KBL: Kill Bin Laden: A Novel Based on True Events

KBL: Kill Bin Laden: A Novel Based on True Events

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75  ·  rating details  ·  130 ratings  ·  32 reviews
The acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling military thriller writer and coauthor of the bestselling Rogue Warrior series goes beyond the headlines and worldwide speculation in this pulse-pounding fictional account of the breathtaking hunt for the world's most wanted terrorist, Usama Bin Laden

KBL

Some truths are better told in fiction. In this riveting novel drawn from actu...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published November 15th 2011 by William Morrow
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Stefan
I was very much looking forward to 'KBL'. After all, how could a novel based on the true events surrounding the hunt for Bin Laden fail to disappoint? But disappoint John Weisman did. The actual plot of 'KBL' wasn't half-bad. The narrative was focused, surprising and fast-paced. But the mixing of truth and fiction just didn't work for me. Somehow the idea of a former Army Ranger (born and bred in the United States) passing as a Taliban amputee on the streets of Pakistan just didn't ring true. Th...more
Candace Salima
Mar 03, 2013 Candace Salima rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Ages 18 and Up
Recommended to Candace by: John Weisman
KBL Kill Bin Laden is a novel based on the true events surrounding Seal Team 6, actually called DEVGRU (United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group), the Rangers, Delta Force, CIA, and other supporting casts of the team which literally took Osama bin Laden (code name Crankshaft) down on May 1, 2011.

New York Times bestselling author, John Weisman, is more closely tapped into Tier One operatives than any other journalist or author. The author of several books centered around those same T...more
01brentonr



Summary:

This book tells a story of how the US government tracked down and killed Osama Bin Laden.This is a novel about a CIA spy who is undercover in Pakistan, looking for information about Osama Bin Laden. This spys name is Charlie Becker (this is not the real spys name, the author trys to protect the identities of the real people involved.) Charlie Becker was a former US Army Ranger who lost his legs in Iraq, and then learned Pashto the Pakistani language to help himself to become a spy. B...more
Jonathan Tomes
KBL: Kill Bin Laden—A Novel Based on True Events by John Weisman pulls off in spectacular fashion the joinder of fact and fiction. I am including a chapter on the killing of Bin Laden in a novel I am writing and had purchased a nonfiction book titled Seal Target Geronimo—the Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Bin Laden—for background. But I read KBL first and can’t wait to compare it with the nonfiction account. If the fiction book is largely true, it is a near miracle that the Seals were allow...more
Nancy
Right off the first page this book grabs your attention. A beggar in Pakistan, no legs, true to Allah, going through his day as usual. However for Shahid the usual wasn’t usual at all because Shahid was Charlie Becker, Army Ranger; VOLUNTEERING his time to help catch the ultimate bad guy in Osama Bin Laden.
KBL is the story of the months leading up to the capture/kill of Bin Laden by telling us stories of all involved. Backgrounds, names changed but a straight from the scene tale. You can easily...more
Kathleen (Kat) Smith
Moving from the political battlefields of Washington, D.C., and the secure, seventh-floor suite of the CIA director in Langley, Virginia, to the dusty streets of Peshawar, Lahore, and Abbottabad, Pakistan, to the rough Afghan interior, to the Middle East and western Europe, this fictional narrative brings to life the drama behind SEAL Team 6’s breathtaking raid in which Bin Laden—a.k.a. Crankshaft, a.k.a. al Mas (the Diamond), the ghost, the wraith, the grail for counterterrorists for more than...more
John Tintera
The events in Abbottabad, Pakistan in the early hours of May 2, 2011 still reverberate and they are about to reverberate much more. On November 15th, the new novel from John Weisman, co-author with Richard Marcinko of Rogue Warrior, will be published by William Morrow. The novel provides a blow-by-blow account of what likely happened in the run-up to the special forces raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound.

Three story-lines converge in the book. The first examines the ‘humint’ or human intelligence...more
John Creighton
Novel based on the events leading up to SEAL Team 6's mission to take out Bin Laden. Good airplane reading, but the author betrays his politics with a lot of unnecessary administration bashing (names are all changed but profile of characters match the real people). The author doesn't think highly of politicians, and anyone he wants to make look especially like a pompous buffoon gets a numeral after his name. The stereotyping is all very trite and detracts from what could be (and is in real life)...more
Giovanni Gelati
Reading a book you already know the ending of before you start I think lends to a bit of trepidation. I had a little bit. I mean I have read other novels by the author, enjoyed his style, enjoyed the substance, have had many good experiences so why not right?
I have to say he nails this, from the first page to the last, he struck every chord, hit every note, and made a recount of events seem as real and visceral as if I was there, watching it all unfold in my face. The tales of heroism in this no...more
Kyle Michalek
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Mary (BookHounds)
MY THOUGHTS
REALLY LIKED IT

The story recreates what happened when SEAL Team Six that night of the Bin Laden raid with fictionalized members and recounts what we know about the events filled in with a bit of speculation. Reading recent news reports about that night when Obama made the fateful decision goes somewhat against what is written in the book and I am sure that more details will be released in the upcoming months. I really have to say whether the story told here is true or not, this is one...more
Jerome
Overall this book kept me interested for all of thirty minutes.Once I counted the fiftieth time that Mr.W mentioned Murphys law I wanted to shoot myself, Weisman brought up Murphys law so many times it leads me to believe that he cowers in fear of leaving the house due to it. The book is filled with cheesy one liners and terrible catch phrases that the professional war fighter would not be caught dead saying out loud. The account that this book gives is interesting but I found character developm...more
Brian
An insiders look at the political and military dance that took place leading up to the Bin Laden raid. Weisman has always blurred the lines of fact and fiction in his writing (see Rogue Warrior series and his own works). I was hoping for a follow up to his "Direct Action" and "Jack in the Box" books, but what he produced was so much better. The storytelling is so real because much of it is. It is extremely hard to tell where the facts end and the storytelling begins. As a matter of fact, you can...more
Larry
I don't know how much of this is fiction and how much is based on the facts surrounding the asassination of Usama Bin Laden. It is well written and some of the names are real and others are fictional, but relatively easy to know who in real like they are. The detail is excellent and, if it really is based on the facts, very intriguing as to how they found UBL and how the training for the event was accomplished and the actual take down. Enjoyed the book and would recommend it.
Darren
This was a good book, but not the best I've read. The main problem I had with this book is that I had a hard time taking it seriously because of the lapses in writing. One moment you are reading an well written action/adventure and the next you lapse into what I call "Executioner Fluff". It would have been netter if the author had chosen one style or the other, especially given the subject matter he was dealing with.
Spencer N
This book starts off fast from the get go, and with such a gripping topic to begin with, the hunt for the most wanted man in the world at the time, the author does a good job in mixing true facts with fiction to keep the reader engaged throughout the entire book. Worth the read if you're interested in anything related to Bin Laden or the hunt for him by the US government.
Dan
Taken from the actual events involving the death of Bin Laden, Weisman has created a fictional and detailed account of what was going through the minds of those involved. If you are interested in military strategy and operations, then this is a good book for you. It is a fast-paced thriller, but for me, I couldn’t sink my teeth into it.
Ed Wagemann
Apr 25, 2012 Ed Wagemann marked it as to-read
WHY DIDN'T BUSH GO AFTER BIN LADEN?
http://generation-add.blogspot.com/20...
Obama Bin-Laden Pictures, Images and Photos
Nate
Weisman writes a compelling tale that is interesting and engaging with some good characters. It is interesting to see how he weaves actual events into the narative of the book and how he depicts the search for and ultimately the mission to kill Usama Bin Laden.
Gábor
Read this semi fictional account on how much (human and monetary) effort is being spent to eliminate HVTs (high value targets) and how busy politicians are with covering their behind, instead of guiding and helping to achieve goals.
Mysterytribune
If you like military thriller, you will enjoy this. Lots of acronyms though; read my full review here: http://www.mysterytribune.com/2012/04...
Nate Hendrix
A fictionalized account of the operation to kill Osama Bin Laden. Very cool lots of action.
Bill
Interesting imagining of what might of happened...given the few facts we know.
Rex Fuller
First rate. I enjoy the writing and the detailed knowledge.
Christine
well-written and interesting; not hard to tell who's who
Rob
Good insight into mission to identify and kill Bin Laden
Agatha
This is a guy's book for fans of Tom Clancy who want details of military operations; it reads like a documentary and is pretty interesting but full of acronyms.
Peter
What I like is the author's knowledge of SEALs and how the US Army functions. But coming in at 364 pages (Harper edition), it's a bit too lengthy for me. Also, amazing how Americans overlook their flying into another country to kill someone - and reckon they are right.

That seems the problem with all such books - Americans maintaining they are right.
Cade
Quick, fast paced read. It's a fictionalized account of the DEVGRU raid to kill UBL. There are quite a few recognizable historical events in the book (the Raymond Davis incident, for example) that make it more enjoyable if you're one who follows the news.
Corey
Fantastic! This is labeled a "Fiction" book but if you google the events you can find the names of the actual politicians and others involved in the operation.
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JOHN WEISMAN is one of the select company of writers whose books have appeared on both the fiction and nonfiction New York Times best-seller lists.
More about John Weisman...
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