With the knowledge of a library's worth of theology and literature in his back pocket, leading literary critic Eagleton (After Theory
) sets out to trace the "genealogy" of terrorism by describing its role in societies throughout history. Composed of six brief, brilliant, dense chapters, the book draws on a vast assortment of myths, fictions and religious texts, contending that the critic can begin to comprehend the mind of the terrorist through an examination of Dionysus or Lear or Faust. Like the work of Umberto Eco, the book is learned, ironic and complex enough for numerous rereadings, particularly if the reader wants to form the kind of counterarguments the book implicitly demands. Indeed, its provocative circumspection may leave both liberals and conservatives sputtering. Though too dense and allusive for a general audience, Eagleton's "metaphysical" and aesthetic approach to the crisis of terror provides the kind of philosophical context to current events that will satisfy fans of Derrida, Lacan and Eagleton himself. (Nov.)
