They Will Have to Die Now

Mosul and the Fall of the Caliphate

By: James Verini

Narrated by: Ray Porter

James Verini arrived in Iraq in the summer of 2016 to write about life in the Islamic State. He stayed to cover the jihadis' last great stand, the Battle of Mosul, not knowing it would go on for nearly a year, nor that it would become, in the words of the Pentagon, "the most significant urban combat since WWII."

They Will Have to Die Now takes the listener into the heart of the conflict against the most lethal insurgency of our time. We see unspeakable violence, improbable humanity, and occasional humor. We meet an Iraqi major fighting his way through the city with a bad leg; a general who taunts snipers; an American sergeant who removes his glass eye to unnerve his troops; a pair of Moslawi brothers who welcomed the Islamic State, believing, as so many Moslawis did, that it might improve their shattered lives. Verini also relates the rich history of Iraq, and of Mosul, one of the most beguiling cities in the Middle East.

©2019 James Verini (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Ray Porter’s forceful narration heightens the propulsive quality of Verini’s writing, while also highlighting the general and enduring absurdities of war." (The New York Times Book Review)

Best narrarated book I've ever heard

I listen to a lot of audio books, and this was by far the best narrarated one I've heard. The story itself is enthralling (though graphic, so skip if you're squeamish) and emotional, and the combination of a fantastically written book and expert narraration is unbeatable. Strongly recommend for anyone wanting to learn more about the rise of ISIS, Iraqi history, and the Battle for Mosul.

Personal and informative thru a great performance.

Porters performance felt natural, yet captivating, with energy and an astonishing array of voices for the characters that Verini encountered. Verini delivers a great balance of historical background and personal experiences to enlighten the reader of the very real world that many people endure but most Americans cannot fathom.
I had to listen to the whole book a second time before I was ready to consider starting another book.

Great history told engagingly

As a resident of Baghdad since mid-2020 I thoroughly enjoyed this account of the events that preceded my arrival only a few years, and that deeply affected my work colleagues. I'm grateful to James Verini for putting time into researching and recounting the history of Mosul and the groups involved, and explaining it in the horrible context he experienced. The narration was a little too dramatic for my taste, at times almost sarcastic and condescending, but perhaps that's what Verini felt too. Whilst Verlini is mostly respectful of the Iraqis, who are really delightful people, and also appropriately disparaging of America's recent engagements here, I felt a slight disrespect for Islam and the Arab world throughout. This is absent from, for example, Tim Mackintosh Smith's wonderful book simply called "Arabs", which I highly recommend (better in.print I think). No doubt Verini's first hand experience of the violence of the ISIS caliphate influenced his focus on violence throughout the history of Mosul, but it's obviously not the defining characteristic of those periods of history in that town.

Great Read

Excellent history of the defeat of ISIS in Mosul, Iraq in 2016. The author displays deep insight into causes of the recent conflict. Although many of my veteran friends who have read the book thinks the author disrespects the American military, I disagree. There is no doubt however, that our foreign policy in the region was disastrous. Of course, our misadventures in the Middle East didn’t start with the “War on Terror “. The book gives a summary of the West’s mistakes, including Pico-Sykes and the Balfour Declaration. In addition, the book does a good job in describing the history of Mosul and ancient civilizations including the Assyrian.
Missing from the book was the destruction of the monastery of St Elijah by ISIS in 2014. As a Medical Corps Army officer in Mosul in 2007, the visit to that 1400 year old Christian church was profound.
Bottom line, an excellent read that I’d highly recommend.

A must read

This should be required reading for all Americans. The author brings you into this tortured country brought down by American arrogance and we get to know and feel real people suffering though this “end of times”

Well written. Well performed

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. I was very interested in the in depth, deep historical information that was presented. Some of the details were gory but true to a combat zone. The relationships, interactions and dialogues were fascinating and gave a personal dimension to the storyline.

The human cost of American hegemony..

Several times I listened and found I had tears in my eyes learning the truth about what we, as the United States, do to other countries while crowing how we are the good guys. It's hard to sit with, but important to know the truth. It still continues to this day. One country, as described by Abu Omar (I believe that was his name) is still our "bad child." And the cycle of violence and destruction continues. We can't even solve our own problems but we are always putting our nose into other country's business. We just create so much destruction and pain. Countries like Iraq deserve to live their lives in peace. The citizens have the same desires for safety and taking care of their families just as we do in the west. We just leave wakes of destruction. It made my soul ache hearing that these people just wanted to have their side told. They deserve so much more.

really solid performance keeps you engaged

as with any book about a battle, it's hard to see the map in your head. the author does a reasonable job of explaining it in words, but it doesn't lend itself easily to the audio format, as it's not so easy to pace yourself differently when necessary to take in those geography information dumps that happen periodically.

but the performer does a good job of using slightly different, and not offensively overdone accents to help you in understand who is speaking during the dialogue.

Listening tip: the author follows a couple families and a few commanders through the whole book. take the time to make sure you know who he's talking about when he introduces new characters, as he's going to follow them again later.

don't worry too too much if you have a hard time keeping track of the map or the characters... the stories are powerful enough to experience even without it.

I really appreciated the historical summary, and the discussion about the diversity of opinion among the different groups involved in the conflict and the politics. it meshes with other books I've read about the Islamic state's although the author does not present himself as an expert on Islam, islamism, or jihadism. he does a good job of hitting the key bits of those elements so you have what you need to understand the players.

finally, I have to complement the author's writing. he uses English to its fullest. he's comfortable with profanity and eryudite language, and everything in between. it helps him to translate not only the meaning of his arabic speaking subjects, but also to approximate their voices as if they were native English speakers. his character sketches are well done, but he gives a voice to each character... and in the case of both Omar and Aya, the change in voice helps their character arcs, which helps really drive the whole narrative. well done.

amazing history of Mosul and the Assyrian empire

really enjoyed this amazing story yet sad story of fallen human warfare. the history of Nineveh was

Excellent story of people and history

Really liked it at first. Kind of dragged a little later. Great human stories and great history. I had just finished a book on Vietnam by Max Hastings and man, this book, telling the same type story. differnt location. youd think the west would learn. It's an eternal, internal, conflict. No westerner is going to help.