School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up Students writing current-events papers on these two front-page issues will undoubtedly find these books vital to their research. The first book introduces theories as to why people carry out terrorist attacks, how they are executed, and how the attacks might be prevented. The second book includes information on the effect of security concerns on privacy, American foreign policy, and the Iraq War. Each volume includes people and groups associated with the issue, a chronology of events, related organizations, and suggestions for further research. Chapters open and end with an array of quotes that argue for or against a particular argument or aspect of the issue, complete with full citation. Pull quotes from the text and illustrated maps, graphs, and charts assist readers in understanding the main content. However, the pages are a bit dense and crammed full of many quotes, figures, and other information, which may make the volumes daunting for reluctant readers. Still, they are balanced looks at two controversial issues.