I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad

Author: Mekhennet, Souad

Features:

• HENRY HOLT

Number Of Pages: 368

Details:

“I was told to come alone. I was not to carry any identification, and would have to leave my cell phone, audio recorder, watch, and purse at my hotel. . . .”For her whole life, Souad Mekhennet, a reporter for The Washington Post who was born and educated in Germany, has had to balance the two sides of her upbringing – Muslim and Western. She has also sought to provide a mediating voice between these cultures, which too often misunderstand each other.In this compelling and evocative memoir, we accompany Mekhennet as she journeys behind the lines of jihad, starting in the German neighborhoods where the 9/11 plotters were radicalized and the Iraqi neighborhoods where Sunnis and Shia turned against one another, and culminating on the Turkish/Syrian border region where ISIS is a daily presence. In her travels across the Middle East and North Africa, she documents her chilling run-ins with various intelligence services and shows why the Arab Spring never lived up to its promise. She then returns to Europe, first in London, where she uncovers the identity of the notorious ISIS executioner “Jihadi John,” and then in France, Belgium, and her native Germany, where terror has come to the heart of Western civilization.Mekhennet’s background has given her unique access to some of the world’s most wanted men, who generally refuse to speak to Western journalists. She is not afraid to face personal danger to reach out to individuals in the inner circles of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIS, and their affiliates; when she is told to come alone to an interview, she never knows what awaits at her destination.Souad Mekhennet is an ideal guide to introduce us to the human beings behind the ominous headlines, as she shares her transformative journey with us. Hers is a story you will not soon forget.

Reviews:

A Washington Post 2017 Best Book, Guardian Best Politics Book of 2017, Christian Science Monitor Best Book of 2017, Publishers Weekly Best Summer Book of 2017, and Minnesota Public Radio Best Book to Give and Get: Nonfiction Picks of 2017Winner of the 2018 Nannen Prize"An enthralling and sometimes shocking blend of reportage and memoir from the centers of jihadi networks in the Middle East and North Africa. . . . Mekhennet has a singular perspective on the modern crisis of terrorist violence, intimate and constantly questioning."―The New Yorker

"A work of significant merit.... One could hardly imagine a more suited writer.... [Mekhennet] is, first and foremost, a brave, resourceful, canny and tireless reporter."―The Washington Post"Much more than a book of journalism, admirable as hers is: it is a remarkable record of a Muslim woman struggling to understand those who kill in the name of her religion, and to explain their actions to the uncomprehending Western world to which she belongs. . . . There is much wisdom in her observations."―The Economist

"Compelling and evocative.... a mediating voice between...cultures, which too often misunderstand each other."―Chicago Review of Books"Souad Mekhennet delivers a brilliant narrative of risky first-person interviews and encounters across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe"―Elle"A much-needed cry of tough, informed humanism, needed now more than ever."―Christian Science Monitor"At the top of my list: I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad by Souad Mekhennet, a courageous Muslim journalist who risks her life to get the truth from ISIS leaders." ―Gail Sheehy, Politico"This excellent book is full of unexpected insights into the hazards of covering one of the defining issues of our age and the mechanics of Islamist terror and radicalization...Mekhennet’s clear compassion, a sterling quality for a journalist, means that the book offers real insight alongside a captivating, thriller-style read."―Haaretz"This thought-provoking memoir will keep your book club up chatting late into the night."―Bookish"In her new book, I Was Told To Come Alone, [Mekhen...

EAN: 9781627798976

Release Date: 13-06-2017

Languages: English

Item Condition: New

Binding: Hardcover