The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State

These powerful investigative pieces, which take us from the religious police of Saudi Arabia to the rise of the Islamic State, comprise an essential primer on jihadist movements in the Middle East—and the attempts of the West to contain them. In these pages, Lawrence Wright examines al-Qaeda as it experiences a rebellion from within and spins off a growing web of worldwide terror. He shows us the Syrian film industry before the civil war—compliant at the edges but already exuding a barely masked fury. He gives us the heart-wrenching story of American children kidnapped by ISIS—and Atlantic publisher David Bradley’s efforts to secure their release. And he details the roles of key FBI figures John O’Neill and his talented protégé Ali Soufan in fighting terrorism. In a moving epilogue, Wright shares his predictions for the future. Rigorous, clear-eyed, and compassionate, The Terror Years illuminates the complex human players on all sides of a devastating conflict. 

• The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
• Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS
• The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State
• Anatomy of Terror: From the Death of bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State
• Anatomy of Terror: From the Death of bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State
• United States of Jihad: Who Are America's Homegrown Terrorists, and How Do We Stop Them?
• Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
• The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda
• Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
• Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan