Author | Joby Warrick |
---|---|
Subject | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Terrorism |
Publisher | Doubleday |
Publication date | 2015 |
Pages | xvii, 344 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates |
Awards | 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction |
ISBN | 9780385538213 |
LC Class | HV6433.I722 I8593 2015 |
Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS is a 2015 non-fiction book by the American journalist Joby Warrick. The book traces the rise and spread of militant Islam behind the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. [1]
Black Flags has been praised by journalists. Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times called it a "gripping new book" and wrote, "Mr. Warrick [...] has a gift for constructing narratives with a novelistic energy and detail, and in this volume, he creates the most revealing portrait yet laid out in a book of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the founding father of the organization that would become the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL)." He added, "for readers interested in the roots of the Islamic State and the evil genius of its godfather [...] there is no better book to begin with than Black Flags." [2] Bob Drogin of the Los Angeles Times similarly described it as "invaluable for anyone struggling to understand the gruesome excesses and inexplicable appeal of ISIS," despite noting that it works better as a biography of al-Zarqawi than "explaining the subsequent 'rise of ISIS,' as the title promises." [3] P. D. Smith of The Guardian said the book "has the narrative drive of a thriller" and observed, "From the mistakes made before and after the invasion of Iraq, to the continuing tragedy of Syria's civil war, Warrick's account is both compelling and authoritative." [4]
The book received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. [1] The Pulitzer citation described the book as "a deeply reported book of remarkable clarity." [5]
In 2016, HBO was reported to have started work of adapting the book for TV mini series. It will be produced by Bradley Cooper and Todd Phillips (via their joint production banner Joint Effort), directed by Helmer Tim Van Patten (also directed Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire ) and television adapted by Gregg Hurwitz. The series is expected to be named "Black Flags". [6] [7]
Black Flag or black flag may refer to:
Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, abbreviated as JTJ or Jama'at, was a Salafi jihadist militant group. It was founded in Jordan in 1999, and was led by Jordanian national Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for the entirety of its existence. During the Iraqi insurgency (2003–11), the group became a decentralized network with foreign fighters with a considerable Iraqi membership.
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Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh, was a Jordanian militant jihadist who ran a training camp in Afghanistan. He became known after going to Iraq and being responsible for a series of bombings, beheadings, and attacks during the Iraq War, reportedly "turning an insurgency against US troops" in Iraq "into a Shia–Sunni civil war". He was sometimes known by his supporters as the "Sheikh of the slaughterers".
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Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn, more commonly known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq, was a Salafi jihadist organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda. It was founded on 17 October 2004, and was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until its disbandment on 15 October 2006 after he was killed in a targeted bombing on June 7, 2006 in Hibhib, Iraq by the United States Air Force.
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Gregg Andrew Hurwitz is an American novelist, screenwriter, and comic book writer. Most of his novels are in the thriller fiction genre. His script writing work includes a film adaptation of his book Orphan X, a TV adaptation of Joby Warrick's Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, and a screenplay for the 2017 film The Book of Henry. He also has written comic books for comic book publishers like DC Comics and Marvel Comics.
Joby Warrick is an American journalist who has worked for The Washington Post since 1996, mostly writing about the Middle East, diplomacy, and national security. He has also written about the intelligence community, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the environment, and has also served as a member of the Post's investigation branch. His work has been recognized with two Pulitzer Prizes.
Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, better known as Abu Ali al-Anbari, was the governor for territories held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria. Considered the ISIL second-in-command, he was viewed as a potential successor of ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Between the World and Me is a 2015 nonfiction book written by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It was written by Coates as a letter to his then-teenage son about his perception of what the feelings, symbolism, and realities associated with being Black in the United States are. Coates recapitulates American history and explains to his son "racist violence that has been woven into American culture." Coates draws from an abridged, autobiographical account of his youth in Baltimore, detailing his beliefs about what are the ways in which, to him, institutions like schools, the local police, and even "the streets" discipline, endanger, and threaten to "disembody" black men and women.
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