Description: A sober analysis of IS's media and propaganda output, essential for understanding what drives the movement.
Review Quotes: "An absolutely essential reference work for understanding ISIS's astonishing rise and fall. The editors have masterfully assembled a collection of compelling documents that shed important light on ISIS's ideology, world view, and approaches to warfare and governance, and its place in the Salafi-Jihadi universe." -- Bruce Hoffman, Professor of Security Studies, Georgetown University, and author of Inside Terrorism
"Each author of The ISIS Reader is individually brilliant and authoritative. Together, they have created an essential work, combining carefully curated primary sources with deeply informed analysis that will guide the study of ISIS for years to come." -- J.M. Berger, Associate Fellow, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, and co-author of ISIS: The State of Terror
"The authors have done a meticulous job of translating key ISIS texts and tying them together into a coherent, historical narrative. The book is rigorous and authoritative--an essential resource for anyone seeking to understand the Islamic State phenomenon."-- Anne Stenersen, Research Fellow, Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI)
"You've seen their graphic violence, but have you read their texts? Few have, but now three leading jihadism experts have parsed the ISIS corpus and produced a fascinating guide through the Caliphate's dark ideological world."--Thomas Hegghammer, Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment
"[The ISIS Reader] offers a rich view of the signal moments in the Islamic State's early and recent history, coupled with analysis and commentary that is incisive and will be helpful as the world considers the future trajectory of the Islamic State. . . . This book will be a valuable resource to scholars from a variety of different disciplines and methodological perspectives."-- Terrorism and Political Violence
"An enormously useful set of carefully curated primary sources that cuts through the fog of when, why and how ISIS emerged and evolved." -- Elisabeth Kendall, Senior Research Fellow, University of Oxford
"A remarkable work of textual historiography, The ISIS Reader blends a careful selection of primary sources with insightful analysis. Scholarly yet accessible, it is an indispensable resource to better understand the world's deadliest terrorist organization."-- Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Program on Extremism, George Washington University
"An important work that should be read by anyone interested in truly understanding the history of the Islamic State."-- Perspectives on Terrorism"The authors have painstakingly translated documents, basic texts, press statements and retributory literature, analysing and explaining with copious footnotes, that help the reader understand the ISIS monster and its tentacles." -- The Muslim World Book Review