Synopses & Reviews
A revelatory look inside the world's most dangerous terrorist group.Initially dismissed by US President Barack Obama, along with other fledgling terrorist groups, as a “jayvee squad” compared to al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has shocked the world by conquering massive territories in both countries and promising to create a vast new Muslim caliphate that observes the strict dictates of Sharia law.
In ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror, American journalist Michael Weiss and Syrian analyst Hassan Hassan explain how these violent extremists evolved from a nearly defeated Iraqi insurgent group into a jihadi army of international volunteers who behead Western hostages in slickly produced videos and have conquered territory equal to the size of Great Britain. Beginning with the early days of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of ISIS’s first incarnation as “al-Qaeda in Iraq,” Weiss and Hassan explain who the key players are—from their elusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to the former Saddam Baathists in their ranks—where they come from, how the movement has attracted both local and global support, and where their financing comes from.
Political and military maneuvering by the United States, Iraq, Iran, and Syria have all fueled ISIS’s astonishing and explosive expansion. Drawing on original interviews with former US military officials and current ISIS fighters, the authors also reveal the internecine struggles within the movement itself, as well as ISIS’s bloody hatred of Shiite Muslims, which is generating another sectarian war in the region. Just like the one the US thought it had stopped in 2011 in Iraq. Past is prologue and America’s legacy in the Middle East is sowing a new generation of terror.
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"[A] superb piece of journalism, unsparing in its analysis of the folly of the Obama administration."
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"The first book to fully explain what ISIS is seeking and why they are such a threat to the world. An absolute must-read for anyone who wants to understand the risk we all face from radical Islam."
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"A . . . detailed and nuanced story."
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"Detailed and readable"
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"Weiss and Hassan have written the most serious book-length study of the Islamic State so far."
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Praise for previous work: “Filled with the dramatic moments, ironies, and political intrigues that color the Taliban's rise. . . . Griffin writes engagingly.”
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“Michael Griffin has reached a better understanding of the Taliban in his book than I have come across anywhere else.”
Synopsis
A revelatory look inside the world's most dangerous terrorist group.
With brutal attacks across the world Paris, Beirut, Egypt, Turkey the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has proved itself the greatest threat today. They have conquered massive territories in Syria and Iraq in a bid to create a new Muslim caliphate under the strict dictates of Sharia law.
In ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror, American journalist Michael Weiss and Syrian analyst Hassan Hassan explain how these violent extremists evolved from a nearly defeated Iraqi insurgent group into a jihadi army of international volunteers who, with slickly produced murder videos, are spreading violence and mayhem across the globe. Beginning with the early days of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of ISIS s first incarnation, Weiss and Hassan explain who the key players are from their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to the former Saddam Baathists in their ranks where they come from, how they have attracted both local and global support, and how they operate from their social media strategy to their illicit oil revenues.
Political and military maneuvering by the United States, Iraq, Iran, and Syria have fueled ISIS s explosive expansion. Drawing on original interviews with former US military officials and current ISIS fighters, the authors also reveal the internecine struggles within the movement itself, as well as ISIS s bloody hatred of Shiite Muslims, which is generating another sectarian war in the region. A new generation of terror has dawned in the world and to understand how to stop it, we must understand who they are."
Synopsis
ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror is the first book to delve deep into the machinery of a terrorist organization that has shocked and transfixed the world.How did a group of religious fanatics, clad in black pajamas and armed to the teeth, manage to carve out a violent, fundamentalist “Islamic state” in wide swaths of Syria and Iraq? How did the widely celebrated revolution against Syrian dictator Bashar Assad descend into a movement led by a psychopathically violent band of jihadists dedicated to the destruction of America? And just who are these brutal Islamic militants—many speaking unaccented English and holding European passports—beheading Western hostages in slickly produced videos?
In ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror, Syrian journalist Hassan Hassan and American analyst Michael Weiss explain how the terrorists of ISIS evolved from a nearly defeated insurgent group into a jihadi army—armed with American military hardware and the capability to administer a functioning state. Weiss and Hassan, who have both been on the frontlines of the Syrian revolution, have interviewed dozens of experts, American military and intelligence officials, and ISIS fighters to paint the first comprehensive picture of the rise and expansion of America’s most formidable terrorist enemy. ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror is destined to become the standard text on a terror group that, unfortunately, shows no signs of going away.
Synopsis
When the attacks of September 11 sent Westerners in search of reliable information about Al Qaida, Michael Griffin was there: his book
Reaping the Whirlwind quickly became the go-to resource for the media, political figures, and ordinary citizens alike.
Now, as Islamic State (also known as ISIS) is moving to take over broad swathes of territory throughout the Middle East, Griffin is back once again, ready to offer nuanced insight, analysis, history, and context for readers looking to understand this new and frightening threat.
An experienced journalist, Griffin tells the story of the development of the Islamic State in his usual fast-paced, narrative driven style, helping us to understand the long roots of the Islamic State in Iraq, their quiet involvement in the Arab Spring, and their rapid rise amid the chaos generated by the Syrian war. He clearly and carefully presents the interlocking web of influence, arms, and money from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and Iraq that have fuelled the rise of Islamic State, and highlights the importance of the uprising against Assad in Syria and the West’s relative inability to influence or support it. Ultimately, Griffin offers a portrait of a complicated, multivalent movement, one with roots in numerous real or perceived grievances and historical mistakes and one with the potential to foment unrest and violence throughout the Middle East for some time to come.
About the Author
Michael Weiss is a columnist for
Foreign Policy,
The Daily Beast, and
NOW Lebanon. He is also a fellow at the Institute of Modern Russia where he is the editor-in-chief of
The Interpreter, an online translation journal.
Hassan Hassan is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa Programme, and a columnist for The National newspaper. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy, and The New York Times.