Author: Andrew Kirsch

An ex-spy lifts the lid on life in the secret service
A Globe and Mail and Toronto Star bestseller!

Andrew Kirsch didn't grow up watching spy movies, or dreaming about being a real-life James Bond. He was hardly aware that Canada even had its own intelligence service - let alone knew what its officers did. But when a terrorist attack occurred near the office of his financial services job, all of a sudden fighting terrorism meant a lot more to him than the markets. Within 18 months he had landed a job with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) - where he spent the next decadeof his life.

In I Was Never Here, Kirsch (now an in-demand security consultant) spills the secrets of what life as an intelligence officer is really like, and dispels a few myths along the way. With humour, honesty, and candour, Kirsch shares his on-the-ground experience (or as much of it as he's allowed to) of becoming a member of CSIS: from his vetting and training, to his initial desk job as a policy analyst, to his rise up the ranks to leading covert special operations missions. If you've ever wondered whether spiescan have real dating lives, how they handle family responsibilities, or how they come up with cover stories or aliases, you're in luck.

From the time he tried to get the code names "Burgundy" and "Anchorman" assigned to human sources (with no luck), to the night a covert operation was almost thwarted by a flyer delivery man, Kirsch takes you behind the scenes with an authentic view of Canada's spy agency, and the intricate intelligence-sharing apparatus that works day and night to keep us safe. I Was Never Here is also a testament to one man's drive to serve his country, and the sacrifices, big and small, that he made along the way.

Author: Phil Gurski

Gurski, a former Canadian intelligence analyst, provides an excellent survey of armed conflicts involving what he refers to as ‘lesser jihads,’ or the most extreme and intolerant Islamic terrorists who view the world as a zero-sum game. Chapters are organized by region as Gurski walks the reader through cases where Muslims are at times the aggressors, but also frequently the victims. Through brief case discussions, he demonstrates that regardless of local and underlying causes, violence against Muslims anywhere has been presented by Islamic terrorists via social media as a worldwide offensive against traditional Islam, or what he terms the ‘ummahfication of war.’ External actors feed into this narrative through foreign military intervention in some cases and through neglect in others, helping to explain the transnational migration of foreign fighters. Gurksi concludes with valuable lessons and suggested approaches by external actors to make the ummahfication of war narrative less effective. Readers will find the book interesting and insightful.

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. ― Choice Reviews

Author: Phil Gurski

Phil Gurski has studied and countered terrorism for most of his adult life, first as a Canadian intelligence official, now as an esteemed commentator. In this book he condenses his knowledge and expresses his views, without pulling punches but in a constructive way, over two decades of War on Terror. Highly informed common sense for experts and laypeople alike. -- Lorenzo Vidino, Director, Program on Extremism, George Washington University

Gurski is sketching a realistic path to end the war on terrorism. Amidst the abundance of literature on (counter)terrorism, Gurski is adding a rare but insightful piece to the debate: personal experiences of counterterrorism professionals. Reading Gurski means learning to defeat concrete threats and to accept the phenomenon of terrorism as part of civilisation. -- Michael Kowalski, Chairman of Netherlands Intelligence Studies Association

In this small book, Phil Gurski provides a concise and incisive discussion of the big issues in the “war on terrorism”. Drawing on his long service as an analyst and a sound appreciation of scholarship, he provides a highly accessible, realistic, and informative survey of the strengths and weaknesses of the diverse responses to the threat by Western states.

-- Lorne L. Dawson, distinguished professor emeritus, University of Waterloo and co-founder of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security, and Society.

Author: Phil Gurski

Christian fundamentalists. Hindu nationalists. Islamic jihadists. Buddhist militants. Jewish extremists. Members of these and other religious groups have committed horrific acts of terrorist violence in recent decades. How is this possible? How do individuals use their religious beliefs to justify such actions? How do they manipulate the language and symbols of their faith to motivate others to commit violence in the name of the divine? Phil Gurski addresses these essential questions as he explores violent extremism across a broad range of the world's major religions.

CONTENTS:

• Religion as a Springboard for Violence.
• Buddhist Extremism.
• Christian Extremism.
• Hindu Extremism.
• Islamic Extremism.
• Jewish Extremism.
• Sikh Extremism.
• When Religion Kills.

Author: Phil Gurski

A History of Terrorism in Canada from Confederation to Present

Canada may not come to mind when we talk about terrorism, and yet it has been both the site, and origin, of terrorist attacks both here and around the world throughout Canada’s history. Irish nationalism, Sikh extremism, Islamist terrorism, and other forms of violent ideologies, we've seen them all. The Peaceable Kingdom examines our history with violent extremism through the lens of the teams responsible for preventing it. A look behind the curtain of security intelligence and law enforcement, readers will learn of never-before-shared details on counter-terrorism.

A book made possible by the individuals responsible for saving the lives of Canadians and others, The Peaceable Kingdom highlights those who have dedicated their lives to counter-terrorism and making Canada, and the world, a safer place.