The Terror Years by Lawrence Wright

Lawrence Wright in The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State gives an excellent accounting of the evolution of Islamic terrorism in the middle east and its spread to the rest of the world. Much attention is given to Osama bin Laden, the Saudi founder of al-Qaeda: Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who succeeded bin Laden as head of al-Qaeda; and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian jihadist who founded al-Qaeda in Iraq. The book discusses the consequences of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria and gives little hope for peace.