Overview

When Islamic State's black-masked executioner, 'Jihadi John', was revealed to be Mohammed Emwazi, a 26-year-old IT graduate from west London, senior security editor Robert Verkaik was shaken more than most. In 2010 he'd interviewed this man. At the time Emwazi had claimed MI5 were ruining his life. He was desperate for his story to be told, believing that going public might force the security services to leave him alone. He later told Verkaik that he felt like a 'dead man walking.' Verkaik's investigation into the making of 'Jihadi John' leads him to the disturbing questions that Emwazi left behind. What led him, and many other young Muslim men, to come to Verkaik for help in the first place? And why do hundreds of other Britons wish to join Islamic State? Frightening, thoughtprovoking and urgent, Jihadi John assesses the threat IS poses to the UK and examines how the actions of our security services might help create the same enemy we're trying to defeat.

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9781780749433

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Reviews

'The chief strength of this book lies in its exploration of the radical subculture in parts of west London...The web of influences is complex but Verkaik skilfully unpicks it, while losing none of the atmosphere that makes his book so readable and engaging'. * New Statesman * 'Verkaik gives a fascinating if frightening picture of the jihadists in our mist'. * Mail on Sunday * `No detail is too small in Verkaik's quest to work out how a misfit schoolboy turned into a psychopathic mass murderer .' * <i>Independent</i> * `An exemplary account... The book's most important contribution is to highlight the difficulties faced by the intelligence services... a first-class primer on Muslim extremism in Britain.' * Max Hastings, <i>Sunday Times</i> * `An outstanding pulling together of the fractured career of one of the most notorious terrorist psychopathic killers of this or any other age. The book is exceptional because its author makes no false claims for what he doesn't know and never confuses explanation with explaining away... [an] excellent and thought-provoking book.' * <i>Evening Standard</i> * `A riveting and compelling portrait of Mohammed Emwazi on his journey to the heart of darkness.' -- Andrew Hosken, author of <i>Empire of Fear: Inside the Islamic State</i> `Detailed and absorbing... Drawing on a wealth of primary conversations with security officials and targets alike, Verkaik explores the difficult balance that has to be struck between freedom and liberty and those who find themselves in its crosshairs.' -- Raffaello Pantucci, author of <i>`We Love Death as You Love Life': Britain's Suburban Mujahedeen</i> `This book is more than just the story of Mohammed Emwazi. Verkaik delves into the broader issues of marginality and the fluid identity of young people such as Emwazi to provide an enthralling account of the rootlessness of many second-generation European immigrants.' * Library Journal *

'A riveting and compelling portrait of Mohammed Emwazi on his journey to the heart of darkness.' -- Andrew Hosken, author of Empire of Fear: Inside the Islamic State 'Detailed and absorbing... Drawing on a wealth of primary conversations with security officials and targets alike, Verkaik explores the difficult balance that has to be struck between freedom and liberty and those who find themselves in its crosshairs.' -- Raffaello Pantucci, author of 'We Love Death as You Love Life': Britain's Suburban Mujahedeen

Author Information

Robert Verkaik is a freelance security editor who writes for the Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail and the Independent. He was longlisted for the Orwell Prize in 2010 as home affairs editor of the Independent, later becoming the only journalist to interview Mohammed Emwazi in his lifetime. Verkaik lives in the UK.

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