Defying foreign government orders and interviewing terrorists face to
face, a young American tours hostile lands to learn about Middle Eastern
youth, and uncovers a subculture that defies every stereotype.
In 2004, Jared Cohen embarked on the first of a series of incredible
journeys to the Middle East in an effort to understand the spread of
radical Islamist violence among Muslim youth. The result is Children of
Jihad, a portrait of paradox that probes much deeper than any
journalist or pundit ever could.
Chosen as one of Kirkus Review's Best Books of 2007, Cohen's account
begins in Lebanon, where he interviews Hezbollah members at, of all
places, a McDonald's. In Iran, he defies government threats and sneaks
into underground parties, where bootleg liquor, Western music, and the
Internet are all easy to access. His risky itinerary also takes him to a
Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, borderlands in Syria, the
insurgency hotbed of Mosul, and other front-line locales. At each turn,
he observes a culture at an uncanny crossroads. Gripping and daring,
Children of Jihad shows us the future through the eyes of those who
are shaping it.