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ISIS: The State of Terror Hardcover – March 12, 2015
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The Islamic State, known as ISIS, exploded into the public eye in 2014 with startling speed and shocking brutality. It has captured the imagination of the global jihadist movement, attracting recruits in unprecedented numbers and wreaking bloody destruction with a sadistic glee that has alienated even the hardcore terrorists of its parent organization, al Qaeda.
Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger, two of America’s leading experts on terrorism, dissect the new model for violent extremism that ISIS has leveraged into an empire of death in Iraq and Syria, and an international network that is rapidly expanding in the Middle East, North Africa and around the world.
ISIS: The State of Terror traces the ideological innovations that the group deploys to recruit unprecedented numbers of Westerners, the composition of its infamous snuff videos, and the technological tools it exploits on social media to broadcast its atrocities, and its recruiting pitch to the world, including its success at attracting thousands of Western adherents. The authors examine ISIS’s predatory abuse of women and children and its use of horror to manipulate world leaders and its own adherents as it builds its twisted society. The authors offer a much-needed perspective on how world leaders should prioritize and respond to ISIS’s deliberate and insidious provocations.
- Print length416 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherEcco
- Publication dateMarch 12, 2015
- Dimensions1.5 x 5.9 x 9.1 inches
- ISBN-100062395548
- ISBN-13978-0062395542
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger’s new book, “ISIS,” should be required reading for every politician and policymaker…Their smart, granular analysis is a bracing antidote to both facile dismissals and wild exaggerations….Stern and Berger offer a nuanced and readable account of the ideological and organizational origins of the group.” — Washington Post
“By far the most important contribution yet to our understanding of an organization that remains cloaked in mystery and misunderstanding . . . A brisk, readable, and eye-opening account of ISIS’s past, present, and future. This is a book every American should read.” — Reza Aslan, author of No God but god and Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
“A timely and urgent book that is essential reading for analysts and policy makers alike. In what is already a cornerstone contribution, Stern and Berger offer the kind of cold-blood analysis so desperately needed on the poorly understood phenomenon that is the so-called Islamic state.” — John Horgan, author of The Psychology of Terrorism
“The first serious book to analyze the rise of ISIS . . . Stern and Berger write clearly and persuasively and marshal impressive primary research from ISIS’s prodigious propaganda to help explain how ISIS became the dominant jihadi group today. It’s a terrific and important read.” — Peter Bergen, author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad
“Stern and Berger pull back the curtain to expose facts and myths about the violent Salafi apocalyptic cult calling itself the Islamic State. A must-read.” — Mike Walker, former undersecretary and acting secretary of the United States Army
“ISIS emerged in territory occupied by American soldiers, governed by dictatorial regimes, and fought over by sectarian extremists. Stern and Berger provide context for understanding ISIS’s past and considering how its media model may affect future extremist movements.” — Kecia Ali, associate professor religion, Boston University
“A penetrating analysis . . . The book provides important context for an evolving organization and proto-state that is attempting to rewrite the jihadi playbook.” — Aaron Zelin, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
“ISIS: The State of Terror is a timely and important history of a movement that now defines the 21st century.” — Sam Kiley, Evening Standard (London)
“This book should be required reading for every politician and policymaker.” — Washington Post
From the Back Cover
In ISIS: The State of Terror, two of America’s leading experts on terrorism dissect the new model for violent extremism that the Islamic State, known as ISIS, has leveraged into an empire of death in Iraq and Syria, and an international network that is rapidly expanding. Stern and Berger offer a much-needed perspective on how world leaders should prioritize and respond to ISIS’s deliberate and insidious provocations in this compelling, essential account.
“ISIS should be required reading for every politician and policy maker....[Stern and Berger’s] smart, granular analysis is a bracing antidote to both facile dismissals and wild exaggerations....A nuanced and readable account of the ideological and organizational origins of the group.”—Washington Post
About the Author
Jessica Stern is a leading expert on terrorism and trauma. Stern is the coauthor with J. M. Berger of ISIS: The State of Terror and the author of Denial: A Memoir of Terror and Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill, selected by the New York Times as a notable book of the year. She has held fellowships awarded by the Guggenheim Foundation, the Erikson Institute, and the MacArthur Foundation. She was a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow, a national fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, and a fellow of the World Economic Forum. Stern is a research professor at Boston University. Prior to teaching, she worked in government, serving on President Clinton’s National Security Council Staff and as an analyst at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
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.
Product details
- Publisher : Ecco; First Edition (March 12, 2015)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 416 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062395548
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062395542
- Item Weight : 1.3 pounds
- Dimensions : 1.5 x 5.9 x 9.1 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,294,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,923 in African Politics
- #2,536 in Terrorism (Books)
- #2,980 in Middle Eastern Politics
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors

Jessica Stern is one of the foremost experts on terrorism. She serves on the Hoover Institution Task Force on National Security and Law. In 2009, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for her work on trauma and violence. Jessica is a member of the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations. She was named a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow, National Fellow at the Hoover Institution, fellow of the World Economic Forum, and a Harvard MacArthur Fellow.
She has authored TERROR IN THE NAME OF GOD: Why Religious Militants Kill, selected by the New York Times as a notable book of the year; THE ULTIMATE TERRORISTS; and numerous articles on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. She served on President Clinton’s National Security Council Staff in 1994–95 (read a May 1995 letter and July 1995 letter from the President and this note from the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs expressing their gratitude for her work and contribution).
Jessica was included in Time magazine’s series profiling 100 people with bold ideas. The film, “The Peacemaker”, with Nicole Kidman and George Clooney, was based on a fictional version of Jessica’s work at the National Security Council. Her new book, DENIAL: A Memoir of Terror, is now available, published by Ecco, a HarperCollins imprint. She lives in Cambridge, MA.

J.M. Berger is the author of four critically acclaimed books. Berger's most recent nonfiction book, Extremism (MIT Press, 2018), was named an Outstanding Academic Title for 2019 and has been reviewed as "meticulous," "an excellent primer," "exceptional" and "elegantly written." His debut novel, Optimal (2020), is a dystopian tale about a world run by algorithms and social media. Reviewers have praised it as "gripping," "absorbing" and "great storytelling."
Berger is a writer and researcher focused on extremism as a Senior Research Fellow for the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. His research encompasses extremist ideologies and propaganda online and offline, including the development of social media and semantic analytical methodologies. He has worked as a consultant on these issues for Silicon Valley companies and the U.S. government.
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Customers find the book extremely informative with definitions and timelines of action taken against ISIS. They also describe the writing style as good and a solid first effort at tackling ISIS, even though frightening.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book extremely informative, interesting, and helpful in understanding ISIS. They say it presents an excellent backgrounder of the rise of the group and how it differs from al-Qaeda. Readers also appreciate the impressive collection of sources and the authors' strong sense of the problem and the best solutions.
"...The book is an impressive collection of sources that will enrich any reader who wants to understand and overcome the phenomenon represented by Al-..." Read more
"...The authors have a strong sense of the problem, and some sense of the best solutions, not to take the bait of getting involved in an intractable..." Read more
"...If your looking for something on ISIS that's readable, yet scholarly and takes a measured, reasonable approach to the subject matter, this is the..." Read more
"...Book is packed with information on ISIS. Everything from its beginning the infighting and the recruitment is covered in detail...." Read more
Customers find the writing style of the book good, readable, and impressive. They also say the first few chapters are well fashioned. Overall, readers say the book begins and ends powerfully.
"...Though a bit uneven in the middle, the book begins and ends powerfully and leaves the reader fully informed on the roots and history of the Islamic..." Read more
"...It is a good read, however, and one will learn quite a bit of useful things in it." Read more
"...If your looking for something on ISIS that's readable, yet scholarly and takes a measured, reasonable approach to the subject matter, this is the..." Read more
"...Over all it’s a good book that also covers the latest fighting in Syria and Iraq and describes each waring group in detail. Very interesting book" Read more
Customers find the plot uninspiring and redundant.
"Very informative; a little redundant...." Read more
"Very informative in some areas, lacking in others...." Read more
"A Good Read with Useful Information and Analysis but not "Authoritative"..." Read more
"Uninspiring..." Read more
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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The authors begin with the beheading of James Foley and subsequent shattering of the “jayvee” reputation of the IS and conclude the introduction with their explanation on the use of ISIS as the acronym throughout the book. Chapter One focuses on Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). The authors detail the humble and surprising beginnings of Zarqawi through his rise to power and pseudo-alliance with Al-Qaeda Central (AQC) in Afghanistan. The authors outline the ideology behind the group and its takfiri (declaring others apostates) ideology. AQI died with its creator and the IS rose from the ashes. Chapter Two chronicles the rise of the so-called state to include theological influences and the role of the Syrian conflict in solidifying the fledgling insurgency with dreams of claiming the mantle of Caliphate.
Chapter Three winds the clock back and details the rise of AQC after the end of the Russian efforts in Afghanistan. The chapter explores the divisions within the group as it expanded and the shifts in communication strategies, highlighting the significance of an American in ash-Shabab for taking the jihad to the online mainstream. Chapter Four focuses on the importance of foreign fighters in the proliferation of the IS, exploring the allure of the group for both genders. Chapter Five details the messaging efforts of AQC and the IS from initial forays into print to online efforts and the shift towards propaganda videos with their now-notorious execution scenes.
Chapters Six and Seven explore the significance of social networking tools in the proliferation of AQ and the IS from the early forum days to the current Twitterstorm. The authors note that suppression has been effective and that even more sophisticated methods may be on the horizon to stifle the groups’ ability to promulgate their message, noting the necessity for continuous efforts to “weed” the social networks. Chapter Eight details the rifts and power struggles between AQ and the IS concluding with the rise of “lone wolf” terrorist activities around the world. The book strays a bit in Chapter Nine into an exploration of evil itself, addressing such topics as beheadings, child soldiers, slavery, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Chapter Ten delves into the apocalyptic dreams and machinations of the IS to bring about the end times.
Chapter Eleven concludes the main portion of the book with the authors’ explanations of the importance of understanding the mindset of the leaders of the IS and the difficulty of fighting an ideology. The authors suggest that the focus must be on eliminating the illusions of simplicity the IS uses to paint the world in black and white while refusing to play into their apocalyptic fantasies. Stern and Berger insist that the IS state has well-defined, but vulnerable messaging that can be countered or suppressed to reduce their reach. The authors note the importance of the moral high ground and of carefully measuring calls for action against what we hope to accomplish. The authors conclude with their assertion that democracy cannot be forced, advocating a patient approach while noting the willingness of regional partners like Jordan to shoulder at least some of the load.
The book is fantastic. It is extremely well referenced and is as entertaining as it is informative. While some of the middle chapters seem like essays that were added to a work that could have stood without them, they do provide additional layers of fidelity on the nature of the IS and its meteoric rise into the world’s consciousness. The book fills a significant gap in the literature and will be important as we continue to study and understand the role of these dangerous movements. The appendices and notes sections are as enjoyable as the book itself, adding incredible levels of detail to the chapters. Historians, students of the region, and policy makers all could benefit from reading this book as well as anyone who wants to understand the complicated entity that is the Islamic State.
Top reviews from other countries
several young men and women. In its future revised editions, the authors should tell the readers
how this organization finances its activities around the globe.
It explores the history, ideology, strategy and tactics of the group, using source material from jihadi websites, personal interviews, and newspaper articles. The book pays little attention to academic theory, except, briefly, in respect of decision/risk analysis, or to definitions of terrorism. It simply reports what has happened up to 2014, linking the violent excesses of Da'esh with a core Islamist text, 'The Management of Savagery'. The sections on the use of children and the central importance of electronic media are particularly valuable.
Whereas Patrick Cockburn's 'The Rise of the Islamic State' is a wordy but simple commentary on the dilemma of the Sunnis, 'Isis: the State of Terror' is both more detailed, and more analytical. Its lengthy bibliography points to many areas for further investigation. I consider it the best of all the books I've recently read about Da'esh.






