The Spymaster of Baghdad: A True Story of Bravery, Family, and Patriotism in the Battle Against ISIS
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- Create Date：2021-03-26 13:12:39
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Margaret Coker
- ISBN：0063063204
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Summary
From the former New York Times bureau chief in Baghdad comes the gripping and heroic story of an elite， top-secret team of unlikely spies who triumphed over ISIS。
The Spymaster of Baghdad tells the dramatic yet intimate account of how a covert Iraqi intelligence unit called “the Falcons” came together against all odds to defeat ISIS。 The Falcons， comprised of ordinary men with little conventional espionage background， infiltrated the world’s most powerful terrorist organization， ultimately turning the tide of war against the terrorist group and bringing safety to millions of Iraqis and the broader world。 Centered around the relationship between two brothers， Harith al-Sudani， a rudderless college dropout who was recruited to the Falcons by his all-star younger brother Munaf， and their eponymous unit commander Abu Ali， The Spymaster of Baghdad follows their emotional journey as Harith volunteers for the most dangerous mission imaginable。 With piercing lyricism and thrilling prose， Coker’s deeply-reported account interweaves heartfelt portraits of these and other unforgettable characters as they navigate the streets of war-torn Baghdad and perform heroic feats of cunning and courage。
The Falcons’ path crosses with that of Abrar， a young， radicalized university student who， after being snubbed by the head of the Islamic State’s chemical weapons program， plots her own attack。 At the near-final moment， the Falcons intercept Abrar’s deadly plan to poison Baghdad’s drinking water and arrest her in the middle of the night—just one of many covert counterterrorism operations revealed for the first time in the book。
Ultimately， The Spymaster of Baghdad is a page-turning account of wartime espionage in which ordinary people make extraordinary sacrifices for the greater good。 Challenging our perceptions of terrorism and counterterrorism， war and peace， Iraq and the wider Middle East， American occupation and foreign intervention， The Spymaster of Baghdad is a testament to the power of personal choice and individual action to change the course of history—in a time when we need such stories more than ever。
The Spymaster of Baghdad tells the dramatic yet intimate account of how a covert Iraqi intelligence unit called “the Falcons” came together against all odds to defeat ISIS。 The Falcons， comprised of ordinary men with little conventional espionage background， infiltrated the world’s most powerful terrorist organization， ultimately turning the tide of war against the terrorist group and bringing safety to millions of Iraqis and the broader world。 Centered around the relationship between two brothers， Harith al-Sudani， a rudderless college dropout who was recruited to the Falcons by his all-star younger brother Munaf， and their eponymous unit commander Abu Ali， The Spymaster of Baghdad follows their emotional journey as Harith volunteers for the most dangerous mission imaginable。 With piercing lyricism and thrilling prose， Coker’s deeply-reported account interweaves heartfelt portraits of these and other unforgettable characters as they navigate the streets of war-torn Baghdad and perform heroic feats of cunning and courage。
The Falcons’ path crosses with that of Abrar， a young， radicalized university student who， after being snubbed by the head of the Islamic State’s chemical weapons program， plots her own attack。 At the near-final moment， the Falcons intercept Abrar’s deadly plan to poison Baghdad’s drinking water and arrest her in the middle of the night—just one of many covert counterterrorism operations revealed for the first time in the book。
Ultimately， The Spymaster of Baghdad is a page-turning account of wartime espionage in which ordinary people make extraordinary sacrifices for the greater good。 Challenging our perceptions of terrorism and counterterrorism， war and peace， Iraq and the wider Middle East， American occupation and foreign intervention， The Spymaster of Baghdad is a testament to the power of personal choice and individual action to change the course of history—in a time when we need such stories more than ever。
Reviews
Elaina Smith
，
The author gave us a realistic picture of what life is like in Iraq during ISIS days。 It is quite sombering to hear what local people have to live with on a daily basis。 I felt the author did a wonderful job outlining the facts。 This book has certainly opened my eyes to the reality of life in Iraq。
Barbara
，
Conventional conservative families existed in all parts of Baghdad， including the Shiites in lower class parts of Saddam City and the Sunni’s living in middle class neighborhoods of Baghdad。 Despite their cultural differences， an elite intelligence agency was slowly formed in Iraq after the American invasion of 2003。 Journalist Margaret Coker， who reported from Iraq during the time period after 2003， thoroughly investigated this group called the Falcons。 Although there were many members in the F Conventional conservative families existed in all parts of Baghdad， including the Shiites in lower class parts of Saddam City and the Sunni’s living in middle class neighborhoods of Baghdad。 Despite their cultural differences， an elite intelligence agency was slowly formed in Iraq after the American invasion of 2003。 Journalist Margaret Coker， who reported from Iraq during the time period after 2003， thoroughly investigated this group called the Falcons。 Although there were many members in the Falcons agency， Margaret Coker focused on three members and their leader。 Two of the featured members were brothers from the poor neighborhood of Saddam City， and the other featured member was a young lady from a middle class neighborhood who witnessed unjust treatment of community residents。 The group was not a quick fix to end all terrorism in Iraq， but they became a reliable group to encourage change in Iraq while they shared their classified information with British and American sources。 。。。more
Kalyan Turaga
，
Amazing book！ Written in a novel style （which I am not used to and was expected）Well researched and beautifully narrated。 I found the story telling intriguing and interesting。 Learnt new thing about Iraq and battle it had with ISIS。RESPECTS TO ALL MEN AND WOMEN WHO LAID THEIR LIFE FOR THEIR MOTHERLAND。
Bassam
，
It's been so long since I've read a great book about my home country Iraq like this one。 Through her writing style， the author narrated the story of the secret spy cell against ISIS skillfully。 I wanted to finish the book in one sitting， has life not got in the way。 It's that good。 She mastered describing the culture and politics of Iraq， most importantly the people of Iraq。 As an Iraqi myself， I think she nailed it。 The book is a must-read for anyone interested in the Middle East politics and a It's been so long since I've read a great book about my home country Iraq like this one。 Through her writing style， the author narrated the story of the secret spy cell against ISIS skillfully。 I wanted to finish the book in one sitting， has life not got in the way。 It's that good。 She mastered describing the culture and politics of Iraq， most importantly the people of Iraq。 As an Iraqi myself， I think she nailed it。 The book is a must-read for anyone interested in the Middle East politics and affairs。 It's a great mirror into how Iraqis have endured a lot of pain and how their resilience and love for their country encourage them to fight the terror group。 It's also a mirror into seeing how skillful those terrorists were and how sophisticated their approach was。 Even better， it's a mirror into the heads of some Iraqis who unfortunately fell victim to hate and how they turned from being great citizens to terrorists。 It's an eyeopener。 If you've ever loved any of the late legendary journalist Anthony Shadid's work， then you'll love this one too。 Margaret Coker brings life to the suffering， resilience and heroism of the Iraqi people as they go one with their lives in the wake of wars and terrorism。 。。。more
Cav
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"。。。When the pleasantries were done， the spymaster got down to business。 He had heard of my queries and wanted to set the record straight。 “We have eyes inside，” he told me， using the Arabic slang for a spy。 “We have penetrated Islamic State。”Despite this intriguing quote， dropped early in the book， this one was not really what I expected。。。Author Margaret Coker was the Baghdad bureau chief from 2017 to 2018。 She has been a foreign correspondent for 18 years — 12 of which she has spent covering "。。。When the pleasantries were done， the spymaster got down to business。 He had heard of my queries and wanted to set the record straight。 “We have eyes inside，” he told me， using the Arabic slang for a spy。 “We have penetrated Islamic State。”Despite this intriguing quote， dropped early in the book， this one was not really what I expected。。。Author Margaret Coker was the Baghdad bureau chief from 2017 to 2018。 She has been a foreign correspondent for 18 years — 12 of which she has spent covering the wider Middle East。 Margaret Coker: The story here details events that would lead up to the eventual killing of the self-described Caliph of The Islamic State， Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi， through the work of members of the elite Iraqi intelligence unit called Al-Suquor， or the Falcons。 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: Despite a decent introduction， the writing in the book proper gets off to a very slow start。 Coker spends quite a lot of time detailing the early lives of the key players in this book; including extensive and lengthy stories from their childhoods。 I realized that part of my confusion with this book has to do with my expectation of what would be covered。From the book's intro， I was expecting more of a gripping tale on the hunt for， and killing of Baghdadi。 While that is covered here， it is not really the central plot。 Instead， the writing here focuses on two brothers; Munaf and Harith al-Sudani， who become members of the Falcons。 A subplot also follows female jihadist Abrar al-Kubaisi， who planned to poison Bagdhad's water supply with the toxin ricin。 Coker's writing details the lives of the brothers and Abrar al-Kubaisi; their early childhoods， their adolescence， and then the brothers work in the Falcons。 Indeed， the ending of the book doesn't focus on the death of Bagdhadi， but rather - what becomes of the two brothers。 I've included the ending of this story beneath a spoiler， for anyone interested， as well as my own future reference。 （view spoiler）[* One of the brothers， Harith went undercover in the Islamic State for 16 months。 * In his second from last mission， he feels that he was watched by his Islamic State commanders， as the car bomb he was supposed to detonate was deactivated by the Falcons。 They set off a mock bomb with compressed air， and propagated a fake death toll to maintain Harith's cover。* Harith receives another call， asking him to come to a remote farmhouse for his next mission。 This sets off alarm bells for brother Munaf， as all his previous missions saw him pick up the "package" （a car comb） in Bagdhad。* Harith disappears after going to the farm house。* The Islamic State was onto Harith， and knew of his undercover role after having placed a second cell phone in the car to eavesdrop on him on his previous mission。* Munaf receives a video of the torture of his brother Harith months later。* Eventually， a video surfaces of Harith's execution。* Munaf is devastated; feeling that he is partially to blame for not preventing his brother's death。* Abrar al-Kubaisi was on the radar of the Falcons， and she was arrested before she could carry out an attack。 She was sentenced to life in prison。 （hide spoiler）]Unfortunately， there was something about Coker's telling of this story that did not really resonate with me。。。 I'm not exactly sure what that was。 Maybe it had to do with my initial expectations。 Maybe it is also partly that I didn't particularly like the style she writes with。In any case， this may well be a subjective thing。 I see that this book has garnered largely positive reviews from others， so take from this what you will。I rate this one 3 stars。["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]> 。。。more
Matthew
，
4 stars if this were a normal book， one more for the clear effort made to tell an Iraqi story from the Iraqi perspective。 Excellent and heart-wrenching， an incredible story of bravery and service。
Naim Peress
，
This is an engrossing book。 Many spies are trained but some arise out of their circumstances。 This is written like a novel。 It’s interesting how the lives of Abu-Ali Al-Masri and Haref and Manaf Al-Sudeini shape them into good spies。 Due to the chaos and brutality of his area of Sadr City in Baghdad， Manaf Al-Sudeini has to engage in a private espionage operation just to see his wife and family。 The book shows that our attempt to use ex-Saddamists to rebuild Iraq’s intelligence apparatus was a f This is an engrossing book。 Many spies are trained but some arise out of their circumstances。 This is written like a novel。 It’s interesting how the lives of Abu-Ali Al-Masri and Haref and Manaf Al-Sudeini shape them into good spies。 Due to the chaos and brutality of his area of Sadr City in Baghdad， Manaf Al-Sudeini has to engage in a private espionage operation just to see his wife and family。 The book shows that our attempt to use ex-Saddamists to rebuild Iraq’s intelligence apparatus was a failure。 Only an Iraqi solution could solve the country’s intelligence problems。 Definitely worth reading。 。。。more
James Aird
，
A must read for anyone interested in military affairs or foreign policy。 Margaret does an incredible job of weaving diverse narratives into a comprehensive story about Iraq's most successful spy agency。 It is so interesting to read about The Falcons and how their work related to so many of Iraq's most notorious terror plots/attacks。。。。 and how their unit closed the 2003 Canal Hotel （UN Headquarters） bombing case！ As someone who used to live/work in Baghdad， I find this book to be the most intere A must read for anyone interested in military affairs or foreign policy。 Margaret does an incredible job of weaving diverse narratives into a comprehensive story about Iraq's most successful spy agency。 It is so interesting to read about The Falcons and how their work related to so many of Iraq's most notorious terror plots/attacks。。。。 and how their unit closed the 2003 Canal Hotel （UN Headquarters） bombing case！ As someone who used to live/work in Baghdad， I find this book to be the most interesting book about 2014-present Iraq。 A must read！ 。。。more
Linda Haas
，
The Spymaster of Baghdad is a true story of how one man set up a network of counterterrorism operations to protect the people of Baghdad from ISIS bombs。 I found this entire book to be most interesting。 It starts out by informing the reader about each character before the actual spying begins。 Even though I was looking forward to the spy part， I found this background information to be fascinating。 I didn’t know much about Iraq except that it was an Islamic country that America sent troops over t The Spymaster of Baghdad is a true story of how one man set up a network of counterterrorism operations to protect the people of Baghdad from ISIS bombs。 I found this entire book to be most interesting。 It starts out by informing the reader about each character before the actual spying begins。 Even though I was looking forward to the spy part， I found this background information to be fascinating。 I didn’t know much about Iraq except that it was an Islamic country that America sent troops over there to fight the terrorists。 Now I learned about how life is for the Iraqis on an everyday basis。 We take safety for granted in the US。 We don’t imagine a bomb going off at the mall when we shop， but that is an everyday possibility for the people in Baghdad。 This book shows the love of family and the courage it takes to keep them safe。 。。。more
Caroline David
，
This book had everything。 Margaret Coker really wrote this so that it read more like a novel therefore it was easier to digest and the confusion stayed to a minimum。 I feel like the defeat of ISIS is something that was overlooked due to the division here stateside so it was interesting to hear what was going on， as recent as 2019。 Definitely a book for anyone interested in military or foreign policy。
Elia Sam
，
What is the probability that A。A。B will be here and read your comments and your readings？Who knows。。。！
Eleanor With Cats
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Disclaimer: I received a digital review copy from the publisher。 There was no requirement to publish a review （more of a quiet hope） and there was no requirement to publish a positive review。 I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars， but I'm rounding it up because I haven't seen any other books about Iraqis fighting ISIL。 （Note: I will be using the terms ISIL or Daesh instead of ISIS， because Isis is a perfectly nice Egyptian goddess and I know people who worship her， and she's probably pissed a group of Disclaimer: I received a digital review copy from the publisher。 There was no requirement to publish a review （more of a quiet hope） and there was no requirement to publish a positive review。 I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars， but I'm rounding it up because I haven't seen any other books about Iraqis fighting ISIL。 （Note: I will be using the terms ISIL or Daesh instead of ISIS， because Isis is a perfectly nice Egyptian goddess and I know people who worship her， and she's probably pissed a group of violent monotheists tried to steal her name。） It's an interesting change from ubiquitous ISIL/terrorism/Iraq-related books from a set group of American perspectives。 The book is a good and quick read。 However， since it reads more like a novel than an academic work， I kept wondering where the author was getting her details and if they were accurate。 How did she know the Iraqi head of state was bored during this particular meeting？ Did she talk to one of his generals？ Did she assume it？ There was a note at the end about her sources （two years of interviews with everyone from the main biographical protagonists to， yes， an Iraqi head of state）。 It would have been much more reassuring to me if the note had appeared at the beginning。 I was also a little surprised when the B storyline never met up with the A storyline。 There's technically no reason it should， I had just assumed the storylines would eventually meet because that's a frequent narrative structure。 Basically there's an A storyline about three Iraqis working in counterterrorism and a B storyline about someone who sympathizes with ISIL and tries to join them at one point。 Since the B storyline doesn't join the A storyline and isn't strongly related to the title of the book or the events in the blurb， I think it was included in the book to provide a look into the heads of people who do something we all think we wouldn't do。 It's a good goal， and an interesting storyline。 I was just surprised because I hadn't realised that was where we were going。 Interesting reading， and definitely fast-paced。 。。。more
Kayla Tornello
，
This book really illustrates what life is like in Baghdad， with all the violence that threatens daily life。 It also tells the story of a man who went undercover to spy on the ISIS terrorists。 The battle to keep everyone safe is relentless and exhausting。 This book will really open up your eyes to what life is like in modern Baghdad。I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway。 Yay！
Lynn Demsky
，