Synopses & Reviews
A New York Times bestseller!
This reference shows how to understand the history and tactics of the global terror group ISIS — and how to use that knowledge to defeat it.
ISIS — the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria — has taken on the mantle of being the single most dangerous terrorist threat to global security since al-Qaeda. In Defeating ISIS, internationally renowned intelligence veteran and counter-terrorism expert Malcolm Nance, author of The Plot to Hack America and the forthcoming Hacking ISIS, gives an insider’s view to explain the origins of this occult group, its violent propaganda, and how it spreads its ideology throughout the Middle East and to disaffected youth deep in the heart of the Western world.
Most importantly, Defeating ISIS gives an amply illustrated, step-by-step analysis of the street-level tactics the group has employed in assaults against fortified targets, in urban combat, and during terrorist operations such as those in Paris during the November 13 attacks. As much as ISIS is a threat to Western targets and regional stability in the Middle East, Nance describes not only its true danger as a heretical death cult that seeks to wrest control of Islam through young ideologues and redefine Islam as a fight to the death against all comers, but also how to defeat it. Defeating ISIS is the first highly detailed and fully illustrated look into the organization by one of the world’s foremost authorities in counter-terrorism.
Review
"A comprehensive, authoritative, and detailed compendium on the Islamic State (ISIS)." Perspectives on Terrorism
Review
"In his detailed and informed study Nance argues that, in effect, America's War on Terror created a new breed of vicious terrorists who wear the mask of Islam like actors in a Kabuki theatre while carrying out horrifically un-Islamic acts." Richard Engel, Chief Foreign Correspondent, NBC News, from his foreword
Review
"Malcolm Nance lays out a plan to take the war to ISIS while still denying the jihadists the mass battle they crave. Expect him to join the "American crusaders" featured in Dabiq soon!" Douglas Ollivant, Senior National Security Studies Fellow at the New America Foundation
Review
"I really think the [2016 Presidential] candidates ought to read this.... You should buy this book." Rachel Maddow, The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC
About the Author
Malcolm Nance is a globally recognized counterterrorism expert and Intelligence Community member who has been deployed to intelligence operations in the Balkans, Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa. He is the author of An End to al-Qaeda, The Terrorists of Iraq, and the Terrorist Recognition Handbook and appears regularly on MSNBC. Nance lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Malcolm Nance was named a Genius for the Third Annual MSNBC and 92Y "7 Days of Genius" Festival in March, 2016
Richard Engel is the award-winning chief foreign correspondent for NBC News and has been in the Middle East war zone for over twenty years. He is the author of And Then All Hell Broke Loose, War Journal, and A Fist in the Hornet's Nest.