A comprehensive history of one of the world's deadliest jihadist groups
Boko Haram is one of the world's deadliest jihadist groups. It has killed more than twenty thousand people and displaced more than two million in a campaign of terror that began in Nigeria but has since spread to Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. This is the first book to tell the full story of this West African affiliate of the Islamic State, from its beginnings in the early 2000s to its most infamous violence, including the 2014 kidnapping of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls. An in-depth account of a group that is menacing Africa's most populous and richest country, the book also illuminates the dynamics of civil war in Africa and jihadist movements in other parts of the world.
"This is an extremely important book, not just for the light it sheds on a movement that has confounded many but also for the approach it takes in attempting to make sense of seemingly senseless violence based on religious ideology. Students of other such movements around the world will have much to learn from this rich and careful account of Boko Haram's origins and transformation."--Leonardo Villalon, University of Florida
"A work of serious scholarship, especially on Islamic matters, this book shows an impressive depth of understanding."--Murray Last, University College London
"Alexander Thurston provides a well-argued and richly documented account of Boko Haram. This book will be useful to scholars, students, policy makers, and the larger public eager to learn more about the group."--Ousmane Oumar Kane, Harvard Divinity School
"One of Foreign Affairs' Picks for Best of Books 2018"
