However the road to 9/11 does not pass only through the private quarters of Osama bin Laden. Mr Wright has given an equally detailed narration of the rest of the players, starting from the man who started it all - Sayyid Qutb - an executed American-educated Egyptian Islamic thinker who inspired a generation of militants through his beautiful writing, giving them an ideology that would shake the world as nothing ever had.
There are in-depth and revealing accounts of the early life of Ayman al-Zawahiri, a trained surgeon, Osama's close confidante, and Al Qaeda's No.2. There are suggestions of the unwieldy influence of Egyptians extremists on Osama during the formation of Al Qaeda and its murderous ideology. There are details of interesting interpretations that Al Qaeda terrorists gave to Koranic legends to justify the killing of fellow Muslims. There are seductive accounts of the wild lifestyle of the Saudi kings. There are thrilling sketches of American officials who were monitoring Osama in the pre-9/11 era. There are shameful reminders of Bill Clinton making half-hearted attempts to decimate bin Laden while attempting to rejuvenate his lameduck Monica-scarred presidency. There are amusing anecdotes about the Taliban, like Mullah Omar advising the American state department, in all seriousness, that the best way to avoid terrorist strikes would be for President Clinton to resign!
The Looming Tower is the sort of book that comes rarely and which best chronicles the turning points in history. It must be read by everyone. The only regret is that it could not be described as entertaining, for it must not be forgotten that we are talking about a day that saw the death of more than two thousand people.
Article comments
1 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States. Nice work!
2 - ray from san francisco
osama bin laden? personally, i like the guy...i sympathize with his criticisms of America's consumption obsession, and respect his planning and diligence that produced 9/11..he's really a determined fella
sure, i'll read the book
3 - Chris mankey
"osama bin laden? personally, i like the guy...i sympathize with his criticisms of America's consumption obsession, and respect his planning and diligence that produced 9/11..he's really a determined fella"
Do you? Then you're an ASSHOLE! You respect the planning and diligence that went in to 9/11. Was the killing all right of you as well? What a jerk
4 - pm
do you know how many children--just children--died because of UN sanctions on iraq in the 90s? 1 million. so how can you not expect something like 9/11 to have happened?
5 - This Guy
^That right there^ fact dropping.
that simply makes you look like a douche, my friend.