My Journey Into the Heart of Terror

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

“. . . a rare inside view of ISIS and insight into the terrorist organization’s methods and hold on adherents.”– Publishers Weekly

ISIS, IS, the Islamic State. The name is chilling. The images are horrific. This is a group that beheads journalists—and yet one, the German Jürgen Todenhöfer, went out of his way to get an invitation to visit ISIS fighters in Mosul in 2014 to ask them to explain their beliefs. This book is the result of his conversation. My Journey into the Heart of Terror: Ten Days in the Islamic State shows how the organization grew from its al-Qaeda roots and takes a harsh look at the West’s role in its past and today. Along the way, Todenhöfer offers startling insights into what ISIS thinks, what it wants—and what must change if it is to be defeated. Only by understanding, Todenhöfer believes, can we move forward and combat ISIS’s radical, violent interpretation of Islam and the terror and destruction it brings.

Jürgen Todenhöfer is a German writer, politician, and former judge. He is one of the most prominent German critics of the US-led wars in Afghanistan and against Iraq in 2001 and 2003, respectively. In late 2014 Todenhöfer visited Syria and Iraq, becoming the first Western journalist to be allowed extensive access to ISIS-controlled territories and to return safely.