The shock of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings was soon followed by a revelation initially disturbing and mystifying: two apparently unremarkable brothers—one a teenager, the other a young adult; both well-liked immigrants and longtime U.S. residents—had allegedly triggered the bombs. Why were these two seemingly “normal” individuals driven to commit such acts of coldblooded violence? This book examines not only the lives, motivations, and key influences of these infamous brothers, but those of other young, unexpected terrorists worldwide, comparing factors that contributed to their decisions to become terrorists and identifying methods used to recruit them into that deadly fold.

The chapters teach readers warning signs that youths are being drawn in to terrorism and serve to spur meaningful conversations among citizens, politicians, and policymakers about what we can do to prevent such recruitment of youths and young adults, including other U.S. residents who might consider emulating the Tsarnaev brothers. The book also addresses larger, related questions, such as whether humans are naturally violent, who benefits when young individuals engage in terrorism, and why minors are recruited to become killers.

Features

• Identifies the various factors and influences that drove two young men who were described by many who knew them to be "nice, normal people" to commit premeditated acts of violence
• Addresses recent events in other countries with similarly aged and seemingly unthreatening young adults and teens as perpetrators of attacks
• Provides an appendix containing sources for further research, including books, news articles, links to journal articles, and websites of research organizations
• Includes a foreword by Michael Lamport Commons, PhD, Harvard Medical School