In this work that provides an explanation for both the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and new forms of Western colonialism, Tariq Ali argues that what we have experienced since September 11 is the return of history in an horrific form.

The aerial attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre, a global spectacle of unprecedented dimensions, generated an enormous volume of commentary. In this book, the editor of the New Left Review challenges the assumptions promulgated by the USA, arguing that what we have witnessed is the return of history in a horrific form.