Don’t Panic – ISIS, Terror and Today’s Middle East

Gwynne Dyer
Don't Panic

In his trademark style, cutting through the hype and the sensationalism, Gwynne gives us the situation as it really is, how it came about and what we can expect in the near future. Rule one in the old anti-terrorism doctrine was DON’T OVERREACT, and it still applies. That means no ground offensives against ISIS (for which the troops are not available anyway), and preferably not even any bombing by foreign forces. Instead, it means waiting for events to take their course within the ‘Islamic State’. Regimes as radical and violent as ISIS rarely survive for long. This revolution will eat its children, as so many have before, and it will happen a lot more quickly if they don’t have a huge foreign military threat to hold them together. Foreign interventions ALWAYS make matters worse. Which is why terrorists love them so much. The only book you will need to read on this subject.

‘According to Dyer, ISIS aims to recreate the Sunni Caliphate and bring about the end-of-days, but with Al Qaeda and ISIS as rivals and historical infighting, the chances of either of them overrunning the Middle East and the rest of the world aren’t high. If the West plays it smart, there’s no need to panic, he says. His writing is straightforward, concise and avoids sensationalism. For anyone interested in how ISIS seemingly sprang up from nowhere, Dyer provides an excellent analysis of its origins.’
Publishers Weekly

‘A highly readable crash course on the history of political Islam, or Islamism, of the past few decades, and how such a history, punctuated by the tragedy of 9/11, relates to Muslim terrorism (jihadism) and the mess that is today’s Middle East… a necessary antidote to the disastrous consequences of forgetting.’ Literary Review of Canada

‘Mr. Dyer says out loud things many of us aren’t ready to say… It’s so much simpler to know nothing, remain afraid, and blame ‘Muslims’. But luckily for us, some truth-tellers won’t remain silent.’ Globe and Mail

Sales

  • Random House USA & Canada (North American rights)
  • Periscope UK
  • Librooks Spain & Latin America
  • Arab Scientific Press World Arabic
  • Tekin Turkey

Material: Finished copies (256pp)