Rating: 
Summary: Brief, powerful, well argued
Review: While the title of this book (Amazon's curious spelling aside) is "Al Qaeda and What It Means to Be Modern," the thesis of the book is focused more upon the latter subject than the former. Al Qaeda is simply used as a timely example of the diversity of modernity, a counterpoint to thinkers such as Francis Fukuyama who envision American-style capitalism as an "end of history." Exposing its roots in Christianity and positivism, Gray shows how faith in science (and the world market) as a world savior is unscientific faith. Particularly fascinating is Gray's idea that Al Qaeda represents the fusion of Voltaire's rationalism and de Maistre's reactionary ideas envisioned by Henri Saint-Simon.Gray's case is terse and to the point, and the final chapter - a cohesive summary of his arguments - is especially useful. However, the brevity necessary to pack his case into 120 pages prevents him from realizing the full scope of argumentation necessary to back some of his geo-political and economic assertions.
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