Boko Haram

A highly useful, timely, illuminating work about a little-understood terrorist group. --Kirkus A work of serious scholarship, especially on Islamic matters, this book shows an impressive depth of understanding. --Murray Last, University College London Thurston's text is . . . a must for anybody interested in Nigeria's recent past as well as the dynamics of political and religious development in the larger West African religion. ---Roman Loimeier, Africa Spectrum 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 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 Villal n, University of Florida Alexander Thurston has written the definitive history of Boko Haram. By weaving a complex tapestry of politics and religion, he explains the peculiarity and potency of one of the world's most lethal jihadist insurgencies. A violent and secretive sect that was impenetrable even to experts is now laid bare. --William McCants, author of The ISIS Apocalypse We now have what may well become the definitive work on the group in the form of Alexander Thurston's superbly detailed new book. . . . Thurston convincingly debunks theories of Boko Haram that would deny its uniquely Nigerian nature . . . [and] sets straight those who think Boko Haram is primarily an extension of jihadist operations from elsewhere. ---James H. Barnett, The Weekly Standard Thurston's account of Boko Haram's rise and how it 'interacted dynamically with the political dysfunction and economic malaise that surrounded it' is key to understanding its survival. ---Siona Jenkins, Financial Times A number of solid journalistic accounts of the rise of Boko Haram have appeared in recent years, but Thurston's scholarly works stands out and deserves a wide readership. It offers an authoritative take on the group's murky origins and wisely situates its rise within the context of Nigerian political history. ---Nicolas van de Walle, Foreign Affairs Remarkable. . . . [Thurston] breaks from the prevailing narrative that Boko Haram emerged solely because of the poor governance, poverty, and economic misfortune in Nigeria's northeast. Instead, Thurston appropriately places religion, and specifically the interaction of religion and localized politics, at the center of his thesis. ---Sam Wilkins, War on the Rocks One of Foreign Affairs' Picks for Best of Books 2018 Absorbing. ---Robert Fulford, National Post A welcome addition to our knowledge of terrorist organizations. . . . As balanced and comprehensive a treatment of Boko Haram as we are likely to see for many years. ---Robert L. Tignor, Michigan War Studies Review Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement supersedes everything that has been written so far on the development of this enigmatic jihadist movement in northeastern Nigeria. Based on years of research in Northern Nigeria as well as his knowledge of a vast number of primary sources in both Arabic and Hausa, Thurston is able to present a highly convincing account of the historical development of this jihadist movement. ---Roman Loimeier, Africa Spectrum