My Journey into the Heart of Terror

Ten Days in the Islamic State

An alarming and enlightening first-hand account of what’s really going on behind the borders of the Islamic State.

ISIS, IS, the ISLAMIC State. It's an organization that has taken on chilling associations due to the horrific deeds committed in its name. ISIS beheads journalists—and yet one, Jürgen Todenhöfer, was invited to visit its fighters in Mosul, after months of negotiations. Accompanied by his son, Frederic Todenhöfer, who photographed the journey, he asked them to explain their beliefs, motivations, and goals. This book, the most in-depth research conducted on the terror group so far, is the result of those conversations. My Journey into the Heart of Terror shows how the organization grew from its al-Qaeda roots and the role the West has played, both past and present. Along the way, Todenhöfer offers startling insights into what ISIS thinks, what it wants—and how it can be defeated. Only by understanding our enemies, Todenhöfer believes, can we combat ISIS’s radical, un-Islamic vision and the terror and destruction it brings.