Those looking for a comprehensive and detailed program for defeating jihad might be disappointed in Gorka’s study as his recommendations are confined to the last five pages of the book. The bulk of the work is a rehash of related topics that may be enlightening for those new to the field but familiar for those more acquainted. Thus, the reader is offered a recap of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the U.S. responses, and their after-effects; a standard summary of the life of the prophet Muhammad; the meaning of the “greater” and “lesser” jihads; and a survey of the modern theoreticians regularly associated with the present-day articulation of jihad such as Sayyid Qutb, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini, and al-Qaeda’s Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Gorka’s recommendations for defeating jihad are good (if unoriginal). First: “Deploy the truth: You cannot win a war if you cannot talk honestly about the enemy. ... [W]e must use the term ‘jihadist’ to describe groups like the Islamic State.” Second: “Take a step back: Help others fight their own wars.” And finally: “Winning the war at home: [calls for] education and human intelligence. ... [W]e need to establish a nationwide program of education and training in the enemy threat doctrine of global jihadism across the armed services as well as federal, state, and local police forces and the intelligence community.” All three recommendations are certainly a good start—to which can be added banning immigration of Islamists and monitoring Islamic centers in America.

Western leaders and pundits must understand the ideological fount of jihadism in order to devise a real prescription for combating it. With a high position in the new Trump administration, Gorka is well placed to make this happen.