Since the attacks of 11 September 2001, the topic of terrorism has been almost continually front-page news in the United Kingdom. The subsequent ‘war on terror’, including the invasion of Iraq, has only heightened interest in the matter.

With the London bombings of 7 July 2005, Britain became a frontline in international terrorism and counter-terrorism. This reality has only been heightened by failed attacks in London on 21 July 2005, and through a series of high profile arrests in Forest Hill, in Birmingham in connection to a beheading plot, the arrests of NHS staff in connection to failed attacks in London and Glasgow, and the attempted arrest of Jean Charles de Menezes, which had tragic consequences.

In this illuminating and fascinating look at an often misunderstood world Steve Hewitt offers a balanced, measured, and informed examination of recent events and offers a historical and contemporary context to this new threat, and how we are dealing with it.