By Megan Landry
A good book can not only help pass the time during a long flight, a day on the beach or a rainy Sunday afternoon. It's also a great way to escape and travel to exotic places filled with action and adventure. If you like something that will make you think a little more, you may want to throw politics into the mix with some gripping terrorism fiction.
Terrorism is very hard to define. It usually involves using violence to create fear, in order to bring about political or ideological changes. The group or person acts independently from governmental entities like the national military. However, who is labeled a terrorist often depends on your point of view. Some people argue that many terrorist groups are in fact liberation armies.
Terrorism is very hard to define. It usually involves using violence to create fear, in order to bring about political or ideological changes. The group or person acts independently from governmental entities like the national military. However, who is labeled a terrorist often depends on your point of view. Some people argue that many terrorist groups are in fact liberation armies.
Novels with espionage as theme are often great sources of stories about terrorists. Tom Clancy, for instance, is best known for his series of novels where the main character is Jack Ryan, a secret agent in the United States. Ryan often has to stop terrorists in a day's work, like in 'Patriot Games' as well as 'The Sum of all Fears'.
Some of the most fascinating terrorists in history were women. Leila Khaled, for instance, was a Palestinian revolutionary who was famous for not only hijacking airplanes but also for her extraordinary beauty. John le Carre, another master of the espionage genre, created the character of Charlie, an actress turned double agent and terrorist for the Palestinian cause in 'The Little Drummer Girl'.
While Palestinian liberation has long been a favorite theme in the genre, many writers have also looked to Northern Ireland for inspiration. The actions of the Irish Republican Army have often been called terrorist acts. Books like Jack Higgins' 'A Prayer Before Dying' revolve around members of this organization and how they deal with the violence they've been responsible for.
A very gripping book about terrorism is 'An Act of Terror'. Translated from the Afrikaans, it's South African writer Andre Brink's account of the life of a young Afrikaans-speaking photographer who is involved in a botched attempt at a terrorist action and has to flee across the country. It is set in apartheid South Africa, when liberation movements were banned and usually called terrorists.
Europe in the Seventies was a breeding ground for small leftist groups who committed ac
Some of the most fascinating terrorists in history were women. Leila Khaled, for instance, was a Palestinian revolutionary who was famous for not only hijacking airplanes but also for her extraordinary beauty. John le Carre, another master of the espionage genre, created the character of Charlie, an actress turned double agent and terrorist for the Palestinian cause in 'The Little Drummer Girl'.
While Palestinian liberation has long been a favorite theme in the genre, many writers have also looked to Northern Ireland for inspiration. The actions of the Irish Republican Army have often been called terrorist acts. Books like Jack Higgins' 'A Prayer Before Dying' revolve around members of this organization and how they deal with the violence they've been responsible for.
A very gripping book about terrorism is 'An Act of Terror'. Translated from the Afrikaans, it's South African writer Andre Brink's account of the life of a young Afrikaans-speaking photographer who is involved in a botched attempt at a terrorist action and has to flee across the country. It is set in apartheid South Africa, when liberation movements were banned and usually called terrorists.
Europe in the Seventies was a breeding ground for small leftist groups who committed ac
While Palestinian liberation has long been a favorite theme in the genre, many writers have also looked to Northern Ireland for inspiration. The actions of the Irish Republican Army have often been called terrorist acts. Books like Jack Higgins' 'A Prayer Before Dying' revolve around members of this organization and how they deal with the violence they've been responsible for.
A very gripping book about terrorism is 'An Act of Terror'. Translated from the Afrikaans, it's South African writer Andre Brink's account of the life of a young Afrikaans-speaking photographer who is involved in a botched attempt at a terrorist action and has to flee across the country. It is set in apartheid South Africa, when liberation movements were banned and usually called terrorists.
Europe in the Seventies was a breeding ground for small leftist groups who committed acts of terror. The most famous were probably West Germany's Red Army Faction, also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang, and Italy's Red Brigades. In the United States the Symbionese Liberation Army gained widespread notoriety when they kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst, who then later joined the organization. Nobel Prize laureate Doris Lessing illustrated in 'The Good Terrorist' how naive and stupid some of these idealists could be.
The ongoing War on Terror provides an almost endless source of inspiration for new works of terrorism fiction. You can find these books online, in your local library or at a good bookstore. Be sure to make enough time to read them, though, since you won't be able to put them down until the last page.
A very gripping book about terrorism is 'An Act of Terror'. Translated from the Afrikaans, it's South African writer Andre Brink's account of the life of a young Afrikaans-speaking photographer who is involved in a botched attempt at a terrorist action and has to flee across the country. It is set in apartheid South Africa, when liberation movements were banned and usually called terrorists.
Europe in the Seventies was a breeding ground for small leftist groups who committed acts of terror. The most famous were probably West Germany's Red Army Faction, also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang, and Italy's Red Brigades. In the United States the Symbionese Liberation Army gained widespread notoriety when they kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst, who then later joined the organization. Nobel Prize laureate Doris Lessing illustrated in 'The Good Terrorist' how naive and stupid some of these idealists could be.
The ongoing War on Terror provides an almost endless source of inspiration for new works of terrorism fiction. You can find these books online, in your local library or at a good bookstore. Be sure to make enough time to read them, though, since you won't be able to put them down until the last page.