Welcome to Litsy!

Incredible and insightful book into the rise of ISIS and especially their leader Zarqawi. Warrick provides in-depth analysis of the foundation for the emergence of fundamentalist Islamist groups in the Middle East. Worth the read!

Ok so yesterday's post would have worked better for #soldiers, but they're bound to be mentioned in this book about the Iraq war.

#200pnpcovers @CrowCAH @mabell

I keep forgetting I have Litsy, despite the icon being right by Goodreads on my phone. #whoops

I've been trying to educate myself on the countries and world events my conservative upbringing skewed or neglected.

This book is good, but I wish I had a physical copy with maps. It's hard for me to track so many foreign names in audio only.

You know when Osama Bin Laden thinks you are too batshit to be in his inner circle, that's saying something. Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was in the roughest prison ever and he was released by accident to wreck his own personal version of letting loose the dogs of war...He's dead now but ISIS still operates on a level of crazy only they understand. They are a danger to us all.

Since i was over Missing, Presumed, I went exploring the many piles of unread books around my apartment. Sometimes i feel like I have book tourettes, i genre leap so much. #booklash Anyhow, I bought this book to give to a person who didnt know the roots of ISIS. After thinking about it, i decided to keep it. Im glad i did. The info would have been wasted on a mind so firmly shut.

Great book. Informative and reads like a spy novel. What's next?🤷‍♀️

PMs of the world, good news: your skills are transferable and there's a hot new opportunity. Must hate the West. No benefits - unless fictional virgins in the fictional afterlife count. Spoiler: they don't.

Oh shit y'all no one show ISIS the 🍆 and 🍑 emoji. Why do all religious fundamentalists have the maturity levels of six year-old boys? 🤔

2017, Book 19 "Just days before, an American warship had shelled a Syrian troop position in the hills above Beirut. Yet, when Ford found himself on a bus filled with Syrian soldiers, he was treated with a graciousness that still stuck with him decades later. In a more serious moment, one of the officers in the group pulled Ford aside to make a request.
"When you get back to America," the officer said, "tell them we are not barbar-"

barbarians."

One would expect that a book on ISIS will be anything but remotely interesting. But man... Black Flags is. some. freaking. sorcery. Been gripped since chapter 1.

Received The Raaq Diaries today. It's Jong my current read of Black Flags.

Well-written, engaging, and solidly researched look at the rise of ISIS and one of its main figures. The approach and style are journalistic rather than academic, but for me (who really wants to know more and be better informed, but also didn't know where to start) this is a great jumping off point. (Plus, I've finished a lot of Christmas present crochet while listening!)

I had been planning on reading this long before the election, but post-election I feel even more committed to being educated about the historical moment we're living in. I can't say that I'm "looking forward" to reading this book, but so far the prose is precise and the narrative strong and grounded. This feels like a well-researched, well-written account. (Pictured: coffee and reading log, essentials for starting a new audiobook!)

Read on audio so pic is pretty random.
A broad look at the beginnings of ISIS. In that sense, it's easy to read, but it also left me feeling like so much context was missing. I definitely learned a lot and got a good sense of the many individuals involved. Warrick's juxtaposition of Bin Laden and Zarqawi was what I found to be the most interesting take away. The whole idea that a power vacuum gives rise to many types of extremism is fascinating.

Only halfway through and this is already an outstanding companion for Patrick Cockburn's examination of the beginning of ISIS.

Excellent primer on the origins of ISIS/ISIL. I'm a Frontline junkie so this was right up my alley. I guess it was worthy of its Pulitzer. Ended on a more upbeat note (relatively speaking), but it seems that hasn't played out since the book was published, sadly.

Equally informative and haunting.