This book has a pretty well defined scope. It's pretty much Algeria to Iran, 1980 to 1995. It will go back deeper in history and does touch a bit beyond geographically, but anyway there is plenty to cover within its self-imposed scope. Of course an awful lot has happened since the book came out. Still, the perspective of the book is not invalidated in the least. I don't think Al Qaeda was mentioned at all. Osama bin Laden appears twice, if I counted right, though only once in the index. A careful reader would certainly have noted that name as someone to watch for future nastiness, from the mentions here.

Miller presents an awful lot of information but organizes it well enough and provides a narrative thread - it is almost all a record of her experiences and interviews as a New York Times reporter in the region. - that the reader never gets lost.

The remarkable thing really that one wouldn't predict from the book - the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, that flows quite naturally out of the book. But look at how Europe and the USA have gotten ever deeper into ultra right wing racism etc. We are really following in the footsteps of militant Islam. And probably for pretty much the same reasons - people are desperate and confused. Cultivating hate is an easy way to rally such people and build power on them as a base. The problem of the Middle East is now the problem of the West. Ouch. ( )

Judith Millerwas a New York Times reporter covering the Middle East for several years. This book chronicles her visit to that region in the mid-1990s. A the book's name implies, Miller found that the Islamist movements in the countries cover are extremely varied. Miller does a good job describing the situation in each country, as of the mid-90s, from a fairly stable Jordan to the ever odd Gaddafi of Libya. The downside of the book is the fact that it is somewhat dated, although it provides a good foundation for that part of the world. ( )

A good overview filled with specific examples of the various types of Islamic fundamentalism present in the Middle East. ( )

Miller, Judith, 1948- Travel Middle East.