Religious Extremism

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Named one of Entertainment Tonight’s Best Celebrity Memoirs of 2023 As seen in The New York Times, People, The Cut, Vulture, The Daily Beast, Today, Bustle, Us Weekly, Life & Style, and Interview “No stone goes unturned” (People) in this memoir by reality...

The instant New York Times bestselling author of the “raw and revealing” (Interview magazine) Bad Mormon, and star of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City anddocumentary series Surviving Mormonism, returns with a hilarious and candid national bestseller about life and love as a former...

"A bewitching political novel of contemporary Cairo that is also an engagé novel about sex, a romantic novel about power and a comic yet sympathetic novel about the vagaries of the human heart. Even the least politically oriented reader will find it engrossing." — New York Times Book Review...

In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, J. M. Berger offers a nuanced introduction to extremist movements, explaining what extremism is, how extremist ideologies are constructed, and why extremism can escalate into violence. 

John Alexander Dowie (1847-1907) was a Scottish evangelist and “faith healer” who migrated to the United States from Australia in the late 1800s. Dowie was referred to by critics of his time as a “confidence man”, a person who appealed to the confidence of victims using deception to convince or persuade them out of money or into submission. In the case of Dowie’s Christian Catholic Church cult following, commonly referred to as “Zionites” or “Dowieites”, both money and power were gained.

Gaza. For months, the name has dominated every headline and news broadcast. But what do we truly know about life there, beyond the slogans and reports of war? — The most profound and honest answer isn't in the news; it's in the life story of someone who grew up there. This is the story of Ayman Abu Soobuch, born in 1977 in Khan Yunis, in the very heart of the Gaza Strip. He grew up as the third child of a Muslim family, living near monsters like Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Yahya Ayyash. But a single, transformative moment changed the course of his life. In his gripping story, he ...

Braverman Shaw—"Bravo" to his friends—always knew his father had secrets. But not until Dexter Shaw dies does Bravo discover that his father belonged to the Order of Gnostic Observatines, a hidden sect long believed to be extinct. For centuries, the Order has guarded a lost Testament that...

*** The book includes versions in three languages: English, Hebrew, and Persian. ״It began in the shelter inside our home, sitting with my children as sirens wailed and explosions echoed - dozens of Iranian ballistic missiles flying toward us, some falling not far away, others intercepted in the sky above. Why do they hate us so much? That question led to an intense journey of investigation and to Double-Edged Sword.״ This book follows the path of a single mortar shell that returned to the land where it was made - carrying within it the untold story of a region shaped by power, faith, and...

A finalist for the National Book Award, The Convert by Pulitzer Prize finalist Deborah Baker is the eye-opening account of Margaret Marcus’ dramatic conversion from an American secular Jew to a proponent of radical Islam. In 1962, Margaret left New York for Lahore, Pakistan, changed her name, and quickly became one of Islam’s loudest critics of the West.

The second book in the April Dawn series. She was built without a conscience. She developed one anyway. April Dawn arrives at Coastal Technical University with a mission: infiltrate a terrorist recruitment network, gather intelligence, and report back. What she doesn't expect is to actually belong somewhere. To make friends worth protecting. To discover that one of those friends is already trapped in something far darker than anyone realised. When four hundred innocent lives hang in the balance, April must choose between following orders and following her conscience — and discover, once ...

This gripping audiobook is a strong choice alongside books about high-demand religion, overcoming odds, and finding inner strength in impossible situations."—Booklist (Starred Review) This program is read by the author. “Today it hit me when he hit me, blood shaking in my brain. Maybe there...

Bloomsbury presents Money, Lies, and God by Katherine Stewart, read by Patricia Rodriguez. INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY FOREIGN AFFAIRS From the acclaimed author of The Power Worshippers, “an indispensable citizen’s guide to the anti-democratic MAGA...

Jonathan Grisham takes you on an unflinching journey through the oppressive world of the Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) movement. This isn't just a memoir—it's a lifeline. Grisham exposes the emotional manipulation, ideological rigidity, and psychological warfare that define this religious institution. But this book is more than an exposé; it's a toolkit for resistance. Grisham equips you with the intellectual and emotional resources to question, challenge, and liberate yourself from religious extremism. From the stifling homogeneity of the IFB's curriculum to its damning stance ...

A mother. A doomsday prophet. Two dead children. A trail of bodies across two states. Lori Vallow Daybell was once a beauty queen, devoted mother, and lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. By 2025, she had been convicted by multiple juries in two states for crimes connected to the deaths of her children, Tylee Ryan and Joshua “JJ” Vallow, the death of her husband Charles Vallow, the death of Tammy Daybell, and the attempted murder of Brandon Boudreaux. This carefully researched true-crime account reconstructs the case from the public record: police ...

The "unputdownable" (Dave Eggers, National Book award finalist) story of the most infamous American con man you've never heard of: James Strang, self-proclaimed divine king of earth, heaven, and an island in Lake Michigan, "perfect for fans of The Devil in the White City" (Kirkus) A New York...

A mother. A camera. A family brand. A closed door. Ruby Franke built an audience by turning motherhood into content. As the face of the family YouTube channel 8 Passengers, she presented a home defined by faith, discipline, order, and moral certainty. Millions watched. Some admired her. Some worried. Few could see what was happening once the cameras moved away. In 2023, Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested after one of Ruby’s children escaped Hildebrandt’s Utah home and sought help from a neighbour. The criminal case that followed exposed severe abuse, a controlling belief ...

Why do we believe in the views of a political party or leader? How can we better understand vaccine hesitancy or denial of climate change science? What drives extremist or conspiracist beliefs? This vital and timely new text provides a compelling survey of the science behind how people form...

In the vein of Educated and Hillbilly Elegy comes a young woman’s memoir chronicling her harrowing journey from despair to salvation that showcases the depths and resilience of the human spirit and empowers readers on their own paths toward healing, forgiveness, and redemption. Carrie...

Abraham Khan is a Muslim who dreams of changing the world. He's liberal, pro-Western, and determined to speak out against the extremists who have hijacked his religion. That makes him a target, and the consequences hit him fast and hard - an armed fanatic smashes into his home one evening, trying to kill him. He survives the harrowing attempt, just barely. Maya Raines is the special operative brought in to protect Abraham. She is tough and committed. The very best at what she does. But Abraham is no ordinary principal - he will not hide, and he will not stay silent. 

God at War explores the dark attraction between religion and warfare. Virtually every religious tradition leaves behind it a bloody trail of stories, legends, and images of war, and most wars call upon the divine for blessings in battle. This book finds the connection between religion and warfare in the alternative realities created in the human imagination in response to crises both personal and social.