Allah's Bomb: The Islamic Quest for Nuclear Weapons

by Al J. Venter

According to various intelligence agencies around the world, there are thirty-three international states or entities that have either started the process of building nuclear devices or have expressed an interest in building them. Many, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and various former Soviet Republics, have been linked to extreme Islamic militant groups. "Allah's Bomb" is a thoroughly researched and accessible volume that examines the progress of these countries towards full nuclear capability, and the repercussions the situation may have on global society. This timely and important volume will become essential reading for anyone with an interest in the true state of global affairs.

312 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2007

About the author

Albertus Johannes Venter is a South African journalist and historian who is arguably the world's foremost expert on the modern military history of Africa. He has been a war correspondent/military affairs reporter for many publications, notably serving as African and Middle East correspondent for Jane's International Defence Review. He has also worked as a documentary filmmaker, and has authored more than forty books.

He has reported on a number of Africa’s bloodiest wars, starting with the Nigerian Civil War in 1965, where he spent time covering the conflict with colleague Frederick Forsyth, who was working in Biafra for the BBC at the time.

In the 1980’s, Al J Venter also reported in Uganda while under the reign of Idi Amin. The most notable consequence of this assignment was an hour-long documentary titled Africa’s Killing Fields, ultimately broadcast nationwide in the United States by Public Broadcasting Service.

In-between, he cumulatively spent several years reporting on events in the Middle East, fluctuating between Israel and a beleaguered Lebanon torn by factional Islamic/Christian violence. He was with the Israeli invasion force when they entered Beirut in 1982. From there he covered hostilities in Rhodesia, the Sudan, Angola, the South African Border War, the Congo as well as Portuguese Guinea, which resulted in a book on that colonial struggle published by the Munger Africana Library of the California Institute of Technology.

In 1985 he made a one-hour documentary that commemorated the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

He also spent time in Somalia with the US Army helicopter air wing in the early 1990s, three military assignments with the mercenary group Executive Outcomes (Angola and Sierra Leone) and a Joint-STAR mission with the United States Air Force over Kosovo.

More recently, Al Venter was active in Sierra Leone with South African mercenary pilot Neall Ellis flying combat in a Russian helicopter gunship (that leaked when it rained.) That experience formed the basis of the book on mercenaries published recently and titled War Dog: Fighting Other People's Wars.

He has been twice wounded in combat, once by a Soviet anti-tank mine in Angola, an event that left him partially deaf.

Al Venter originally qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers at the Baltic Exchange in London.

(from wikipedia)

Reviews

[Michael Griswold · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't doubt that Islamic terrorists would love to acquire nuclear weapons and use them against any number of targets or that it would be easier than it ever should be to get many of the materials to build the weapon, but the presentation presented in Allah's Bomb : The Islamic Quest for Nuclear Weapons though greatly informative in parts like where it talks about the South African nuclear weapons program and how Israel has acquired its' largely unacknowledged though assumed weapons lacks clarity and coherence at points. Particularly early in the book, the main text is often separated by these large gray boxes that explain various parts and principles of nuclear weapons. Despite the high information value, these boxes are misplaced because by the time I was done reading through the often technical boxes, virtually forgotten what was in the main text on the page before. The text is dense, you will not read this in one day and it may take two or three readings to fully grasp the authors points. Lastly, the glossary of common nuclear terms is in the back of the book...this would've been better suited to go in the front because its' bothersome to keep flipping back to look up this acronym or that word. Intresting information, but I can't help but wonder how many people put the book down early because of the organization.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

One can tell when a book is padded by the number of time the same facts are repeated from chapter to chapter to chapter. There are some interesting things in this book but overall it suffers from excessive padding.

[Jawad Farooq · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Info about RDD nd other nuclear weapons were intresting....the writer is too biased nd pro west.....World shouldnt forget that it was America which used a nuclear weapon nd killed millions of innocent people not some islamic country....If they can have it the hell why not us.

[Saqib · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very scary book,but a necessary read as well.
The threat of nuclear terrorism is imminent.Indeed,we have come very close to a nuclear catastrophe over the last two decades.It is only inevitable that somebody will use a dirty bomb or a nuke,putting thousands if not millions of lives in jeopardy

[Vikram · Rating 4 out of 5]

frightening