BASED ON THE UNIFYING THEME ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE AND THE INTERFACE BETWEEN RESEARCH AND POLICY, THE TEXT IS DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS. PART I, WHILE PRIMARILY THEORETICAL, HAS DIRECT APPLICATION TO THE PRACTICAL ISSUES OF PREVENTION AND CONTROL RAISED IN PART II. THEORIES EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN THE STUDY OF HOSTAGE-TAKING AND DISCUSSIONS DEAL WITH MODEL DEVELOPMENT THAT BREAKS DOWN THE PHENOMENON OF HOSTAGE-TAKING INTO EASILY IDENTIFIABLE ELEMENTS, WITH ISSUES OF TYPOLOGY OR THE CLASSIFICATION OF HOSTAGE-TAKING, AND WITH DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE HOSTAGE-TAKING MODEL. PART II FOCUSES ON WHAT CAN BE DONE BY PREVENTION AND CONTROL AGENCIES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER AN ACT OF HOSTAGE-TAKING. TOPICS EXPLORED ARE PREVENTION AND CONTINGENCY PLANNING; THE THREE MAIN PHASES OF A HOSTAGE-TAKING INCIDENT; AND MAJOR ISSUES INVOLVED IN THE FOLLOWUP AND THE LEARNING PROCESS. PART III EXAMINES MORE SPECIFIC PERSPECTIVES IN GREATER DETAIL THAT ARE BASED ON ACTUAL OPERATIONAL AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. USING CASE STUDIES OF HOSTAGE-TAKING MANAGEMENT IN ITALY, THE NETHERLANDS, AND THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, THESE PERSPECTIVES CONVEY THE KINDS OF PROBLEMS INHERENT IN THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF HOSTAGE-TAKING. FINALLY, AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO PLACE THE PHENOMENON OF HOSTAGE-TAKING INTO THE BROADER CONTEXT OF TERRORISM. APPENDIXES LIST POSSIBLE HOSTAGE-TAKING TYPOLOGIES AND A REQUIRED FORM. FIGURES DEPICTING HOSTAGE-TAKING MODELS ARE INCLUDED. (AOP)