I have mixed feelings about this book. The title led me to believe it would be about ISIS - and, really, it only is in a peripheral way. It's not a history or a documentation of ISIS exactly - it's far more a journalist's memoir of spending time with the forces who fight ISIS. It did give a solid perspective of that much, I must admit, but it is definitely not what I was expecting. After finishing, I know much more about the damage ISIS has done to civilians and the stories of the men who fight them, but little more about ISIS than I did when I started.

THANKS TO NET GALLEY for the ARC

DO NOT READ THIS BOOK, if you want to live under the delusion that man is basically good and it doesn't matter what you believe and we can all just get along. Fantastic first person accounts of all sides and stripes in a battle that is not over and IS NOT GONE.

Best nonfiction for me in a LONG TIME! Bravo!!!

P.S. All you vets, you will find a lot of memories god and bad in these pages

This seamless account vividly portrays the apocalyptic environment experienced in Iraq and Syria under the regime of ISIS. With this firsthand report, the reader is taken on an unforgettable journey witnessing the conflict in Raqqa, the Battle for Mosul, and the Syrian refugee crisis. From the underground traders to the extortion to the genocide to the battles, this is an important history for Westerners to comprehend.

I specifically wanted to note the presentation of people that the author encounters in this book. This includes but is not limited to smugglers, ISIS leaders and members, Iraq Counter-Terrorism Force soldiers, ISOF, Kurdish soldiers, looters, Assad supporters, bomb makers, passport counterfeit artists, etc.… Because of his relationships with each person, as a reader you get to know each one. They became “real” rather than obscure names who are easy to forget. It was distressing when one would die because you would become attached to them, you felt like you knew them.

Throughout the entire book, I felt like a fly on the wall watching everything play out. Overall, it was an electrifying and stimulating account. Written as a narrative, he made it easy for the average laymen to comprehend. The chapters are ordered sequentially by month and year which made his narrative easy to follow. Again, this is great nonfiction read for the average reader.

Highly recommend. I learned a lot and will be looking for more from this author. Nonfiction solid 5 stars. Now it only leaves us with the question, will this happen again?
Many thanks to Public Affairs, Mike Giglio, and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.