I Was Told to Come Alone
My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad
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Narrated by:
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Kirsten Potter
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By:
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Souad Mekhennet
About this listen
For her whole life, Souad Mekhennet, a reporter for the Washington Post who was born and educated in Germany, has had to balance the two sides of her upbringing - Muslim and Western. She has also sought to provide a mediating voice between these cultures, which too often misunderstand each other.
In this compelling and evocative memoir, we accompany Mekhennet as she journeys behind the lines of jihad, starting in the German neighborhoods where the 9/11 plotters were radicalized and the Iraqi neighborhoods where Sunnis and Shia turned against one another, and culminating on the Turkish/Syrian border region where ISIS is a daily presence. In her travels across the Middle East and North Africa, she documents her chilling run-ins with various intelligence services and shows why the Arab Spring never lived up to its promise. She then returns to Europe, first in London, where she uncovers the identity of the notorious ISIS executioner "Jihadi John", and then in France, Belgium, and her native Germany, where terror has come to the heart of Western civilization.
Souad Mekhennet is an ideal guide to introduce us to the human beings behind the ominous headlines as she shares her transformative journey with us. Hers is a story you will not soon forget.
©2017 Souad Mekhennet (P)2017 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Lawrence Wright
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer, Lawrence Wright
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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With the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright became generally acknowledged as one of our major journalists writing on terrorism in the Middle East. This collection draws on several articles he wrote while researching that book as well as many that he's written since, following where and how al-Qaeda and its core cultlike beliefs have morphed and spread.
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Contains much old material from "Looming Tower"
- By peter on 09-21-16
By: Lawrence Wright
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We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled
- Voices from Syria
- By: Wendy Pearlman
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett, Assaf Cohen, Susan Nezami
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
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Against the backdrop of the wave of demonstrations known as the Arab Spring, in 2011 hundreds of thousands of Syrians took to the streets demanding freedom, democracy, and human rights. The government's ferocious response, and the refusal of the demonstrators to back down, sparked a brutal civil war that over the past five years has escalated into the worst humanitarian catastrophe of our times. Yet despite all the reporting, the video, and the wrenching photography, the stories of ordinary Syrians remain unheard.
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Powerful Firsthand Accounts of Syrian Revolution
- By Anonymous User on 04-20-19
By: Wendy Pearlman
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Daring to Drive
- A Saudi Woman's Awakening
- By: Manal al-Sharif
- Narrated by: Lameece Issaq
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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A ferociously intimate memoir by a devout woman from a modest family in Saudi Arabia who became the unexpected leader of a courageous movement to support women's right to drive.
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The rain begins with a single drop
- By Sara on 07-01-17
By: Manal al-Sharif
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Son of Hamas
- A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices
- By: Mosab Hassan Yousef, Ron Brackin - contributor
- Narrated by: Mosab Hassan Yousef
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Since he was a small boy, Mosab Hassan Yousef has had an inside view of the deadly terrorist group Hamas. The oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding member of Hamas and its most popular leader, young Mosab assisted his father for years in his political activities while being groomed to assume his legacy, politics, status...and power. But everything changed when Mosab turned away from terror and violence and embraced instead the teachings of another famous Middle East leader.
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Very insightful look at the underbelly of Hamas.
- By C,L, Richey on 05-05-14
By: Mosab Hassan Yousef, and others
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No Escape
- The True Story of China's Genocide of the Uyghurs
- By: Nury Turkel
- Narrated by: Stewart Lang
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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A powerful memoir by Nury Turkel lays bare China’s repression of the Uyghur people. Turkel is cofounder and board chair of the Uyghur Human Rights Project and a commissioner for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
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Powerfully Provocative
- By Amazon Customer on 06-01-22
By: Nury Turkel
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Until We Are Free
- My Fight for Human Rights in Iran
- By: Shirin Ebadi
- Narrated by: Shohreh Aghdashloo
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi has inspired millions around the globe through her work as a human rights lawyer defending women and children against a brutal regime in Iran. Now Ebadi tells her story of courage and defiance in the face of a government out to destroy her, her family, and her mission: to bring justice to the people and the country she loves.
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Book of Trurth
- By Babak on 07-27-17
By: Shirin Ebadi
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No Turning Back
- Life, Loss, and Hope in Wartime Syria
- By: Rania Abouzeid
- Narrated by: Susan Nezami
- Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on more than five years of clandestine reporting on the front lines, No Turning Back is an utterly engrossing human drama full of vivid, indelible characters that shows how hope can flourish even amid one of the 21st century's greatest humanitarian disasters.
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SYRIA'S FAMILY BUSINESS
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 12-03-22
By: Rania Abouzeid
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Infidel
- By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Narrated by: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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This New York Times best-seller is the astonishing life story of award-winning humanitarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali. A deeply respected advocate for free speech and women's rights, Hirsi Ali also lives under armed protection because of her outspoken criticism of the Islamic faith in which she was raised.
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Tough, Candid Assessment
- By Paul Mullen on 02-18-08
By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
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They Said They Wanted Revolution
- A Memoir of My Parents
- By: Neda Toloui-Semnani
- Narrated by: Neda Toloui-Semnani
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1979, Neda Toloui-Semnani’s parents left the United States for Iran to join the revolution. But the promise of those early heady days in Tehran was warped by the rise of the Islamic Republic. With the new regime came international isolation, cultural devastation, and profound personal loss for Neda. Her father was arrested and her mother was forced to make a desperate escape, pregnant and with Neda in tow.
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I learned so much. Great pacing, felt like I time-traveled
- By Jess Fuchs on 02-07-22
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Prisoner
- My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison—Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took to Get Me Out
- By: Jason Rezaian
- Narrated by: Jason Rezaian
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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The dramatic memoir of the journalist who was held hostage in a high-security prison in Tehran for 18 months and whose release - which almost didn’t happen - became a part of the Iran nuclear deal.
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Should have been much better given subject matter
- By Sample Sloth on 04-17-19
By: Jason Rezaian
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A Moonless, Starless Sky
- Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa
- By: Alexis Okeowo
- Narrated by: Kamali Minter
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In A Moonless, Starless Sky Okeowo weaves together four narratives that form a powerful tapestry of modern Africa: a young couple, kidnap victims of Joseph Kony's LRA; a Mauritanian waging a lonely campaign against modern-day slavery; a women's basketball team flourishing amid war-torn Somalia; and a vigilante who takes up arms against the extremist group Boko Haram.
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Amazing and Inspirational Stories
- By F L. on 01-01-18
By: Alexis Okeowo
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Excellent Daughters
- The Secret Lives of Young Women Who Are Transforming the Arab World
- By: Katherine Zoepf
- Narrated by: Katherine Zoepf
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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For more than a decade, Katherine Zoepf has lived in or traveled throughout the Arab world, reporting on the lives of women, whose role in the region has never been more in flux. Only a generation ago, female adolescence as we know it in the West did not exist in the Middle East. There were only children and married women. Today, young Arab women outnumber men in universities, and a few are beginning to face down religious and social tradition in order to live independently, to delay marriage, and to pursue professional goals.
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Best book on Middle East written this decade
- By Zuzana B on 07-02-17
By: Katherine Zoepf
What listeners say about I Was Told to Come Alone
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nathaniel N.
- 11-03-17
Please read!
Moving, beautiful, and informative. I am ever grateful to the author for her work in journalism and for this book. She's now a hero of mine.
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- Tatjana Kazan
- 11-28-17
Great Book, Terrible Narration
I cannot believe this narrator could not pronounce a single German word, including "die" - "the," in a book that is written by a German author and that takes place not only in the Arab world but also in Germany and Austria. What were you thinking!!
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- Jennifer
- 01-16-19
Souad Mekhennet is a truth seeker.
This book was riveting, eye opening and life changing. I’m a college history professor and I’m amazed at her methods of truth finding and her personal integrity. Her research methods align with academia, perfectly. One of the best books I’ve ever read.
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- Bridget Blinn-Spears
- 10-09-17
Almost perfect
Souad Mekhennet’s story is powerful, and her storytelling is masterful. Kristen Potter does a marvelous job narrating, but so much of this story is about identity and language, I missed Mekhennet’s accented English and rhythms.
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- M. Tanner
- 12-19-18
A Must Read for Every American
Ms. Mekhennet goes deep into the Middle East to discover the truth about Isis and other terrorist cells. With courage, fortitude and a heartfelt desire to understand, she enters the most dangerous territories to go directly to the source. I find her to be a brilliant human of great depth and courage, a wonderful storyteller of a truly complex story. A must-read/must-listen for everyone, especially Americans. Challenge your beliefs. Read this story. Took me to the next level of understanding. Recommended.
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- jayzee
- 07-02-17
Finally a true picture
Would you consider the audio edition of I Was Told to Come Alone to be better than the print version?
This is a refreshing, unbiased story of the rise of global terrorism .. and one that is rarely told anymore. It is amazing how journalism has become so biased and so focused on only telling one side of a story. To finally hear a more holistic view is captivating and enlightening. The story takes you into recent world events to give you an in-depth, behind the scenes look into the players and their motivations.
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
Souad's integrity to the journalism profession is inspiring. She takes you back to what true journalism is.. not a point of view but an unbiased telling of information so the reader can understand the situation for themselves.
Which character – as performed by Kirsten Potter – was your favorite?
The performance by Kirsten Potter was excellent. The pace of the book was great and will keep your attention right till the end.
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- Oren Harnevo
- 12-31-17
Fantastic book
So hard to get a good honest harsh look into both sides of great Islamic people trying to deal with the other side of brutal radical Islam but Souad does it so insightfully and honestly. Fantastic read
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- M. Martensen
- 07-03-17
A view from a different perspective.
Souad does a great job of helping us see the whole issue of Jihad and the trouble in the middle east from a muslim immigrant perspective. Things always have multiple sides and are more complex than what we see in cable news. It is a great read!
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- Nate
- 08-23-18
Amazing, life changing, book
This is an amazing book that gives you a new perspective on Middle Eastern conflicts and terrorism. She went behind the lines and interviewed countless men, women, and children who are affected by these conflicts and twisting of religion/ideology. This book gives you a more complete understanding of how the world has gotten to its current state, and if that doesn't convince you, its also a very well written book that is impossible to put down. Thank you Souad for your great work!
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- Reader Book
- 06-27-17
Personal Bravery
I chose this book because I wanted to know a female Muslim's view of how people become so radicalized and violent in the name of Islam. What do other Muslims think about the violence and how do they stand up against it? The author is a brilliant, brave woman with an understanding heart.
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