Book description
Talking to the Enemy is an intellectually and personally courageous
exploration of one of the most contentious issues of modern times. Scott
Atran has spent years talking to terrorists - from Gaza and Afghanistan,
to Indonesia and Europe - in order to help us understand and mitigate
the rise of religious violence. Here he argues persuasively that we need
to consider terrorists' close relationships, with family and friends, as
much as the causes they espouse, and delivers a fascinating journey into
the mindsets of radicalised people in the twenty-first century. Along
the way, he also provides deep insights into the history of all
religions, and into their evolutionary origins. He shows us, above all,
how we have come to be human. More than any other book, Talking to the
Enemy invites us to empathise; it is itself the best possible example of
how to do it. Scott Atran is a director of research in anthropology at
the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, France. He is also
a research associate and visiting professor in psychology and public
policy at the University of Michigan, a Presidential Scholar in
Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and cofounder of
ARTIS Research and Risk Modeling.
