ISIS: An Introduction and Guide to the Islamic State

U.S. Army Middle East foreign area officer Steed (military history, the United States Army Staff Command and General Staff Coll.; Piercing the Fog of War) offers an informative overview of what he terms the current "only post-state actor in conflict with the global community," i.e., ISIS, which is "seeking to be a state using a nontraditional, non-Western model." This work consists of short narrative chapters addressing basic questions about the group (its leaders, history, ideals, etc.), followed by entries that delve further into specific people and issues (Osama bin Laden, caliphate, etc.) Steed notes that he intends this book to be a "reference for thinking about this war," in which readers can "begin a journey toward empathy, which I believe is also the necessary path for the journey toward victory."