Black flags : the rise of ISIS

Well-written and paced with colorful characterizations, I hate to say this book reads like a thriller since this is recent history and more a tragedy, particularly given the unintended consequences and lost opportunities that led to the rise of Zawawi and his successors. If there are heroes and villains (aside from ISIS), the Jordanians unabashedly come off as heroes in terms of competence and warning anyone who will listen (no one), the Bush Jr. administration comes off as the egoistic incompetents who set all this in motion, while the Obama more hapless (the book is less judgmental, but even with my partisan sympathies I always thought they blew it in Syria and more generally foreign policy wasn't Obama's strong point). In any case, I highly recommend reading this just so you know what happened and is still happening.