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The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage)
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Manufacturer: Vintage
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931
EAN: 9781400030842
ISBN: 1400030846
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 576
Publication Date: 2007-08-21
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date: 2007-08-21
Studio: Vintage
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Editorial Reviews:
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National Book Award Finalist
A Time, Newsweek, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and New York Times Book Review Best Book of the Year
A gripping narrative that spans five decades, The Looming Tower explains in unprecedented detail the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, the rise of al-Qaeda, and the intelligence failures that culminated in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Lawrence Wright re-creates firsthand the transformation of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri from incompetent and idealistic soldiers in Afghanistan to leaders of the most successful terrorist group in history. He follows FBI counterterrorism chief John O’Neill as he uncovers the emerging danger from al-Qaeda in the 1990s and struggles to track this new threat. Packed with new information and a deep historical perspective, The Looming Tower is the definitive history of the long road to September 11.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Outstanding, a must read for every American and peace loving human
Comment: As cliche as this sounds, this book is a "must read" for anyone who values peace, freedom, love, and America. All the good points on this book have already been said, I just wanted to give it my 5 stars!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great Overview
Comment: I found this to be a great book to start understanding not only Al-Qaeda and 9/11, but the implications of US foreign policy and the blowback it creates. This is one of the first books I recommend to people who have not dug into the matter as it opens up many doors to areas of further study. Like an earlier reviewer said, its coverage of more recent events, like 9/11, is rather flimsy and unsubstantial. However, I attribute this to the events' proximity, rather than a lack of scholarship.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Essential Reading for the informed
Comment: 1. This is a semi-dry book, but an important / landmark book; required reading for all those who wish to be part of the increasingly small but well informed electorate.
2. Buy it, read it, and deal with the realities of the 21rst century.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a detailed history of Al Qaeda
Comment: This narrative traces the beginnings of modern Islamic terrorism from the idealogy of Eygptian Sayyid Qutb in the middle of the 20th century to the culmination of many of his ideas in the construction of terrorist cells and eventually the events of September 11, 2001.
Much of the book follows the characters of Qutb, Zawahari, Bin Laden and friends from their childhoods. Less time is spent on the USA's pre-9/11 counterterrorism tactics which is seen through the lens of the FBI's John O'Niel.
Many will read this book hoping to find the answer as to "Why do they hate us and want to kill us?". The answer is simple and complex and we would do well to look at it without the rhetoric of "they hate us because of our freedom" (though it may be true in some indirect sense). They do hate us because of our freedom - for example our sexual freedom which we often export to the nations that we intrude upon imperialistically. It is a paradox for the modern day multiculturalist - so insistent on, for example, women's rights or abortion access, but also so careful not to offend Muslims and respect Islamic culture.
Readers will be frustrated at how little the CIA (and less so the FBI, I gather) did to apprehend the known Al Qaeda members in the USA who perpetrated the attacks. We knew they were here and we knew they were dangerous.
Many state that killing Bin Laden will be of little use in curbing terrorism since others will fill his shoes. I believe The Looming Tower paints a different picture. Islamic terrorism is not a very coherent institution and infighting occurs constantly much to the West's benefit. Bin Laden is a uniting figure who's absence could plunge Islamin terrorists back into rival factions.
Some gripes:
-Near the end, there is a silly comparison between Islamic and Christian fundamentalists without terms being defined.
-The book stops very abruptly on 9/11 though I suppose that is to be expected from the title
-I would have liked to see more analysis on the number of Islamic terrorists and how typical Muslims view them
-I would have liked to see more effort in relaying the American perspective of terrorism ante-9/11. And more analysis on why we failed to stop it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Largely non-biased and informative
Comment: Great book with great background. However somewhat questionable on the validity on information considering his lack of intelligence experience (or a clearance for that matter). But gives the the reader the most comprehensive view of Bin Laden's inner circle and personal mindset.
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