9/11 and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq

Lansford (political science, international development & affairs, Univ. of Southern Mississippi; Judging Bush; Debating the War on Terrorism) analyzes the causes and effects of 9/11, including the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is a tall order for one small book. The volume is divided into three main sections, the first and most important consisting of ten essays that include "Overview: The Rise of Osama bin Laden and Global Terrorism," "Operation Iraqi Freedom," and "The Obama Presidency and the War on Terror." The second section provides 31 brief biographies of subjects such as Daniel Pearl, Hillary Clinton, and Jacques Chirac. A collection of 21 primary-source documents closes the resource. Black-and-white maps and a chronology are also included. BOTTOM LINE The volume's strength is its tying together of various events, discussed in essays that are presented in chronological order. There are some typos but nothing that suggests misinformation. In general, this is a fine companion to Spencer C. Tucker's more general Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars (ABC-CLIO, 2010) and James Ciment's World Terrorism (Sharpe, 2011). Appropriate for high school, academic, and public library reference and circulating collections.—Lura Sanborn, St. Paul's School, Hopkinton, NH