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A review by aust1nz
Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick
4.0
So, I listened to this book while jogging, and I was a terribly inconsistent jogger. The week-long gaps between listening definitely didn't help things.
Regardless, Warrick's book outlines events for non-experts like myself that led to the ISIS movement in Iraq and Syria, through several different angles. He gives a brief overview of the politics of the region, and stops to focus on Jordan's kings and their political challenges. Warrick spends considerable time diving into the radicalization of former thug Abu Musab al-Zarquawi, and the series of events that led to his imprisonment and rise to leadership of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Also outlined: the decisions and mistakes of Americans that allowed ISIS to take route, from the US's initial entry to the region, to botched responses to the Al Qaeda threat and decisions not to intervene in Syria or re-engage in Iraq after military forces withdrew.
It's a must-listen for Americans who aren't especially familiar with the conflict but wish to learn more about what forces allowed ISIS to take hold. Unfortunately, the ISIS of 2015 is addressed only fleetingly, in the final chapters and epilogue.
Regardless, Warrick's book outlines events for non-experts like myself that led to the ISIS movement in Iraq and Syria, through several different angles. He gives a brief overview of the politics of the region, and stops to focus on Jordan's kings and their political challenges. Warrick spends considerable time diving into the radicalization of former thug Abu Musab al-Zarquawi, and the series of events that led to his imprisonment and rise to leadership of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Also outlined: the decisions and mistakes of Americans that allowed ISIS to take route, from the US's initial entry to the region, to botched responses to the Al Qaeda threat and decisions not to intervene in Syria or re-engage in Iraq after military forces withdrew.
It's a must-listen for Americans who aren't especially familiar with the conflict but wish to learn more about what forces allowed ISIS to take hold. Unfortunately, the ISIS of 2015 is addressed only fleetingly, in the final chapters and epilogue.