Black Flags

The Rise of ISIS

By: Joby Warrick

Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra

Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

WINNER OF THE 2016 PULITZER PRIZE FOR GENERAL NONFICTION

“A Best Book of 2015”—The New York Times, The Washington Post, People Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Kansas City Star, and Kirkus Reviews

In a thrilling dramatic narrative, awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, Joby Warrick traces how the strain of militant Islam behind ISIS first arose in a remote Jordanian prison and spread with the unwitting aid of two American presidents.

When the government of Jordan granted amnesty to a group of political prisoners in 1999, it little realized that among them was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a terrorist mastermind and soon the architect of an Islamist movement bent on dominating the Middle East. In Black Flags, an unprecedented character-driven account of the rise of ISIS, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Joby Warrick shows how the zeal of this one man and the strategic mistakes of Presidents Bush and Obama led to the banner of ISIS being raised over huge swaths of Syria and Iraq.

Zarqawi began by directing terror attacks from a base in northern Iraq, but it was the American invasion in 2003 that catapulted him to the head of a vast insurgency. By falsely identifying him as the link between Saddam and bin Laden, U.S. officials inadvertently spurred like-minded radicals to rally to his cause. Their wave of brutal beheadings and suicide bombings persisted until American and Jordanian intelligence discovered clues that led to a lethal airstrike on Zarqawi’s hideout in 2006.

His movement, however, endured. First calling themselves al-Qaeda in Iraq, then Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, his followers sought refuge in unstable, ungoverned pockets on the Iraq-Syria border. When the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, and as the U.S. largely stood by, ISIS seized its chance to pursue Zarqawi’s dream of an ultra-conservative Islamic caliphate.

Drawing on unique high-level access to CIA and Jordanian sources, Warrick weaves gripping, moment-by-moment operational details with the perspectives of diplomats and spies, generals and heads of state, many of whom foresaw a menace worse than al Qaeda and tried desperately to stop it. Black Flags is a brilliant and definitive history that reveals the long arc of today’s most dangerous extremist threat.

©2015 Joby Warrick (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Drawing on his unrivaled sources and access, Joby Warrick has written a profoundly important and groundbreaking book, one that reads like a novel, riveting from the first page to the last. If you want to know the story behind ISIS, and all of us should, this is the book you must read." (Martha Raddatz, chief global affairs correspondent, ABC News)
"[A] crisply written, chilling account.... Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Warrick confidently weaves a cohesive narrative from an array of players - American officials, CIA officers, Jordanian royalty and security operatives, religious figures, and terrorists - producing an important geopolitical overview with the grisly punch of true-crime nonfiction.... The author focuses on dramatic flashpoints and the roles of key players, creating an exciting tale with a rueful tone, emphasizing how the Iraq invasion's folly birthed ISIS and created many missed opportunities to stop al-Zarqawi quickly." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Wonderfully written and read.

If you could sum up Black Flags in three words, what would they be?

Clear, riveting, terrifying and eye-opening.

What other book might you compare Black Flags to and why?

Hard to compare this to anything I've read; it would be easier to compare it to a movie--an exciting political thriller that's also educational, insightful, and explored without bias.

What about Sunil Malhotra’s performance did you like?

Wonderful voice; even-toned, with just the right inflections. He does a terrific job with a wonderful (if very dense and detail-packed) text, delivering it with an easy, conversational tone that I could (and do) listen to for hours on end. He also pronounces all the names correctly, which is a rarity in the world of audiobooks.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Black Flags: How the Menace Metastasized

Any additional comments?

I was hoping for a good book that would give me a preliminary education in the origins of ISIS. It exceeded my expectations tenfold.

A terrifying history of ISIS' rise

Would you listen to Black Flags again? Why?

No, but not because it isn't well-read and interesting. It's important but frightening to learn details of the rise of this movement.

Would you be willing to try another book from Joby Warrick? Why or why not?

Absolutely. He seems to have thoroughly researched "Black Flag." He write well.

What does Sunil Malhotra bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Well, for starters, he pronounces the many names of the main characters. He reads smoothly and with feeling. He dramatizes when appropriate but doesn't exaggerate.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The burning of the Jordanian pilot.

Well done

An informative and in-depth book that stayed exciting and relatively easy to keep up with. Narrator seemed invested and personable which made it easier for me to fallow along.

Very insightful

A must read for anyone in America who wishes to know why our tax bought bombs are dropping on ISIS

Sizzling and smart!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I already have recommended it. Didn't try to oversimplify a complex social, ethnic, political story but told it in an engaging way. It makes me interested to learn more about many of the players, e.g.King Abdullah of Jordan.

Have you listened to any of Sunil Malhotra’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Have not but would again.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to it while doing many things but it always had my interest.

Very informative and good storytelling. Must read.

Surprising not boring at all for such a serious topic. Narrator did a good job and also very smooth writing and good storytelling.

Outstanding insite

Every American should read this story about the rose of the Islamic State. We as a nation are ignorant of this radical faction of Islam and need to understand how our own government help it to rise. Thank you to the author for such a great story about terror in our world.

A very helpful and entertaining introduction

Narration was great. Story was great. I really think I understand this stuff now. Thx

A compelling, well-written, and important story

Black Flags illustrates the origin of ISIS using all players responsible for its creation, weaving the story from the perspective of: the CIA, the White House, the Pentagon, the Marines, the Jordanian intelligence agency, the Jordanian King, the tribes of Anbar Province in Iraq, the Syrian Opposition movement, Al-Qaeda, and the leaders of the infamous terrorist organization itself, Abū Muṣʻab Zarqāwī and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Also, the audio is sublime. It’s easy to listen to and pleasing to the ear.

Good storytelling.

A quick recap: The first 6 hours address faults at the Bush administration, there's 20 minutes addressing faults at the Obama administration and the rest is great listening as it discusses specifics about King Abdulla II and al-Zarqawi.