Review by Sabrina Pecorelli

The short:

A dramatic narrative about the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that started with the release of a Jordanian political prisoner who became the mastermind behind the militant Islamist terrorist organization that dominated the Middle East.

The long:

In 1999, the Jordanian government gave amnesty to a group of political prisoners, among which was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the future creator of Al Qaeda in Iraq and ideological mastermind behind the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 propelled al-Zarqawi to the front of a vast insurgency and enabled his cause by crediting him as the link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.  

The book narrates the creation of the Islamic State in three parts: first recounting the rise of al-Zarqawi, then analyzing the insurgency in Iraq, and finally detailing the growth of ISIS. In a vivid and detailed recount of these events, the author uses high level operational details as well as firsthand accounts from diplomats, spies, and heads of state to follow al-Zarqawi and ISIS’s journey through two American administrations.

The read or not to read:

Read. This book strategically narrated the birth of one of the most notorious terrorist organizations of the 21st century, while also intertwining US foreign policy, the Syrian civil war, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, and Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda. I personally learned so much about the relationships between all these people and events that I highly recommend it.