Dr. Braswell's book tries to take up some serious issues. However, his question and answer style does little to help the reader gain an overall understanding of Islam and Muslims. In some cases he seriosly misrepresents what the great majority of Muslims believe. While chapter 2 presents an irenic mainstream interpretation of jihad, he follows this in chapter 3 by saying things like, "Militant jihad is based on the Qur'an and the example of the prophet and the Islamic tradition." This kind of inconsistency runs through the entire book, ultimately catering to the reader's fears. At a theological level the book is equally problematic. Braswell's contention that Allah was originally one of four gods worshipped by pre-Islamic Arabs is contentious to say the least. His presentation of Christian understandings of God are simplistic to the point of being simple minded. And the comparison he draws is misleading, failing entirely to consider the whole semetic tradition of reflection on God's nature - a tradition within which Jesus taught. His efforts to extrapolate lessons for Christian Muslim relations from his relatively short sojourn in pre-Revolutionary Iran seem misplaced - and the pictures from that period almost bizaarly antiquated. It is hard to imagine, for example, a Muslim bride and groom in completely western dress anywhere in the Islamic world today. When Braswell writes, "We outsiders know little of the religions, cultures, and politics of Islam . . "(p.138) he is describing not only himself, but his readers after they have completed the book. There are far better books on Islam and America available to readers of any level.