This book takes a representative sampling of the most horrific terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in an effort to understand the context in which they occured and the lessons that can be learned from these events. -- From publisher.

Introduction : Understanding terrorism -- pt. 1. The nineteenth century -- "A sight which can never be forgotten" : the Mountain Meadows Massacre (1857) -- "The gentle, kindhearted bioterrorist" : Luke Pryor Blackburn and the Yellow Fever Plot (1864-1865) -- "We may suspect that race was the cause of the hostility" : the Colfax Massacre (1873) -- pt. 2. The modern era -- "The McNamaras have betrayed labor" : the Los Angeles Times bombing (1910) -- "An explosion just like the sound of a Gatling gun" : the Wall Street bombing (1920) -- "A President has to expect these things" : the Truman assassination attempt (1950) -- "The Klan is back on the market" : the Sixteenth Street bombing and the Civil Rights Movement (1963) -- "You don't need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows" : Weatherman and Counterculture Movement (1960s) -- pt. 3. Postmodern terror -- "A revolution against the industrial system" : the Unabomber (1970s-1990s) -- "How charged with punishments the Scroll" : the Oklahoma City bombing (1995) -- "There is a bomb in Centennial Park; you have thirty minutes" : Eric Robert Rudolph (late 1990s) -- "The system was blinking red" : the Radical Islamic Movement and the September 11 attacks -- pt. 4. Conclusion : The lessons of terrorism.