In the wake of the attacks on New York and Washington many people believe we have entered a new world, but in this thought-provoking and thorough examination of the history of terrorism the author argues that we should take comfort from the fact that we have been in this new world before - and survived. By drawing on the examples of history from the ancient, medieval and early modern worlds, Caleb Carr demonstrates how attempts to control civilian populations with the use of terror grew into a persistent problem in human history. Moving forward into more recent times he then demonstrates how and why such tactics have consistently failed their perpetrators - from the British scorched earth policy during the American War of Independence to terror at sea during World War I to the Japanese rape of China in World War II to the war in Vietnam and, ultimately, to the actions of Islamic extremists today.