From the Publisher
Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger’s new book, “ISIS,” should be required reading for every politician and policymaker…Their smart, granular analysis is a bracing antidote to both facile dismissals and wild exaggerations….Stern and Berger offer a nuanced and readable account of the ideological and organizational origins of the group.” — Washington Post
“By far the most important contribution yet to our understanding of an organization that remains cloaked in mystery and misunderstanding . . . A brisk, readable, and eye-opening account of ISIS’s past, present, and future. This is a book every American should read.” — Reza Aslan, author of No God but god and Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
“A timely and urgent book that is essential reading for analysts and policy makers alike. In what is already a cornerstone contribution, Stern and Berger offer the kind of cold-blood analysis so desperately needed on the poorly understood phenomenon that is the so-called Islamic state.” — John Horgan, author of The Psychology of Terrorism
“The first serious book to analyze the rise of ISIS . . . Stern and Berger write clearly and persuasively and marshal impressive primary research from ISIS’s prodigious propaganda to help explain how ISIS became the dominant jihadi group today. It’s a terrific and important read.” — Peter Bergen, author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad
“Stern and Berger pull back the curtain to expose facts and myths about the violent Salafi apocalyptic cult calling itself the Islamic State. A must-read.” — Mike Walker, former undersecretary and acting secretary of the United States Army
“ISIS emerged in territory occupied by American soldiers, governed by dictatorial regimes, and fought over by sectarian extremists. Stern and Berger provide context for understanding ISIS’s past and considering how its media model may affect future extremist movements.” — Kecia Ali, associate professor religion, Boston University
“A penetrating analysis . . . The book provides important context for an evolving organization and proto-state that is attempting to rewrite the jihadi playbook.” — Aaron Zelin, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
“ISIS: The State of Terror is a timely and important history of a movement that now defines the 21st century.” — Sam Kiley, Evening Standard (London)
“This book should be required reading for every politician and policymaker.” — Washington Post
Washington Post
Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger’s new book, “ISIS,” should be required reading for every politician and policymaker…Their smart, granular analysis is a bracing antidote to both facile dismissals and wild exaggerations….Stern and Berger offer a nuanced and readable account of the ideological and organizational origins of the group.
Sam Kiley
ISIS: The State of Terror is a timely and important history of a movement that now defines the 21st century.
Aaron Zelin
A penetrating analysis . . . The book provides important context for an evolving organization and proto-state that is attempting to rewrite the jihadi playbook.
John Horgan
A timely and urgent book that is essential reading for analysts and policy makers alike. In what is already a cornerstone contribution, Stern and Berger offer the kind of cold-blood analysis so desperately needed on the poorly understood phenomenon that is the so-called Islamic state.
Kecia Ali
ISIS emerged in territory occupied by American soldiers, governed by dictatorial regimes, and fought over by sectarian extremists. Stern and Berger provide context for understanding ISIS’s past and considering how its media model may affect future extremist movements.
Mike Walker
Stern and Berger pull back the curtain to expose facts and myths about the violent Salafi apocalyptic cult calling itself the Islamic State. A must-read.
Reza Aslan
By far the most important contribution yet to our understanding of an organization that remains cloaked in mystery and misunderstanding . . . A brisk, readable, and eye-opening account of ISIS’s past, present, and future. This is a book every American should read.
Peter Bergen
The first serious book to analyze the rise of ISIS . . . Stern and Berger write clearly and persuasively and marshal impressive primary research from ISIS’s prodigious propaganda to help explain how ISIS became the dominant jihadi group today. It’s a terrific and important read.
Washington Post
This book should be required reading for every politician and policymaker.
Boston Globe
One of the most interesting books you?ll ever read on terrorism...an incredibly intriguing widow into the minds of those who use God to justify violence against others.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Stern’s important book, devoid of sentimentality or sensationalism, brings the reader face-to-face with the realities of global terror and the danger it presents to our way of life. This is essential reading.
Michael Ignatieff
Praise for Jessica Stern’s Terror in the Name of God:“No scholar has done more than Jessica Stern to make the phenomenon of terrorism comprehensible.
Library Journal
04/15/2015
The so-called Islamic State, better known in the West as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), catapulted itself to Western attention in the summer of 2014 by posting gruesome videos of beheadings on social media and capturing cities in Iraq and Syria. As the authors of this highly informative and timely tome demonstrate, however, the story of ISIS did not begin in 2014. Stern (public policy, Harvard Univ.; Terror in the Name of God) and Berger (nonresident fellow, Brookings Institution; Jihad Joe) are among the foremost experts on violent extremism, and in this book they do an excellent job of examining the ideological and sociopolitical roots of a terrorist movement that is still shrouded in mystery to much of the Western world. Relying on a variety of references, including information derived from jihadist online sources and social media, they provide an in-depth account of the genesis and development of ISIS and analyze its rise and metamorphosis in the context of the post-Iraq War era in the region. VERDICT Essential reading for American policymakers, journalists, and the public at large. [See Prepub Alert, 9/22/14.]—Nader Entessar, Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile
Kirkus Reviews
2015-03-20
A detailed study of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria from its rise out of al-Qaida to its intended fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecies. Stern (Terrorism Studies/Harvard Univ.; Denial: A Memoir of Terror, 2010, etc.) and Foreign Policy contributor Berger (Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, 2011, etc.) begin their treatise on ISIS with the same iconic image most Westerners associate with the group: the beheading of a civilian, kneeling on the ground in an orange jumpsuit. From there, the authors track not only the origins of the terrorist organization, but their growth, media campaigns, mindset, and goals, as well as the far-reaching ramifications of the group's tactics. The authors separate these aspects of ISIS into different chapters, a structure that is helpful but also causes some repetition. Stern and Berger often reference specific anecdotes or historical points multiple times, with included notes to see another chapter for more information. Chapters on social media contain important analysis and insightful points about ISIS and terrorist organizations in general, but they include so much detail about the technology that they will likely exasperate tech-savvy readers. Still, Stern and Berger provide a wealth of useful information, from a clarification of how the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq helped to create the perfect ISIS breeding ground to a demonstration of the way government and corporate policies influence the fight against the organization. In an appendix, the authors deliver a brief, easy-to-digest history of Islam and its practices (and abuses), ensuring that readers are at least somewhat familiar with the basic tenets, splits, and specific groups most prone to jihad. They also include a glossary and timeline, beginning with the declaration of war against Iraq in March 2003. Despite being dense reading, this book offers much to learn about ISIS and an expanded understanding of current events.
