PositiveThe Washington Post... not a comprehensive repository of all things related to the Islamic State, in Syria and Iraq or globally. Instead, readers should expect quirky and important discoveries about the war and its transnational impact on oil smuggling, the running of refugees into Europe and the black market for antiquities. These activities helped support the Islamic State’s war machine, and Giglio is in his element explaining how they fit together as the militant group started to grow into a monster force. He rolled into battle with members of America’s local counter-Islamic State partners, and he captures the makeup of this motley crew ... Giglio might have provided a more nuanced portrait of the People’s Protection Units...while by no means perfect, the YPG (and the SDF) is much more than the caricature that Giglio presents in Shatter the Nations. Unfortunately, Giglio missed an opportunity to help the reader understand why the United States chose to partner with this group ... mostly succeeds as both a firsthand account of the war against the Islamic State and as something of a philosophical rumination on the larger \'forever war\' that the United States launched after al-Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Giglio has written an engaging and valuable account of the battle against the Islamic State and its regional and international effects. He captures, better than most any other author, the gritty, confusing and often cynical nature of this war fought by local actors on behalf of the United States. Readers who embark with Giglio on his harrowing adventures will gain much from his eye for the details that humanize his tale. Readers also will come away with a strong understanding of why the uprisings in Syria and Iraq metastasized into a multinational conflict that will reverberate for generations to come.