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Feb 06, 2012

Jessica rated it:

Lawrence Wright is one of those guys who could easily put novelists out of business, and this book made me question why I read fiction at all. The locations, characters, and events in The Looming Tower are so much more fascinating than anything an author could invent, and the fact that they're real makes them seem important in a way fiction almost never does. I loved this book, and my picayune quibbles -- a few recurring awkward sentence constructions, inexplicably referring to domestic terroris More...

7 comments like (22 people liked it)

Sep 17, 2011

Paul rated it:

You can be nerdy and geeky and boring about all manner of things, railway timetables, cricket, baseball heroes of the 1940s, the confectionary you used to scoff when you were little (ah the nostalgic sweetmeats of childhood, how much of a lump in your throat were they then and still are now), campy 70s sitcoms, Jean-Marie Straub movies, the best places to go backpacking in Andalucia, bootlegs of the Velvet Underground, and so on boringly and tediously.

Turns out you can be geeky and More...

4 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 03, 2010

Eric_W is currently reading it

"Therefore when you induce others to construct a formation while you yourself are formless, then you are concentrated while the opponent is divided... Therefore the consummation of forming an army is to arrive at formlessness. When you have no form, undercover espionage cannot find out anything, intelligence cannot form a strategy." Sun Tzu, 500 B.C.

For some reason, I failed to get very far into this book and was reminded of it when I read an excellent column recently at S More...

5 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 05, 2007

Bart rated it:

What a great surprise this book was. I first read about The Looming Tower (the title comes from the Koranic verse Osama bin Laden used as a coded message to the 9/11 hijackers) in a number of political op/ed columns. Finally, though, it was conservative writer Jonah Goldberg's heavy reliance on The Looming Tower for an L.A. Times column that sent me looking for the book.

Lawrence Wright's treatment of the jihadist movement is thorough to the point of being almost sympathetic. It g More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Michael rated it:

Another great narrative non-fiction book. Wright really gets to the heart of Al-Qaeda, specifically its leaders and predecessors. The most suprising thing, to me, about these radical Muslim leaders, is that their hatred for the West, according to Wright, stems more from a moral indignation than politics. I always shuddered when I heard the neocons say that "They hurt us because they hate the way we live." It turns out that may have more truth to it than I thought.

" More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 27, 2007

brian rated it:

there are those books that we dig and enjoy every time we sit down to read 'em... then there are those books that make our heads explode; that make every minute of the day a veritable chinese water torture of having to wait for the chance to get the hell home and read some more; those books that live inside us all through the day (and night); those books that make us excited at having to take a crap just so that we can shut the door behind us (or not) and sneak in a few pages... the looming towe More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Mike rated it:

This book is really worth reading, even if you think you've had your fill of Al Queda, 9-11 et al. The histories of Bin Laden and Zawahiri are interesting and surprising, and this book really lays out how the CIA and FBI blew their chances to stop 9/11. If you're not already disgusted by them, this will get you there. Despite its depressing subject matter, the book is actually a pleasure to read, because the writing and story-telling are so good. This dude has knowledge!

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 16, 2010

John and Kris rated it:

Lawrence Wright has written an accessible masterpiece detailing the rise of fundamentalist Islamic terror. Rarely do books hold up to lofty expectations; I highly recommend The Looming Tower.

If, as Churchill famously said, “Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” then what is the infinitely more complex Middle East to the West as we attempt to understand the motivations of a language, religion, and culture most know almost nothing about? Wright builds an engaging c More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2011

أشرف rated it:

يتتبع الكتاب (البرج المشيّد) قصة القاعدة منذ بدايات التنظيمات الجهادية في مصر، رابطاً بين نشأتها وفكر سيد قطب مروراً بتنظيمات الجهاد والتكفير والهجرة والجماعة الإسلامية. طبعاً كان هناك تركيز على قصة حياة أسامة بن لادن. وما يميز السرد أنه مقسم لأكثر من بيوغرافي أو قصة منفصلة ومتداخلة معاً. قصة أسرة ابن لادن. قصة الصحوة بالمملكة، قصة الجماعات الإسلامية في مصر، قصة (جون أونيل) محقق الإف بي آي المسؤول عن ملاحقة ابن لادن، قصة أفغانستان، وعلاقة أميركا بذلك كله. ما يميز الكتاب هو ربطه المتقن والسلس بين More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 27, 2011

Bonnie rated it:

I borrowed this book from my brother. He and Loni read it during a family reunion in Wellfleet in the summer of 2006. They both raved about it.

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 is a rare book. Wright spent five years doing research and interviews. How did 9/11 happen? How close were we to preventing it? How have the tenets of Islam been so hideously and deliberately misinterpreted by people? How is it that the west has become a target of these terrorists?

L More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 11, 2008

David rated it:

The author spent five years interviewing people throughout the Middle East and United States, examining the events leading up to September 11th, 2001, and portions of this book have appeared in The New Yorker over the past couple of years. The overall book is a rare combination of gripping story-telling and thoughtful perspective.

Where the book really shines is the personal, political and religious insight that it gives into motivations of the terrorists, as well as the American b More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jojo rated it:

This book tells the story of Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri and the founding of al Qaeda. The narrative is compelling and the book is obviously well researched. I particularly appreciated the parts of the book that provided insight into the backgrounds and day-to-day lives of the jihadists and their families.

My only substantive complaint about the book -- and it is a fairly significant problem for me -- is the lack of footnoting and citation. Even newspaper articles provide mor More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2008

Ann rated it:

This is an excellent book. It answers the question that so many people were asking after 9/11: why do they hate us so much? It also traces the development of Al Qaeda and highlights the influence of many of the major radical Islamist leaders.

Lawrence Wright conducted an enormous number of interviews with friends and family of Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Al Zawahiri and many of the other notorious Al Qaeda members. He cultivated relationships with CIA, FBI, White House and other U.S. off More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 18, 2009

Brian rated it:

I don't know what the competition was, but The Looming Tower was a worthy winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Wright traces the rise of fundamental Islam from its beginning, surprisingly, in the United States, to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Sudan. He reveals a surprising history packed with both incompetence and frightening competence, complete belief and a lack of thinking for the future, explains how economic, political, and social conditions in the Middle East result in a soc More...

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Jun 27, 2011

Leslie rated it:

This is a fascinating book. BinLaden was for years a very fanatical pious, very modest man who was a good manager and also very wealthy.He never lived like a wealthy man. But the Arabs he hired for the Afghan jihad were not trained and not strong and not capable. Its a wonder he got anywhere - but he had the money. Wahaziri was the man with the plans. BinLaden is a dreamer who wants the whole world to come under the hand of fundamental Islam. He has hated the Americans since he was small c More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 15, 2009

Mark rated it:

I learned in this book about the genesis of Al Queda and the people and agencies within our own government that were on to them pretty early and might have caught up in time were it not for some truly dysfunctional relationships between the FBI, CIA, and other intelligence and law enforcement activites. Looking back, I'm going to assume that our relavent government activities have learned some painful lessons and adapted and overcome those early dysfunctions at least to the level required to mo More...

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May 14, 2008

Brian rated it:

I picked up this book shortly after it was released in '06 and it quickly became the cornerstone of my top five books* you must read to understand American's enemy in the world today. A wonderful and engaging book that I can't recommend highly enough.

*the other four book are:
America Alone - Mark Steyn
While Europe Slept - Bruce Bawer
The Pentagon's New Map - Thomas P.M. Barnett
Guests Of The Ayatollah - Mark Bowden
More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 10, 2012

Jerome rated it:

This was a very interesting book. His writing style was flawless and even humorous at times. Flawless accounts of Ayman al-Zawahiri and the Bin Laden clan. Superb account of al-Qaeda's history and structure. He also describes in detail the largely unknown Sayyid Qutb and the development of Islamic radicalism.he makes a cartoonish hero out of John O'Neill.
This should be required reading for all Americans. Too bad public schools don't teach this. Why do schools present the Middle East as " More...

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Jan 08, 2012

Aaron rated it:

It is hard to imagine a more meticulously-researched, and chilling, story coming out about how 9/11 occurred. Wright does a superb job of weaving all of the various elements and intricate story lines of Al-qaeda and the jihad movement to show how bin laden constructed a cohesive and destructive global terrorist organization. The number of instances where just one small thing - literally a different path down a road or someone showing a picture of a suspected terrorist to someone else - could hav More...

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Oct 02, 2011

Michael rated it:

Even though it's five years old, this is probably the most important book you will ever read about 9/11. It only has a small section on the actual attack. The bulk of the book is about the rise of Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden and the frustrating bureaucratic rules that kept key information away from the people who might have prevented the attack. The CIA does not come off well in this portrayal.

Having read it, I feel I have a good read on Osama bin Laden. Without him, the Jihadists More...

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Sep 17, 2011

Stephanie added it

As I read this book, I was constantly reminded of John Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven. In both cases, the authors attempt to explain a single event by giving an entire comprehensive history of a religious movement. The difference, for me, is that I know enough about Mormonism that I could make a decent assessment of when Krakauer was treating the mainstream LDS church and its radical offshoots fairly and when he was simply stating his own bias. I do not know enough about Islam to make More...

1 comment like

Sep 16, 2011

David rated it:

A fascinating examination of the events leading up to 9-11, The Looming Tower is the result of 5 years of research and interviews. It examines the background and foundation of al-Qaeda and really gets into the mind of bin Laden and what led him on his path to becoming the world’s most notorious terrorist.

John O’Neil, the FBI counter Terrorism chief, was the Chicken Little of the impending terrorist threat against America, sounding the alarm and trying to get others to listen. Ho More...

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May 17, 2011

Zbhall rated it:

This should be required reading for every high school or college student in the US. This and Steve Coll's great "Ghost Wars" would be wonderful companion pieces for anyone wanting a fairly nuanced and in-depth understanding of Al-Qaeda, bin Laden, and US foreign policy with regards to terrorism in the Middle East. It does more than just regurgitate facts (as many lesser books in this ever-expanding category do), and does a great job laying out some of the major figures on the "ba More...

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Feb 05, 2011

Redlola rated it:

So my career path lies in Middle Eastern/Arab studies, but anyone can enjoy this very well written book. Wright examines and explains the various aspects, movements, and individuals that led up to fanatical Islam and our failure to prevent 9/11 with mastery and a wealth of information.

Of particular interest to me were the explanations of the roots of fanatical Islam with Sayyid Qutib, and the depiction of the psychology of leading terrorists such as Zawahiri- and how they became who t More...

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Jan 22, 2010

Tim rated it:

A sober, illuminating recounting of the long road to the 9-11 terrorist act. The author begins with the emergence of a strand of Islamist thought and philosophy in Egypt soon after the state of Israel successfully defending its existance in 1948. The thread of thought was burnished in the prisons of Egypt, honed on the thought of purifying Islam within, and over 40 years leading to a focus outward against America as the recognized leader of Western thought and democracy.

Two points More...

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Dec 08, 2009

Daniel rated it:

Lawrence Wright’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative work on the people and events that led to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center is astonishing in its scope and revelatory detail. One need only glance at the Notes and Bibliography to truly understand the colossal undertaking this project was, but it is reflected in Wright’s intimate knowledge of the key players involved on both sides of the clash.

Wright’s book is a veritable who’s who of the history of Islamic fun More...

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Nov 18, 2009

Daniel rated it:

Amazing work covering both the timeline leading up to 9/11 and the evolution of Jihadi thought - how did devout members of a religion with strong prohibitions against both suicide and the murder of innocents come to embrace both?

Wright does a good job following the lives of bin Laden and other members of Al Qaeda, avoiding turning them into movie villains or giving them undue sympathy. Also interesting is the story of the few agents of the United States who were well aware of bin Lad More...

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Oct 15, 2009

Brent rated it:

If you've ever wondered where al-Qaeda and groups like it get their twisted, pathetic ideology, "The Looming Tower" has some answers for you.

Starting in the '40s with Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian who visited America and condemned the nation for its individualism, secularism, and women's rights, among other things, militant Islam started as a movement to overthrow the Egyptian government to establish an Islamic state there by violent means.

Through the years, others, like More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 24, 2009

Debbie (Readerbuzz) rated it:

I took away from this book a new picture of terrorists, finding out terrorists are generally well educated and are not always deeply religious. This is surprising. They all seem, however, to be expatriots, living away from the countries of their ancestors. What else? Bin Laden’s father was blinded by a teacher at school; after the incident, his father never returned to school and was illiterate for his entire life. O’Neill, one of the senior figures at the FBI who was in search for Bin Laden, le More...

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Jul 08, 2009

Blayne rated it:

This book is tireless in its details; but do not let that discourage you from giving it a read. The book is rather short at 373 pages; however, it is heavily noted and very user friendly. It contains a 10 page glossary of principal characters with brief descriptions of their importance; which is a invaluable resource in helping the reader keep track of the multitude of players with similar names.

opinion-081Like most other histories of Muslim fundamentalism (such as the BBC video se More...

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