they happened. I am not an academic or expert on the Middle East, but found this book easy to follow and feel I have a much greater grasp of the issues having read it. And while this is not comfortable knowledge, it is better than the bewilderment I felt before.
Reading this over the weekend in which the madness of Hizbollah attacks on Israel, and the equal madness of the inevitable armed response in Lebanon is continuing to escalate makes his themes all the more relevant. As Burke says in his final paragraph "All terrorist violence, 'Islamic' or otherwise is unjustifiable, unforgivable, cowardly and contemptible. But just because we condemn does not mean we should not strive to comprehend. We need to keep asking, 'Why?' This book certainly helps in understanding the 'Why?'
The truth behind the headlines - Rated
Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam is a superb work of investigation and historical analysis into the shadowy world of Islamic terrorism. In this work Jason Burke has stripped away the James Bond Supervillain image of Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden, showing the roots of Bin Laden's twisted psychology in a radical reading of the Koran and Islamic history. This book and the world it uncovers is far more frightening than any thriller. A superb work, highly recommended.
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