Souad Mekhennet is a German-born Moroccan Muslim, a Washington Post correspondent, still based in Germany. This is her brave and powerful memoir. Her life and her quest are nothing less than THE modern story.

I was told to come alone. I was not to carry any identification, and would have to leave my cell phone, audio recorder, watch, and purse at my hotel . . .

'Mekhennet's book is much more than a book of journalism, admirable as hers is: it is a remarkable record of a Muslim woman struggling to understand those who kill in the name of her religion, and to explain their actions to the uncomprehending Western world to which she belongs' The Economist

Souad Mekhennet, a Muslim woman born and educated in Germany and now a reporter for the Washington Post, has spent her life balancing the two sides of her upbringing.

'Courageous, perceptive and deeply knowledgeable ' Jason Burke



The surprise delight of the year for me... from a woman who covered the rise of al-Qaida, the Arab spring and then Isis via a remarkable and at times personally risky series of interviews with jihadi leaders. But it's also a highly readable primer on the forces that gave rise to jihad, and an insight into the complexities of immigrant identity and loyalty... In a slippery post-truth world, her book is a reminder of just how much meticulously investigated and reported truths matter.
Gaby Hinscliffe, the Guardian Best Books of 2017
Winner of the Daniel Pearl Award

The surprise delight of the year for me . . . remarkable and at times personally risky series of interviews with
jihadi leaders. But it's also a highly readable primer on the forces that gave rise to jihad, and an insight into the complexities of immigrant identity and loyalty . . . In a slippery post-truth world, her book is a reminder of just how much meticulously investigated and reported truths matter