The Future of Terrorism contains essays submitted at the conference for Future Developments in Terrorism, Cork, Ireland in March 1999. The central thesis of the essays, which resonates in the individual essays and the editor's introduction is that terrorism has evolved beyond the traditional view of state sponsored organizations, who commit acts of violence as an expression of nationalism. Terrorist organizations are now more complex and their motivations can stem from a more diverse range of ideologies. Two supporting views that the essayists submit, which have significant value to military and civilian strategist, expound on terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction and the emergence of some terrorists as transnational actors. As with many nations and various legitimate organizations, the ending of the cold war caused most terrorist organizations to change their modus operandi to guarantee continued survival. The authors and editors support this argument by discussing the decline of state-sponsored terrorism, facilitated against the back-drop of the post cold war; increases in intrastate terrorist organizations; the blurring of distinctions between terrorism and organized crime; and finally the emergence of organizations with motives based on extremism and religion. In fact, law enforcement agencies have linked terrorist organizations to crimes such as extortion and bank robbery. The commitment of terrorism for monetary gain represents a significant shift from terrorism connected to ideologies. The shift away from strong ideological motivations also affects the potential use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). To use a WMD, the terrorist organization's the belief in ideology must surpass their sense of survival. The potential use of a WMD could enrage world opinion and could lead to the destruction of the organization. This runs contrary to the beliefs of many security analysts, who cite the use of a nerve agent (1995) in a Tokyo subway as a sign of future use. However, its important to note that the organization linked to the attack was a religious extremist organization, with an extremely strong ideology and not a terrorist organization. Finally, the emergence of terrorists as a transnational actor is a recent phenomenon. Transnationalism is a term used to describe organizations that operate internationally, but do so without official state sponsorship or direction. As noted earlier, the end of the cold war caused some terrorist organizations to expand their area of operations. This expansion, because of logistics and financial support, made coordination between the various organizations a necessity. A good example of a transnational terrorist is Ossama bin Ladden. Ossama bin Ladden reportedly has links to several states in the Middle East and Africa as well as ties to other terrorist organizations. The ability to move in and out of different circles, similar to guests at a garden party, makes prediction of terrorist strikes extremely difficult. In summary, this book provides valuable insights into the complexity of terrorist organizations and their evolution. It's thought provoking and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the subject.