JASON BURKE

'Based on careful on-the-ground investigation and penetrating inquiry, this fine study, the most illuminating I know, gives remarkable insight into Islamic militacy, its root causes, its evolution and likely future. It is essential reading for anyone who hopes to understand the "network of networks" loosely termed al-Qaeda, and its complex interactions both with the West and with the societies it intends to reshape' Noam Chomsky

Jason Burke has produced an account of Islamic militancy - revolutionising our understanding of Al-Qaeda, retelling its history from scratch and critically exploding the myths that form the very foundations of the ''War on Terror''. Fully updated with new material on Iraq and Afghanistan.Jason Burke has produced the definitive account of Islamic militancy - revolutionising our understanding of Al-Qaeda, retelling its history from scratch and critically exploding the myths that form the very foundations of the ''War on Terror''.; Fully updated with new material on Iraq and Afghanistan.

Award-winning reporter Jason Burke shows how the threat from Islamic terrorism comes not from a single criminal mastermind, or even from one group. In this revealing account, he characterizes it is a broad movement with profound roots in the politics, societies and history of the Islamic world. Using hundreds of interviews and thousands of documents, Burke shows how "Al-Qaeda" is a convenient label applied misleadingly to a diverse, disorganized global movement dedicated to fighting a "cosmic battle" with the West. This is the definitive account of the mysterious organization, retelling its story from scratch and challenging many myths that threaten the very foundations of the "War on Terror."

To most in the West, al-Qaeda is seen as a byword for terror: a deadly, highly organised fanatical group masterminded by Osama bin Laden. But does this tell the whole truth?Prize-winning journalist Jason Burke has spent a decade reporting from the heart of the Middle East and gaining unprecedented access to the world of radical Islam. Now, drawing on his frontline experience of recent events in Iraq and Afghanistan, on secret documents and astonishing interviews with intelligence officers, militants, mujahideen commanders and bin Ladens associates, he reveals the full story of al-Qaeda - and demolishes the myths that underpin the war on terror.Burke demonstrates that in fact al-Qaeda is merely a convenient label applied by the West to a far broader - and thus more dangerous - phenomenon of Islamic militancy, and shows how eradicating a single figure or group will do nothing to combat terrorism. Only by understanding the true, complex nature of al-Qaeda, he argues, can we address the real issues surrounding our security today.

LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2025 A thrilling and unprecedented account of the radicalism and political extremism that gripped the 1970s a seismic decade that transformed the modern world Brilliant An astonishing window not just into the origins of modern terrorism but also into our own age RORY STEWART Extraordinary told with cool authority and a novelist s eye for detail RORY CARROLL author of Killing ThatcherIn the 1970s a network of extremists terrorised the West with intricately planned plane hijackings and hostage takings Among them were the glamorous Leila Khaled hard drinking Carlos the Jackal and radical leftists of the Baader Meinhof Gang United by their hatred of Israel capitalism and Western imperialism they unleashed a series of audacious attacks that brought governments to their knees and glued the world to their tv screens Drawing on decades of research recently declassified government files secret documents and first hand interviews with hijackers spies witnesses and victims Jason Burke takes us inside these often deadly operations Through the perpetrators eyes and of the unrelenting agents who hunted them down he uncovers a dark complex world of loyalty betrayal and commitment to change at any cost Pi

** SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2025 **** A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE TIMES,GUARDIAN, FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST, PROSPECT AND BBC HISTORY**A thrilling and unprecedented account of the radicalism and political extremism that gripped the 1970s a seismic decade that transformed the modern world.A fabulously gripping read DOMINIC SANDBROOK, The Times Books of the YearBrilliant ... An astonishing window not just into the origins of modern terrorism but also into our own ageRORY STEWARTExtraordinary told with cool authority and a novelists eye for detail RORY CARROLL, author of Killing ThatcherIn the 1970s, a network of extremists terrorised the West with intricately planned plane hijackings and hostage-takings. Among them were the glamorous Leila Khaled, hard-drinking Carlos the Jackal, and radical leftists of the Baader-Meinhof Gang. United by their hatred of Israel, capitalism and Western imperialism, they unleashed a series of audacious attacks that brought governments to their knees and glued the world to their tv screens.Drawing on decades of research, recently declassified government files, secret documents, and first-hand interviews with hijackers, spies, witnesses and victims, Jason Burke takes us inside these often-deadly operations. Through the perpetrators eyes and of the unrelenting agents who hunted them down he uncovers a dark, complex world of loyalty, betrayal and commitment to change at any cost.Pitching us into these tumultuous times, TheRevolutionists reveals how a campaign led by secular leftist revolutionaries gave way to a far more lethal movement of conservative religious fanaticism that would dominate the decades to come. It is impossible to understand the world today without reading this book.A book that historians will be profiting from for many decades to come TOM HOLLANDAs compelling as the best of spy thrillers FERGAL KEANE, BBC Correspondent and author of The MadnessRivetingLINDSEY HILSUM, International Editor, Channel 4 News

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2016In The New Threat renowned expert and prize-winning reporter Jason Burke provides the clearest and most comprehensive guide to Islamic militancy today.From Syria to Somalia, from Libya to Indonesia, from Yemen to the capitals of Europe, Islamic militancy appears stronger, more widespread and more threatening than ever. ISIS and other groups, such as Boko Haram, together command significant military power, rule millions and control extensive territories. Elsewhere Al-Qaeda remains potent and is rapidly evolving. Factions and subsidiaries proliferate worldwide, and a new generation of Western Jihadists are emerging, joining conflicts abroad and attacking at home. Who are these groups and what do they actually want? What connects them and how do they differ? How are we to understand their tactics of online activism and grotesque violence?Drawing on almost two decades of frontline reporting as well as a vast range of sources, from intelligence officials to the militants themselves, renowned expert Jason Burke cuts through the mass of opinion and misinformation to explain dispassionately and with total clarity the nature of the threat we now face. He shows that Islamic militancy has changed dramatically in recent years. Far from being a medieval throwback, it is modern, dynamic and resilient. Despite everything, it is entirely comprehensible.The New Threat is essential reading if we are to understand our fears rather than succumb to them, to act rationally and effectively, and to address successfully one of the most urgent problems of our time.

A brilliant, fearless journalist who knows huge areas of the Islamic world intimately, Burke now turns to the wider question of how we are to get to grips with radical Islam and what it really means. Burke has travelled all over the great arc of Islamic land, from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, and he uses this in his new book to great effect to show how various and completely unmonolithic Islam really is and how the sort of standard Western generalizations about it are both stupid and dangerous.

Un tórrido día del verano de 1996, el avión en el que viajaban Osama bin Laden y algunos amigos y familiares, aterrizó en una pista muy cerca de la ciudad afgana de Jalalabad, situada en la región oriental del pais. El activista de origen saudi contaba entonces con escaso equipo, pocos seguidores y minimo apoyo local. Pero conseguiria crear en cinco años una organizacion que llevaria a cabo el ataque terrorista mas espantoso y devastador de la historia

DAILY TELEGRAPH, ECONOMIST AND INDEPENDENT BOOKS OF THE YEARThroughout the 1990s a vast conflict was brewing. The storm broke on September 11th 2001. Since then much of the world has seen invasions, bombings, battles and riots. Hundreds of thousands of people have died. Jason Burke, a first-hand witness of many of the conflicts key moments, has written the definitive account of its course in his acclaimed book The 9/11 Wars.At once investigation, reportage and contemporary history, The 9/11 Wars is an essential book for understanding the dangerous and unstable twenty-first century. Whether reporting on the riots in France or the attack on Mumbai, suicide bombers in Iraq or British troops fighting in Helmand, Jason Burke tells the story of a world that changed forever when the hijacked planes flew out of the brilliant blue sky above Manhattan on September 11th.Reviews:The best overview of the 9/11 decade so far in printEconomistA magisterial history of the last decade ... The long patient sentences of The 9/11 Wars are suffused with the melancholy of a man who has learned a great deal from long exposure to atrocity and follyPankaj Mishra, GuardianThe 9/11 Wars warrants great respectMetroPacy, well-researched, and packed with telling anecdotes, this books strength is in its detailed, balanced overview ... At a time when there are more books out on terrorism than ever before ... this is likely to be among the bestSunday Telegraph[Burke] is one of the most respected and experienced foreign correspondents in the business ... A major authority on the politics and organisation of Islamic extremism and ... a talented writer with the rare gift of joining effortless prose to challenging scholarship ... [The 9/11 Wars] is a magnificent achievementIrish TimesA reader wanting a more dispassionate survey of how 9/11, and the response to it, may have shaped parts of the world will do no better than invest in [this] brilliant bookDavid Aaronovitch, The TimesThis remarkably balanced, well-sourced and very well-written book ... will be turned to in the future ... [Burke] has demonstrated impressive expertise as a historian who has had the advantage of having been present on many of the battlefields he describes Andrew Roberts, Evening Standard[A] lucid, sane account ... taut, careful reporting ... RemarkableScotsmanPotent ... journalism of a high order. Like all good reporters, Burke is something of a scholar, drawing meticulously on interview notes years old, and on extensive background reading. He excels, too, in describing the experiences of ordinary Muslims; such insights make this book essential for understanding the past decadeSunday TimesAbout the author:Jason Burke is the South Asia correspondent for the Guardian. He has reported around the world for both the Guardian and the Observer. He is the author of two other widely praised books, both published by Penguin: Al-Qaeda and On the Road to Kandahar. He lives in New Delhi.