- Hardcover: 558 pages
- Publisher: Ecco Press; 1 edition (19 Oct 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0061344907
- ISBN-13: 978-0061344909
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.7 x 4.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 656,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've followed Atran's scientific studies on the cognitive foundations of religion over the last few years as well as his New York Times opeds on the kinds of people and events that keep Al Qaeda and its associates going. Although there are glimmers of how the two lines of research coalesce in these previous accounts, they give no hint of the richness of the connections explored in this book.
Where before there was "only" a general description of the the psychological structure and evolutionary underpinnings of all religions, now we have also an historical account of how history and circumstance molded these universals into the particular religions we know today, including their relation to the history of war and violence, as well as the development of modern civil and human rights.
Within this context, terrorism and violent extremism, including suicide bombings and genocide, are not so much bizarre exceptions to human behavior as infrequent but recurrent phenomena that punctuate and shape a course of human history that, while contingent and not foreseeable in advance, now looks as coherent and inevitable "as a gathering storm in a video run backwards."
But the most politically important and intellectually intriguing aspect of the book is the way the author weaves these initially disparate lines of thought into a practical program to end wars, including the so-called war on terror, by reframing each side's sacred values (such values, unlike material values, cannot be bargained with or compromised in a "business-like" negotiation sense and so must be managed in other ways). This is in order to accomplish what Abraham Lincoln advised as the best way to win wars when he said to an irate Union sympathizer who berated him for trying to treat his enemies as people essentially no different from others: "Why madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends." Of course, notes Atran, this is not how you deal with Al Qaeda, but how you try to treat the the kids who are caught along with the driftwood in the riptides of globalization between "Yes we can" and "Happiness is martyrdom."
There are other aspects of the book that have been well reviewed elsewhere, including veteran war reporter Jason's Burke's assessment (in The Guardian and The Observer) of how Atran tracked down the social networks involved in the 9/11, Bali, and Madrid train bombings; and the New Scientist's take on how Talking to the Enemy debunks some of the most virulent and unsubstantiated claims against religion and its relation to terrorism proffered by the "new atheism" of Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and others.
Where before there was "only" a general description of the the psychological structure and evolutionary underpinnings of all religions, now we have also an historical account of how history and circumstance molded these universals into the particular religions we know today, including their relation to the history of war and violence, as well as the development of modern civil and human rights.
Within this context, terrorism and violent extremism, including suicide bombings and genocide, are not so much bizarre exceptions to human behavior as infrequent but recurrent phenomena that punctuate and shape a course of human history that, while contingent and not foreseeable in advance, now looks as coherent and inevitable "as a gathering storm in a video run backwards."
But the most politically important and intellectually intriguing aspect of the book is the way the author weaves these initially disparate lines of thought into a practical program to end wars, including the so-called war on terror, by reframing each side's sacred values (such values, unlike material values, cannot be bargained with or compromised in a "business-like" negotiation sense and so must be managed in other ways). This is in order to accomplish what Abraham Lincoln advised as the best way to win wars when he said to an irate Union sympathizer who berated him for trying to treat his enemies as people essentially no different from others: "Why madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends." Of course, notes Atran, this is not how you deal with Al Qaeda, but how you try to treat the the kids who are caught along with the driftwood in the riptides of globalization between "Yes we can" and "Happiness is martyrdom."
There are other aspects of the book that have been well reviewed elsewhere, including veteran war reporter Jason's Burke's assessment (in The Guardian and The Observer) of how Atran tracked down the social networks involved in the 9/11, Bali, and Madrid train bombings; and the New Scientist's take on how Talking to the Enemy debunks some of the most virulent and unsubstantiated claims against religion and its relation to terrorism proffered by the "new atheism" of Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and others.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found this book to be very enlightening. Essential reading if you have any pretensions to understand the motives behind these attacks.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
How to Win Wars by Turning Enemies into Friends
19 Oct 2010
Format:Hardcover
I've followed Atran's scientific studies on the cognitive foundations of religion over the last few years as well as his New York Times opeds on the kinds of people and events that keep Al Qaeda and its associates going. Although there are glimmers of how the two lines of research coalesce in these previous accounts, they give no hint of the richness of the connections explored in this book.
Where before there was "only" a general description of the the psychological structure and evolutionary underpinnings of all religions, now we have also an historical account of how history and circumstance molded these universals into the particular religions we know today, including their relation to the history of war and violence, as well as the development of modern civil and human rights.
Within this context, terrorism and violent extremism, including suicide bombings and genocide, are not so much bizarre exceptions to human behavior as infrequent but recurrent phenomena that punctuate and shape a course of human history that, while contingent and not foreseeable in advance, now looks as coherent and inevitable "as a gathering storm in a video run backwards."
But the most politically important and intellectually intriguing aspect of the book is the way the author weaves these initially disparate lines of thought into a practical program to end wars, including the so-called war on terror, by reframing each side's sacred values (such values, unlike material values, cannot be bargained with or compromised in a "business-like" negotiation sense and so must be managed in other ways). This is in order to accomplish what Abraham Lincoln advised as the best way to win wars when he said to an irate Union sympathizer who berated him for trying to treat his enemies as people essentially no different from others: "Why madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends." Of course, notes Atran, this is not how you deal with Al Qaeda, but how you try to treat the the kids who are caught along with the driftwood in the riptides of globalization between "Yes we can" and "Happiness is martyrdom."
There are other aspects of the book that have been well reviewed elsewhere, including veteran war reporter Jason's Burke's assessment (in The Guardian and The Observer) of how Atran tracked down the social networks involved in the 9/11, Bali, and Madrid train bombings; and the New Scientist's take on how Talking to the Enemy debunks some of the most virulent and unsubstantiated claims against religion and its relation to terrorism proffered by the "new atheism" of Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and others.
Where before there was "only" a general description of the the psychological structure and evolutionary underpinnings of all religions, now we have also an historical account of how history and circumstance molded these universals into the particular religions we know today, including their relation to the history of war and violence, as well as the development of modern civil and human rights.
Within this context, terrorism and violent extremism, including suicide bombings and genocide, are not so much bizarre exceptions to human behavior as infrequent but recurrent phenomena that punctuate and shape a course of human history that, while contingent and not foreseeable in advance, now looks as coherent and inevitable "as a gathering storm in a video run backwards."
But the most politically important and intellectually intriguing aspect of the book is the way the author weaves these initially disparate lines of thought into a practical program to end wars, including the so-called war on terror, by reframing each side's sacred values (such values, unlike material values, cannot be bargained with or compromised in a "business-like" negotiation sense and so must be managed in other ways). This is in order to accomplish what Abraham Lincoln advised as the best way to win wars when he said to an irate Union sympathizer who berated him for trying to treat his enemies as people essentially no different from others: "Why madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends." Of course, notes Atran, this is not how you deal with Al Qaeda, but how you try to treat the the kids who are caught along with the driftwood in the riptides of globalization between "Yes we can" and "Happiness is martyrdom."
There are other aspects of the book that have been well reviewed elsewhere, including veteran war reporter Jason's Burke's assessment (in The Guardian and The Observer) of how Atran tracked down the social networks involved in the 9/11, Bali, and Madrid train bombings; and the New Scientist's take on how Talking to the Enemy debunks some of the most virulent and unsubstantiated claims against religion and its relation to terrorism proffered by the "new atheism" of Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and others.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Analyzing Terrorism Beyond Slogans
26 Oct 2010
Format:Hardcover
For fair Disclosure: I am a colleague of Scott Atran's, and I have cooperated with him on questions related to this book's topic. While this may not make me an impartial reviewer (I have endorsed this book, wholeheartedly), I want to explain the reason why Atran's work, and this book, are indispensable.
I live in Israel, where the question of the nature of terrorism and how to deal with is a daily, existential issue. Both here and in the US, everybody, including decision makers have well-entrenched views on what terrorism is and how it should be dealt with. The right 'knows' it needs to be eradicated by use of power; the left 'knows' that most terrorism, particularly Islamic terror, is only a reaction to Western imperialism, and if we were only 'nice' to everybody, it would stop. So most views on terrorism are based on previous mindsets, and most 'specialists' have made up their minds, and are no longer confused by the facts.
Atran's book is based on two pillars: one is his long-standing work on the evolutionary basis of religion (which I have reviewed in the past); the other is his anthropological research on radical religious groups. As opposed to all the 'all-knowing' experts, Atran has done extensive research that has included talking to members of most of the groups that are today lumped together as terrorist organizations. He has also done extensive research on the mind sets of radical religious groups. Lastly, he has been involved in the most systematic research done so far on how terror cells involved in the attacks of 9/11, Madrid and 7/7 have actually come into being.
'Talking to the Enemy' shows in micro-detail the psychological and social mechanisms that bind people together into groups that will engage in terror. These mechanisms are, without exception, ordinary psychological needs. But Atran doesn't fall into the trap of what could be called the social work mentality of the left: he shows that the left wing view that terrorists are poor and frustrated is falsified by the facts. He also shows that the right's view that global terrorism of the sort practiced by Al Qaeda can be defeated by force is utterly misguided. The picture that emerges is neither a sympathetic endorsement of the radicalized mind, nor a demonization, but a complex, precise picture of reality
Atran presents an empirically based, theoretically well integrated picture of how terrorism emerges, and he has specific suggestions what to do about it. For the general reader, 'Talking to the Enemy' is enormously informative and a great read. More than anything, I wish that decision makers would read it. It could do a lot to stop spending money and wasting lives doing the wrong things, and it suggests policies that might defuse some of the most dangerous conflicts that destabilize the whole world.
I live in Israel, where the question of the nature of terrorism and how to deal with is a daily, existential issue. Both here and in the US, everybody, including decision makers have well-entrenched views on what terrorism is and how it should be dealt with. The right 'knows' it needs to be eradicated by use of power; the left 'knows' that most terrorism, particularly Islamic terror, is only a reaction to Western imperialism, and if we were only 'nice' to everybody, it would stop. So most views on terrorism are based on previous mindsets, and most 'specialists' have made up their minds, and are no longer confused by the facts.
Atran's book is based on two pillars: one is his long-standing work on the evolutionary basis of religion (which I have reviewed in the past); the other is his anthropological research on radical religious groups. As opposed to all the 'all-knowing' experts, Atran has done extensive research that has included talking to members of most of the groups that are today lumped together as terrorist organizations. He has also done extensive research on the mind sets of radical religious groups. Lastly, he has been involved in the most systematic research done so far on how terror cells involved in the attacks of 9/11, Madrid and 7/7 have actually come into being.
'Talking to the Enemy' shows in micro-detail the psychological and social mechanisms that bind people together into groups that will engage in terror. These mechanisms are, without exception, ordinary psychological needs. But Atran doesn't fall into the trap of what could be called the social work mentality of the left: he shows that the left wing view that terrorists are poor and frustrated is falsified by the facts. He also shows that the right's view that global terrorism of the sort practiced by Al Qaeda can be defeated by force is utterly misguided. The picture that emerges is neither a sympathetic endorsement of the radicalized mind, nor a demonization, but a complex, precise picture of reality
Atran presents an empirically based, theoretically well integrated picture of how terrorism emerges, and he has specific suggestions what to do about it. For the general reader, 'Talking to the Enemy' is enormously informative and a great read. More than anything, I wish that decision makers would read it. It could do a lot to stop spending money and wasting lives doing the wrong things, and it suggests policies that might defuse some of the most dangerous conflicts that destabilize the whole world.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A Great Book
14 Nov 2010
Format:Hardcover
Terrorism and Terrorists scare us. Atran's book "Talking to the Enemy" goes along way at demystifying these violent actors. This book is extremely valuable to policy makers because it explores the interactions of the anthropologist with terror groups/actors and the empirical evidence collected in the field on pathways to and from terrorism. We are all better off hearing from a field researcher on terrorism than from armchair quarterbacks who build opinions from comfortable chairs.
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