TERRORISM FOR SELF-GLORIFICATION The Herostratos Syndrome

Hardback. In this study of the roots of terrorism, the author deftly assesses the phenomenon of violent crime motivated by a craving for notoriety or self-glorification. He traces this particular brand of terrorism back to 356 BCE with the destruction of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus by arsonist Herostratos. The author then examines similar crimes through history to the present time, detailing many examples of what he calls the "Herostratos Syndrome," such as the attempted explosion of the Greenwich Observatory in 1894, the Taliban's destruction of the giant Buddhas in Afghanistan, the assassination of John Lennon, the Unabomber strikes, and the attacks on the World Trade Centre buildings. The study of terrorism requires interdisciplinary inquiry. Proving that terrorism cannot be the exclusive focus of a single field of scholarship, the author presents this complex subject using sources based in religion, philosophy, history, Greek mythology, and world literature, including the works of Chaucer, Cervantes, Mark Twain, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Illus., Appendix, Notes and Index. 190pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. in F. dw.