Joby Warrick, "Black Flags"

In his second book, Warrick, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalist and author of The Triple Agent, follows up his suspenseful story of Jordanian al-Qaeda agent Humam Khalil al-Balawi with this equally dramatic chronicle of the rise of ISIS. Examining events and beliefs but most of all the actions of one man, Warrick tracks the rise of the extremist group by following Abu Musab al-Zarqawi beginning with his release in 1999 from a Jordanian prison through his consolidation of power when the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, and on to his leadership of al-Qaeda in Iraq, now known as ISIS. Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics & Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.'s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and discussing books. Politics & Prose offers superior service, unusual book choices, and a haven for book lovers in the store and online. Visit them on the web at http://www.politics-prose.com/