Tea Time with Terrorists

April 1, 2010
A persistent journalist travels through war-torn Sri Lanka, seeking greater meaning in a terrorism-driven conflict.

On 9/11, Meadows was stranded in Paris, without a flight home to the United States. He stayed in Europe for a year, met his future wife and felt profoundly affected by this new kind of warfare. He decided to learn more about terrorism and picked Sri Lanka as a case study. In such a small country with a relatively isolated conflict, Meadows thought that he might be able to gain access to the nucleus of terrorism. Since 1983, the island nation off the Southern coast of India has been embroiled in conflict between the Tamil ethnic minority in the north and the sovereign Sinhalese majority. The Tamil forces are led by an insurgent militant group, the Tamil Tigers. The author sought entry into this group, hoping to apply lessons learned from them to his study of global terrorism. He began in the south, acclimating himself to the culture in a sleepy beach town, and then moved north on his motorcycle, traveling through the bustling capital of Colombo, the northern stronghold of Kandy and finally to Jaffna, the northernmost Tamil community, destroyed by years of fighting. The author's persistence is impressive, as is his ability to gain access to some influential members of the Tigers, but his motives remain murky. Even though Meadows became invested in the country and its people, it's unclear whether he actually gained further insight into global terrorism, or was just using Sri Lanka as a convenient, exotic example.

A somewhat interesting travelogue by motorcycle, but the author's journey feels more like an abstract intellectual exercise than a genuine investigation into Sri Lanka's unique, tragic situation.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 15, 2010
Europe shaped this inveterate hitchhiker and motorcyclist's interest in the media's perceptions of terrorism, which drew him to the island nation of Sri Lanka, home to the Tamil Tigers, to study the terrorist ethology of militant nationalists. Although Meadows chats with a number of persons touched by or responsible for terrorist acts in Sri Lanka (one even gives him a media packet), his book features more historical prolog than in-country adventure. Some charming stories of drinking tea and exploring caves will draw in readers, but details of his bike trek don't start until page 160 or sounderstandable considering the complexity of the subject matter. The author also waxes poetic about toilets and weaves folksy stories about elephants into the narrative of his adventures. His insights into the political and military psyches of terrorist leaders and the link between poverty and terrorism are spellbinding. With black-and-white photographs, a time line, and a glossary. VERDICT This compelling but somewhat disjointed account is a worthwhile addition to larger international affairs collections.Elizabeth Connor, The Citadel, Military Coll. of South Carolina Lib., Charleston

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2010
How serendipitousa word with Sri Lankan originsthat an itinerant American hitchhiker and biker would write one of the better English-language accounts (so far) of the long, unspeakably violent civil war in Sri Lanka that ended last spring. It makes little difference that his travels occurred before wars end; the story still needs telling. Meadows stays close to the ground throughout his entire journey, mixing with civilians and military and, yes, terrorists on their own turf, all the while sharing copious notes on what his senses take in and providing historical context for the ages-old conflict between Tamil and Sinhalese. Unlike most journalists, who were barred from Sri Lankas far north, Meadows motorbiked from the relative safety of capital city Colombo up into the heart of that war zone. If he did not witness combat, his account of its effects on the local community is chilling. He does update readers on the wars end, warning, as have others, of future conflict if the underlying issues between the government and the Tamils are not resolved.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)