We all know the horrors of World War II. Whether we learn the tales of Hitler’s Third Reich in history class or through films, commentaries and memoirs of concentration camps like Auschwitz-Birkenau, we will never forget the 6 million people lost not too long ago.

Between school, home and synagogue, we thought we knew it all about WWII and the Jews, right? At least that’s what I told myself when I picked up Icon of Evil by David G. Dalin and John F. Rothmann. Well, think again.

Hitler was not the only culprit of Nazism—the man who was called “the führer of the Arab world” still lives on in present Islamic figures today and has motivated leaders of terrorist organizations like Hezbollah.

His name? Haj Amin al-Husseini.

If I could describe the chills, “Oh my God” moments and willingness to stay up ‘til 2 a.m. to finish the chapter I was reading, I would have to tell you to pick up this non-fiction page-turner immediately, because words cannot explain the shock about what I learned from these two authors.

The book begins about nine days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Haj Amin al-Husseini is in Berlin getting ready to meet at Adolf Hitler’s private office in the Reich Chancellery. Known as the mufti, al-Husseini discussed and plotted with Hitler about how to convince the world that it had a “Jewish problem.”

Just as Hitler wanted to exterminate the Jews, al-Husseini wanted to form an alliance with Hitler so he could do the same in the Arab world.

And that he did.

Icon of Evil takes you step-by-step through al-Husseini’s rise to power, the troubles he faced along the way and how his gospel of anti-Semitism has transformed the modern-day situation in the Middle East.

Dalin and Rothmann have put a new spin on WWII—this is a definite must-read for the summer.

Marissa Grey is a JVibe editorial intern. She loves to read non-fiction and hopes to someday write her own novel about being a 20-something.