"The book explores the global jihad movement and its emergence in the latter half of the twentieth century. The book investigates the nature and extent of this threat; traces its religious and ideological roots; relevant history; the goals of the movement; who is fighting jihad; how they end up in the movement; how it is being funded and sponsored; and what nations, particularly the United States, one of the movement's primary targets, are doing to counter the threat. The book, intended for the general public, assumes that the reader has only a minimal background of this compelling contemporary topic. While the authors tried to avoid using academic jargon, they have tried to source the book so that it could be used in political science, international relations, and defense and security studies courses."--Publisher's website.