American Radical - by Tamer Elnoury & Kevin Maurer (Paperback)

About the Book

It's no secret that federal agencies are waging a broad, global war against terror. But for the first time in this memoir, an active, Muslim American federal agent reveals his experience infiltrating and bringing down a terror cell in North America. A longtime undercover agent, Tamer Elnoury joined an elite counterterrorism unit after September 11. Its express purpose is to gain the trust of terrorists whose goals are to take out as many Americans in as public and devastating a way possible. It's a furious race against the clock for Tamer and his unit to stop them before they can implement their plans. Yet as new as this war still is, the techniques are as old as time: Listen, record, and prove terrorist intent --

Book Synopsis

The explosive New York Times bestselling memoir of a Muslim American FBI agent fighting terror from the inside.

A longtime undercover agent, Tamer Elnoury joined an elite counterterrorism unit after September 11, 2001. Its express purpose was to gain the trust of terrorists whose goals were to take out as many Americans in as public and devastating a way as possible. It was a furious race against the clock for Elnoury and his unit to stop them before they could implement their plans. Yet the techniques were as old as time: listen, record, and prove terrorist intent.

It's no secret that federal agencies have waged a broad, global war against terror, through and after the war in Afghanistan. But for the first time, in this memoir, an active Muslim American federal agent reveals his experience infiltrating and bringing down a terror cell in North America.

Due to his ongoing work for the FBI, Elnoury writes under a pseudonym. An Arabic-speaking Muslim American, a patriot, a hero: To many Americans, it will be a revelation that he and his team even existed, let alone the vital and dangerous work they have done keeping all Americans safe.

Review Quotes

Praise for American Radical

"[A] multifaceted, action-packed account of real-life spycraft...Elnoury heightens the suspense in vividly described scenes...and provides insight into the worldview and intentions of al-Qaeda affiliates. There is never a dull moment in this intimate story of an American Muslim going to great lengths to serve and protect his country."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The author reflects compellingly on the challenges of being a Muslim patriot, and he closes with a plea to resist wholesale bigotry: 'Banning Muslims from the United States throws gas on the myth that the United States is at war with Islam.' His tale of infiltration is exciting and clearly written...A worthwhile, unique addition to the shelf of post-9/11 memoirs concerning the fight against terrorism."--Kirkus Reviews

"The first time an active FBI agent has published a book remotely like it."--The Times (UK)

About the Author

Tamer Elnoury was born in Egypt and immigrated to the United States before his fifth birthday. Elnoury began his career in law enforcement in 1995. After a brief stint with a fugitive task force, he began working undercover narcotics. Elnoury worked in more than 2,500 narcotics investigations as well as political corruption, gun trafficking, and child abuse cases. In 2008, Elnoury began working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He joined an elite, covert counterterrorism unit. Elnoury has worked cases all over the world for multiple government agencies.

Kevin Maurer is an award-winning journalist and the bestselling coauthor, with Mark Owen, of No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden. He has covered war and terrorism for more than a decade.