The book traces the history of terrorism from its roots in the Reign of Terror that followed the French Revolution, to Communist movements in Russia, Germany and Italy, to nationalist organizations such as the PLO. It argues that the notion of terrorism as a form of limited violence has been shattered by the emergence of more lethal and less predictable organizations like the Aum sect in Japan, fanatical Jewish and Islamic groups in the Middle East, and radical wings of the militia movement in the United States. It also asserts that these fringe groups are built upon -- and react to -- a sense of isolation and are more likely to use weapons of mass destruction than the nationalist terrorist groups. The book considers media coverage and how it relates to political power. Although the media provide a platform for terrorist agendas, terrorists achieve their ultimate political goals by exploiting the media and are often captured as a result of news reports. Abbreviations, notes, bibliography, index