Diary of a Fallen So(u)ldier

How do good young men become religious extremists? Are they inherently evil or is their transformation a result of more complex factors we haven´t considered? When a journalist fishes out some torn notebooks from an abandoned shelter in Syria what he finds is a story rarely told: that of a rebel in his last days looking back and recounting all of the events that led to him becoming another casualty of a senseless war.Written from the perspective of a young Muslim growing up in post-9/11 America the soldier´s narrative analyzes the ingredients of radicalization from rampant anti-Muslim prejudice to the failures of the criminal justice system - and the sense of injustice this breeds in incarcerated communities. The diaries often laced with both theology and street-smart humor tell the story of how easily self-righteousness is misdirected and that of a man resigned to paying the ultimate cost for his choices.