"Margaret Coker, formerly of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, continued to cover Iraq after most of the American press corps had moved on; she has produced a gripping new book about the shadow war between Iraqi intelligence officers and the Islamic State...Coker’s reporting on these men, their families, and the family of a young woman recruited by terrorists is so meticulous that it lets her enter invisibly a closed, sometimes frightening world and portray it with cinematic detail...Coker’s Iraq emerges as its own country, more impressive than the stage of an American drama that absorbed us for a few years, more real than the projection of American fantasies and traumas, returning to its own people, finding its own destiny." — George Packer, The Atlantic

"The Spymaster of Baghdad brings a focused, refreshing — and well overdue — viewpoint." — Financial Times

"A dramatic and edifying must-read." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"An eye-opening account revealing that Iraqi competence and heroism were essential to its victory over terrorism." — Kirkus Reviews

“An intensely suspenseful, superbly well-reported, and significant tale.” — Booklist

"The Spymaster of Baghdad is the amazing true story of the secret war against ISIS in Iraq, which Margaret Coker tells with great verve and authority." — Peter Bergen, New York Times bestselling author of Manhunt

“Margaret Coker has brought to readers a gripping spy drama that doubles as a page-turning story of family and survival. A moving window into patriots who faced down terror and fought for their country.” — Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, New York Times bestselling author of Ashley’s War and The Daughters of Kobani 

“Margaret Coker’s The Spymaster of Baghdad is a stunning and meticulous account of exceptional bravery and espionage carried out by Iraqis in the most dangerous stages of the war against ISIS. These are the type of stories we so rarely get to hear, and we are lucky to have journalists like Coker to tell them.”  — Phil Klay,  award-winning author of Redeployment and Missionaries

“A thrilling and skillfully reported tale of the invisible heroes of the Iraqi fight against terrorism, that, at its heart, is a poignant story of family and sacrifice.” — Tamer Elnoury, covert operative and New York Times bestselling author of American Radical. 

“Oftentimes, real life narrated by a master story teller reads better than any spy novel one could come across. The Spymaster of Baghdad, written by the intrepid Margaret Coker, is a heartbreaking and courageous story well worth reading and sharing with the entire world. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Abu Ali Al-Basri and the Iraqi Falcons Unit for their important role in the fight against the most lethal terrorist group of our time.” — Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE). 

"A unique masterpiece in the genres of espionage writing and spy biography."  — Vin Arthey, The Scotsman

"Ms. Coker weaves together a spy story worthy of John le Carré...its constituent parts are riveting in and of themselves, but Ms. Coker brings them together in such a powerful way that it goes well beyond its “spy genre” label." — Joshua C. Huminski, The Diplomatic Courier

Margaret Coker is an investigative journalist. She has lived and worked in Iraq and the wider Middle East since 2003. An ex-Baghdad Bureau Chief for the New York Times, she honed her reporting skills at The Wall Street Journal where she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize as part of a team chronicling Turkeys failed coup, political purges and teetering democracy. Her coverage of national security issues won the Overseas Press Club Award and the Edwin M. Hood Prize from the National Press Club, Americas top prize for diplomatic reporting. This is her first book.