When the convulsions of the Arab Spring first became manifest in Syria in March 2011, the Ba'athist regime was quick to blame the protests on the "Syrian Muslim Brotherhood" and its "al-Qaeda affiliates." But who are these Islamists so determined to rule a post-Assad Syria? Little has been published on militant Islam in Syria since Hafez Assad's regime destroyed the Islamist movement in its stronghold of Hama in February 1982. This book bridges that gap by providing readers with the first ...

A political and personal odyssey from hatred to loveWhen Nonie Darwish was a girl of eight, her father died while leading covert attacks on Israel. A high-ranking Egyptian military officer stationed with his family in Gaza, he was considered a shahid,a martyr for jihad.Yet at an early age, Darwish developed a skeptical eye about her own Muslim culture and upbringing. Why the love of violence and hatred of Jews and Christians? Why the tolerance of glaring so...

A controversial look at the headline-making story of the last Western prisoner at Guantanamo Bay and the larger implications to national security, justice, and international relations.Omar Khadr is the last Western prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. He has been held at the American naval base since October 2002, accused of killing a U.S. sergeant in Afghanistan. Khadr was fifteen at the time. His defence team argued that their client was a child soldier and should be ...

The struggle for the soul of Europe today is every bit as dire and consequential as it was in the 1930s. Then, in Weimar, Germany, the center did not hold, and the light of civilization nearly went out. Today, the continent has entered yet another “Weimar moment.” Will Europeans rise to the challenge posed by radical Islam, or will they cave in once again to the extremists?As an American living in Europe since 1998, Bruce Bawer has seen this problem up close. Across the continent—i...

The essential “on the ground” report on the fastest-growing new threat in the Middle East, from the winner of the 2014 Foreign Affairs Journalist of the Year AwardBorn of the Iraqi and Syrian civil wars, the Islamic State astonished the world in 2014 by creating a powerful new force in the Middle East. By combining religious fanaticism and military prowess, the new self-declared caliphate poses a threat to the political status quo of the whole region.In

Nonie Darwish lived for thirty years in a majority Muslim nation. Everything about her life?family, sexuality, hygiene, business, banking, contracts, economics, politics, social issues, everything?was dictated by the Islamic law code known as Sharia.But Sharia isn't staying in majority Muslim nations. Darwish now lives in the West and brings a warning; the goal of radical Islam is to bring Sharia law to your country. If that happens, the fabric of Western law and liberty w...

In this gripping narrative history, Lesley Hazleton tells the tragic story at the heart of the ongoing rivalry between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam.“Fascinating. . . . Lively and engaging. . . . Anyone seeking to understand today’s Middle East can learn from this book."—Seattle TimesEven as Muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would take control of the new Islamic nation had begun, beginning a succession crisis marked by...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this “ambitious and challenging” (The New York Review of Books) work, the bestselling author of Monsoon and Balkan Ghosts offers a revelatory prism through which to view global upheavals and to understand what lies ahead for continents and countries around the world.In The Revenge of Geography, Robert D. Kaplan builds on the insights, discoveries, and theories of great geographers and geopo...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A New York Times Notable Book • Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography • From the author of King of Kings comes a thrilling and revelatory narrative of one of the most epic and consequential periods in 20th century history – the Arab Revolt and the secret “great game” to control the Middle East, including the infamous Sykes-Picot Agreement, that set the stage for decades of conflict.**“A fascinating ...

Continuing her journey from a deeply religious Islamic upbringing to a post at Harvard, the brilliant, charismatic and controversial New York Times and Globe and Mail #1 bestselling author of Infidel and Nomad makes a powerful plea for a Muslim Reformation as the only way to end the horrors of terrorism, sectarian warfare and the repression of women and minorities.Today, she argues, the world's 1.6 billion Muslims can be divided ...

A young New Yorker grieving his mother's death is pulled into a gritty underworld of art and wealth in this “extraordinary” and beloved novel that "connects with the heart as well as the mind" (Stephen King, New York Times Book Review), named a New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century.Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a weal...

Senator Pamela Wallin hails Left Out as "…a most reasoned rant and a potent piece of political history…a must read. It’s a powerful call to action and a reminder for both the governed and those who seek to lead them--that playing small serves no one.” This is the story, Wallin says, “of Saskatchewan becoming a place where hope really does beat fear and where today, any party that claims moral superiority rather than a better idea does so at its peril." Edgy and thought-provoking, Left Out ...