Beyond al-Qaeda: The Outer Rings of the Terrorist Universe.
RAND Project Air Force

Despite reading like computer spit-out packed with informative detail, Beyond al-Qaeda was a fascinating read
due to exposing the reader (me!!!) with a myriad of terrorist groups that were for the most part unheard of. For
example, Al-Gama, Al-Wa'ad, Maoist Insurgents, South Africa's People Against Gangsterism and Drugs,and Abu Sayyaf.
In addition to detailing many of the world's dangerous organizations, the book also acts as a geographical and historical
guide that takes the reader to many different parts of the globe: Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Spain, Brazil, The 
Philippines,Luxor, and of course the Middle East. 
This book is written entirely in the persepctive of the US Air Force RAND Project ( the federally funded research
and development center for studies and analysis), so the agenda is clear from the start. This is not meant to be
a critical analysis, but instead is more like a terrorist dictionary. The reader is left to their own resources to
read between the lines and apply critical thought to the definition of terrorism and to consider who the key nations
are that were omitted and why they were omitted. 
If you are looking to enhance your geographically related terrorist background (aren't we all!) then this book is well
deserving of a place on your toilet cover. If however, you are seeking personal insights that do not read like HAL from 
A Space Odyssey, then you may want to look elsewhere. In my opinion, it is a great starting point.
Overall, I give this 8 pizza slices. One should note that each slice is loaded with toppings that takes awhile to eat
and can lead to minor digestive issues if consumed too fast. This book is best read chapter by chapter and not
all at one sitting.