Abdel Bari Atwan Book order (chronological)

Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh) stunned the world when it overran an area the size of Great Britain on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border in a matter of weeks and proclaimed the birth of a new Caliphate. In this timely and important book, Abdel Bari Atwan draws on his unrivaled knowledge of the global jihadi movement and Middle Eastern geopolitics to reveal the origins and modus operandi of Islamic State. Based on extensive field research and exclusive interviews with IS insiders, Islamic State outlines the group's leadership structure, as well as its strategies, tactics, and diverse methods of recruitment. Atwan traces the Salafi-jihadi lineage of IS, its ideological differences with al Qaeda and the deadly rivalry that has emerged between their leaders. He also shows how the group's rapid growth has been facilitated by its masterful command of social media platforms, the "dark web," Hollywood blockbuster-style videos, and even jihadi computer games, producing a powerful paradox where the ambitions of the Middle Ages have reemerged in cyberspace. As Islamic State continues to dominate the world's media headlines with horrific acts of ruthless violence, Atwan considers the movement's chances of survival and expansion and offers indispensable insights on potential government responses to contain the IS threat.

As al-Qa'ida enters its third decade, journalist Abdel Bari Atwan investigates how it has survived all attempts to destroy it; evolving, instead, into a global actor with a rapidly expanding portfolio of franchises and a variety of, sometimes unexpected, alliances.

Drawing on unparalleled access to Osama bin Laden and his associates, journalist Abdel Bari Atwan provides a clear account of the rise of al Qaeda. He establishes what the organization has become, its goals, capabilities, and how the West can address its challenges. As the only Western journalist to spend time with bin Laden, Atwan begins with a personal account of his 1996 visit to the al Qaeda leader's Tora Bora hideout. He presents a nuanced portrait of bin Laden and explores his evolution as a key figure in modern jihad. Atwan reveals how al Qaeda's radical shift from traditional terrorist tactics has complicated efforts to counter it. The organization's fighters exhibit extreme fanaticism, and their leadership employs opportunistic recruitment and a sophisticated grasp of psychology, media, and technology, including the Internet for training and communication. Atwan's newspaper, al-Quds al-Arabi, has been a platform for many al Qaeda communications. He identifies pivotal events in Iraq and Saudi Arabia as crucial to the organization's dangerous evolution. Atwan charts the refinement of jihad, the emergence of a new leadership style, the normalization of suicide bombers, and al Qaeda's economic strategies, highlighting how Iraq has become a breeding ground for its most militant fighters.

Over the last ten years, journalist and al-Qa'ida expert Abdel Bari Atwan has cultivated uniquely well-placed sources and amassed a wealth of information about al-Qa'ida's origins, masterminds and plans for the future. In this book, Atwan reveals how al-Qa'ida's radical departure from the classic terrorist / guerrilla blueprint has enabled it to outpace less adaptable efforts to neutralise it. The fanaticism of its fighters, and their willingness to kill and be killed, are matched by the leadership's opportunistic recruitment strategies and sophisticated understanding of psychology, media and new technology - including the use of the Internet for training, support and communications. Atwan also argues that current events in the Middle East represent watershed moments in the group's evolution that are making it more dangerous by the day, as it refines and appropriates the concept of jihad and makes the suicide bomber a permanent feature of a global holy war.

Dalle voci più autorevoli della stampa internazionale, una raccolta di interventi su uno dei temi più critici dell'informazione: come fare giornalismo indipendente oggi. Dalle zone calde del pianeta - dall'Algeria alla Cecenia, dai territori palestinesi occupati all'Iraq e all'Afghanistan voci fuori da ogni schieramento raccontano un mondo che non assomiglia più alla geografia insegnata nelle scuole. Alcuni di loro scrivono in russo, altri in inglese, altri in arabo, altri in ebraico: molti sono riusciti a guadagnarsi la stima dei loro nemici e a perdere quella dei loro amici.