Notwithstanding the recent avalanche of popular writing on Islam, most Americans still know very little about this misunderstood faith and its 1.2 billion adherents worldwide. In American popular culture today, terrorism and Islam have become synonymous. In this engaging, evenhanded, and highly readable book, one of America's foremost experts on contemporary Islam seeks to correct popular misconceptions about this faith. A professor of religion and international affairs and director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, Esposito (editor, The Oxford Illustrated History of Islam) does an admirable job of explaining sociopolitical and cultural developments in the Muslim world in a fashion that is easily accessible to nonspecialist readers. Issues such as the rise of militant Islam and its key personalities, including Sayyid Qutb and Osama bin Laden, are fully explained. This is essential reading for every concerned citizen and all those who wish to gain a deeper understanding of contemporary Islam and its internal struggles. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries