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A review by whatmattersmost
American Radical: Inside the World of an Undercover Muslim FBI Agent by Tamer Elnoury
5.0
I was introduced to the concept of this novel in a list of books that are being adapted for TV. Allow me to pause here and say that, besides reading, TV is my other guilty pleasure. But not just any TV, I love anything that is well-written, a novel concept, limited series, produced by the BBC or has a high nerd factor.**footnote I have a VERY strict policy of always reading the book first when I know about it ahead of time.
How many of us have really thought about how terrorist plots are identified and eliminated? I certainly hadn’t given it much thought but, when I did, I was guilty of the ‘Hollywood’ idea of men in suits at the FBI. This book shows the gritty reality of the undercover agents who infiltrate these groups, gain their trust and work to bring them down before attacks happen.
One of the things that struck me was how hard this mission must have been for Elnoury. To have to sit with these people who are twisting his peaceful religion into something extreme and violent and against everything you cherish would be excruciating. How would I be able to handle it if I were tasked with joining a group in which I had to renounce what I know to be true about Christianity in order to serve the greater good? The thought of it makes my stomach churn. This is what the loyal and amazing agents who join the FBI counter-terrorism group are tasked with doing, day in and day out for the safety of all Americans.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys spy novels or fiction about espionage. It has all of those elements but in a true story. I can’t wait to see how this develops into a series because there is plenty of drama and captivating characters involved. You will have a hard time believing that it is reality.
How many of us have really thought about how terrorist plots are identified and eliminated? I certainly hadn’t given it much thought but, when I did, I was guilty of the ‘Hollywood’ idea of men in suits at the FBI. This book shows the gritty reality of the undercover agents who infiltrate these groups, gain their trust and work to bring them down before attacks happen.
One of the things that struck me was how hard this mission must have been for Elnoury. To have to sit with these people who are twisting his peaceful religion into something extreme and violent and against everything you cherish would be excruciating. How would I be able to handle it if I were tasked with joining a group in which I had to renounce what I know to be true about Christianity in order to serve the greater good? The thought of it makes my stomach churn. This is what the loyal and amazing agents who join the FBI counter-terrorism group are tasked with doing, day in and day out for the safety of all Americans.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys spy novels or fiction about espionage. It has all of those elements but in a true story. I can’t wait to see how this develops into a series because there is plenty of drama and captivating characters involved. You will have a hard time believing that it is reality.