What Does Al Qaeda Want?: Unedited Communiques

While it lacks the latest bin Laden tape advising U.S. citizens how to avoid ""another Manhattan,"" this compendium of excerpted translations covers broadcasts by the Al-Qaeda leader and by deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, as well as press releases. It begins with the declaration of Jihad in August of 1996 (""It is a duty now upon every tribe in the Arab peninsula to fight...""), which is the longest of the 13 documents here. Short commentaries by Marlin, a Ph.D. candidate in borderlands studies at the University of Houston, establish a cursory historical and political context for each piece. The selection criteria are not given, and feel arbitrary and incoherent. Most of the translations are stiff and sourced to the Web, rather than to the originals; the lack of a single voice adds to the sense of jumble.