Terrorism. It is a tragically informing reality of our times. As poet W. H. Auden characterized a different era “The Age of Anxiety,” so ours is “The Age of Terrorism.” Urban-transit systems post signs “if you see something, say something.” The warning appears in several languages. Yet, paradoxically, there is as yet no known profile of a terrorist. This reassuring book is directed at two audiences: the hypervigilant public that ever anticipates the next random terrorist incident and professionals toward whom the public turns for support following such events. The message, from an expert on life-stress and violence, is sobering: Once the immediate danger has passed, it is necessary to make our understandable anxiety more tolerable so that we are not overcome by our fears of such terrorist events. This book shows how.
