Joby Warrick’s Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS

“What kind of person,” he wondered, “can command with only his eyes?”

Wow. This book was an excellently written, easy to follow recount of the years that ultimately led up to the creation of ISIS. It all started in a jail cell as a doctor recounts his visits and his observations of a hierarchy forming within the jail walls. From there, the books goes into the main influencers, the main disasters, and the missteps that have led to such a powerful extremist state. I definitely put down this book feeling more informed about Syria and the news I have heard about the Middle East for the past decade and a half.