Isis: the State of Terror

Publisher Marketing: Drawing on their unusual access to intelligence sources, law enforcement, and groundbreaking research, two of America s leading experts on violent extremism and terrorism explain the genesis, evolution, and implications of today s most barbaric jihadist army, Islamic State and how we can fight it. Though terrorist groups are a fixture of contemporary politics and warfare, the world has never witnessed the degree of sheer brutality demonstrated by the group know as ISIS the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Its sadistic disregard for human life, sophisticated use of social media, acquisition of territory, and ability to attract foreign fighters many from modern Western democracies is unprecedented. Jessica Stern and J. M. Berger analyze the tools ISIS uses both to frighten innocent citizens and lure new soldiers including the ghoulish pornography of their pro-jihadi videos, the seductive appeal of jihadic chic, and its startlingly effective social media expertise. While this jihadi army poses a significant threat, our response must be carefully calibrated; sending troops onto the battlefield could become the ideal recruiting tool, increasing ISIS ranks."ISIS: The State of Terror "offers practical ideas on potential government responses, emphasizing that we must alter our present conceptions of terrorism and terrorists and react to the rapidly changing jihadi landscape, both online and off, as quickly as the terrorists do. As it lays out what our next move as a country, as a government, as the world should be, it offers a vital assessment of the future of counterterrorism and countering violent extremism." Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 10/15/2014 pg. 67 (EAN 9780062395542, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 01/01/0001 (EAN 9780062395542, Hardcover) New York Times Book Review 04/05/2015 pg. 11 (EAN 9780062395542, Hardcover) Library Journal 04/15/2015 pg. 104 (EAN 9780062395542, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Stern, Jessica Jessica Stern is a lecturer on terrorism at Harvard University and a fellow at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard's School of Public Health. She is a member of the Hoover Institution Task Force on National Security and Law, and served on the Clinton administration's National Security Council staff. She is the author of Denial: A Memoir of Terror; Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill (a New York Times Notable Book of the Year); and The Ultimate Terrorists. Contributor Bio:  Berger, J M J. M. Berger is a nonresident fellow with the Brookings Institution and the author of Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, a critically acclaimed history of the American jihadist movement. He is a regular contributor to Foreign Policy magazine, and his website, Intelwire.com, has published thousands of declassified documents on the September 11 attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing. Contributor Bio:  Porter, Ray Ray Porter is an AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator and fifteen-year veteran of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has appeared in numerous films and television shows, including Almost Famous, ER, and Frasier.