Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad

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Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 1,083 ratings · 209 reviews

The gripping account of the decade-longhunt for the world's most wanted man.

It was only a week before 9/11 that Peter Bergen turned in the manuscript of Holy War, Inc., the story of Osama bin Laden--whom Bergen had once interviewed in a mud hut in Afghanistan--and his declaration of war on America. The book became a New York Times bestseller and the essential portrait of t...more The gripping account of the decade-long hunt for the world's most wanted man.

It was only a week before 9/11 that Peter Bergen turned in the manuscript of Holy War, Inc., the story of Osama bin Laden--whom Bergen had once interviewed in a mud hut in Afghanistan--and his declaration of war on America. The book became a New York Times bestseller and the essential portrait of the most formidable terrorist enterprise of our time. Now, in Manhunt, Bergen picks up the thread with this taut yet panoramic account of the pursuit and killing of bin Laden.

Here are riveting new details of bin Laden’s flight after the crushing defeat of the Taliban to Tora Bora, where American forces came startlingly close to capturing him, and of the fugitive leader’s attempts to find a secure hiding place. As the only journalist to gain access to bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound before the Pakistani government demolished it, Bergen paints a vivid picture of bin Laden’s grim, Spartan life in hiding and his struggle to maintain control of al-Qaeda even as American drones systematically picked off his key lieutenants.

Half a world away, CIA analysts haunted by the intelligence failures that led to 9/11 and the WMD fiasco pored over the tiniest of clues before homing in on the man they called "the Kuwaiti"--who led them to a peculiar building with twelve-foot-high walls and security cameras less than a mile from a Pakistani military academy. This was the courier who would unwittingly steer them to bin Laden, now a prisoner of his own making but still plotting to devastate the United States.

Bergen takes us inside the Situation Room, where President Obama considers the COAs (courses of action) presented by his war council and receives conflicting advice from his top advisors before deciding to risk the raid that would change history--and then inside the Joint Special Operations Command, whose "secret warriors," the SEALs, would execute Operation Neptune Spear. From the moment two Black Hawks take off from Afghanistan until bin Laden utters his last words, Manhunt reads like a thriller.

Based on exhaustive research and unprecedented access to White House officials, CIA analysts, Pakistani intelligence, and the military, this is the definitive account of ten years in pursuit of bin Laden and of the twilight of al-Qaeda.(less)

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published May 1st 2012 by Crown (first published January 1st 2012)

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Sep 02, 2012 Lisa B. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-books

I'm keeping my review simple.

Holy Shit!!!!!!!!

Interpret as you will.

Update - I decided this book deserved more.

My Thoughts

We know the beginning of this story - the horror of 9/11. We know the middle - the ongoing search for bin Laden, the reported sightings (described as - “Where’s Waldo”) and the occasional released propaganda video confirming bin Laden’s continued existence. We know the end - bin Laden is killed. So I have to ask myself - why read this book?

Here’s the answer. The author has wr...more

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May 07, 2013 Jeffrey Owens rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Peter Bergen’s Manhunt is by far the best book that I have read on the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Bergen was a CNN reporter who personally met bin Laden for an interview in 1997, wrote a biography of bin Laden, and continued to follow his trail until that trail ended in May 2011. After the bin Laden raid, Bergen traveled to Abbottobad, and was granted permission to personally tour the compound and see where bin Laden was killed.

Manhunt takes the reader through a biographical journey of bin Laden...more Peter Bergen’s Manhunt is by far the best book that I have read on the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Bergen was a CNN reporter who personally met bin Laden for an interview in 1997, wrote a biography of bin Laden, and continued to follow his trail until that trail ended in May 2011. After the bin Laden raid, Bergen traveled to Abbottobad, and was granted permission to personally tour the compound and see where bin Laden was killed.

Manhunt takes the reader through a biographical journey of bin Laden’s life including his childhood, his involvement in the Afghan jihad and initial partnership with Abdullah Azzam, to the steps he took to wage war on the United States and new partnership with Ayman Al Zawahiri. Unlike many journalists who believe Al Zawahiri to be the more “dangerous” of the two, Bergen makes the argument that Al Aqaeda was firmly bin Laden’s organization and the it was he personally turned the organization’s hatred from the more typical enemies of Israel or Nationalist Arab regimes, to the United States.

Then after bringing the reader up to speed on the 9/11 attacks and the U.S. led war against the Taliban in the fall of 2001, Bergen relates how bin Laden escaped from Tora Bora and seemingly disappeared. But this was only the public view, for according to Bergen there was small unit of the CIA that never gave up on finding bin Laden, and especially the analyst “Rebecca” who led the way in identifying bin Laden’s courier network to communicate with the outside world.

Once the Abbottobad compound was discovered by tracking bin Laden’s courier, Bergen then takes the reader through the very mind numbing task which the CIA was presented with of gleaning more intelligence about who was in the compound, while having limited on the ground resources and next to zero aerial visibility into it. Once all options had been exhausted, most analysts were still only 50% sure that bin Laden was at the compound. With a 50% margin of error, the remaining question was how to get bin Laden if he was there? After extensive debates at the White House, a raid led by JSOC was decided upon, and Bergen then reveals what details were available at the time of the training the SEAL’s went through to prepare and of the raid itself.

For anyone interested in the topic, I would highly recommend Bergen’s book, for I believe it to be the most accurate and least biased book so far on the subject.
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Mar 30, 2013 Joe rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A quick read. Bergen's familiarity with his subject shows (with particular contempt for the Taliban's Mullah Omar, "...a dim-witted fanatic with significant delusions of grandeur."

Much of the story has already been told, from bin Laden's escape from Tora Bora (told by the pseudonymous Dalton Fury in Kill bin Laden), and of course, the climactic raid on bin Laden's Abbottabad compound (in No Easy Day by Matt Bissonnette).

The meat of the book is in the CIA's hunt for bin Laden, featuring a surpr...more

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Mar 10, 2013 João Carlos rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Caça ao Homem” de Peter L. Bergen é basicamente os 10 anos de caça a Osama bin Laden depois dos atendados de 11 de Setembro de 2001 até à sua morte na cidade de Abbottabad no Paquistão a 1 de Maio de 2011.
O americano Peter L. Bergen professor universitário e analista da CNN para assuntos de segurança nacional escreve um livro em forma de “reportagem” que resulta obviamente de uma pesquisa minuciosa a documentação e informação de diversas fontes, fortalecida por muitas entrevistas adicionais aos...more “Caça ao Homem” de Peter L. Bergen é basicamente os 10 anos de caça a Osama bin Laden depois dos atendados de 11 de Setembro de 2001 até à sua morte na cidade de Abbottabad no Paquistão a 1 de Maio de 2011.
O americano Peter L. Bergen professor universitário e analista da CNN para assuntos de segurança nacional escreve um livro em forma de “reportagem” que resulta obviamente de uma pesquisa minuciosa a documentação e informação de diversas fontes, fortalecida por muitas entrevistas adicionais aos principais intervenientes na temática.
No prólogo Peter L. Bergen situa-nos na casa que serviu de esconderijo perfeito durante mais de 6 anos a Osama bin Laden e aos membros da sua família – “3 mulheres e uma dúzia de filhos e netos”. Em vez de uma caverna fria e húmida situada nas inóspitas montanhas algures entre o Afeganistão e o Paquistão bin Laden vive numa vivenda, com altos muros, situada na cidade paquistanesa de Abbottabad, rodeado por 3 das suas mulheres. A mais recente – 4º mulher - a “jovial iemenita Amal” vivia com Osama no 3º andar e a sua 2º mulher Khairiah e a 3º mulher Shiam Husayn ambas sauditas habitavam no 2º andar da moradia, mas com espaço privativo autónomo para cada uma delas.
A vida familiar do homem mais procurado do mundo era para bin Laden “uma fonte de verdadeiro conforto, pois cria que a poligamia e a procriação eram deveres religiosos.”
“As altercações entre as mulheres de bin Laden eram raras. Todas tinham contraído matrimónio sabendo desde logo que se tratava de um compromisso polígamo, uma situação que acreditavam ser abençoada por Deus.”
Nos capítulos seguintes Bergen descreve de uma forma sintética o surgimento da Al-Qaeda, o período que antecedeu os atentados de 11 de Setembro de 2011 – a preparação, as ligações com várias “células” terroristas em vários países, a inépcia dos serviços secretos norte-americanos para detectarem os “sinais” de que algo trágico poderia efectivamente acontecer.
São descritas também as muitas diligências efectuadas por todas as agências de investigação americanas, na localização e captura de bin Laden e nos ataques efectuados com todo o tipo de tecnologia e recursos nessa “tarefa” nunca produzindo os resultados pretendidos.
Sempre havia na CIA uma débil esperança de que um dia surgisse a informação da efectiva localização de bin Laden – a tarefa seria encontrar o “correio” humano que com ele mantinha ligação à estrutura da Al-Qaeda. Surge então “o Kuwaitiano” de nome Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti como homem de confiança de bin Laden e única pista que acaba por levar os serviços de espionagem americanos até ao complexo habitacional de Abbottabad – estamos em Agosto de 2010.
Dá-se início a um longo período de investigação e espionagem de forma a confirmar e validar a localização de bin Laden. Os serviços secretos analisam e monitorizam toda a informação recolhida e começam a desenvolver e planear formas de actuação que permitissem a efectiva captura de bin Laden – não tendo contudo a confirmação da identidade do “misterioso” residente da vivenda.
Os capítulos referentes à preparação da operação de assalto à vivenda de Abbottabad, no interior do Paquistão, são descritos de uma forma minuciosa sendo indispensáveis alguns factores para o sucesso de tão arriscada e complexa operação militar: repetição, surpresa, sigilo, rapidez, simplicidade e empenhamento.
Apesar de todo o treino e preparação da equipa de assalto “Seals” nem tudo correu conforme o previsto – mas o resultado final foi atingido. A 1 de Maio de 2011, quase 10 anos depois da caça ao homem, bin Laden é morto no complexo habitacional de Abbottabad, uma pequena cidade no interior do Paquistão.
No Epílogo com o subtítulo de “O Crepúsculo da Al-Qaeda” Peter L. Bergen procede a uma breve e minuciosa análise da ameaça que representa a organização terrorista, nomeadamente, nas estratégias pós-morte do seu carismático líder Osama bin Laden.
Um livro que não sendo um policial não deixa de ser uma boa história dramática, escrita por Peter L. Bergen de uma forma simples e sintética, sobre acontecimentos complexos e que nem sempre têm a unanimidade e concordância do mundo ocidental e do mundo islâmico.

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Dec 09, 2012 Bridget rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

The majority of this book is a repeat of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, except with the perspective of knowing that bin Laden is dead. The most riveting part for me was the final few chapters, which detailed the decision-making process that led to the raid on bin Laden's compound - the actual raid is described only in general terms. The focus is on the deliberations and reactions of leaders in DC instead.

If you haven't read The Looming Tower, I think you'll find this to be a v...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Louise rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pakistan, obama

This book will keep you riveted, cover to cover. It's a powerful story. It's told with a minimum number of acronyms and bureaucratic jargon. Peter Bergen's knowledge of his topic shines through.

The heart of the book is the was long and detailed planning for the final operation. As important as the mission was planning for Pakistan's response to its success or failure. There was advance negotiating for alternative air rights in the event of retaliation by closing US access to Afghanistan. The US...more This book will keep you riveted, cover to cover. It's a powerful story. It's told with a minimum number of acronyms and bureaucratic jargon. Peter Bergen's knowledge of his topic shines through.

The heart of the book is the was long and detailed planning for the final operation. As important as the mission was planning for Pakistan's response to its success or failure. There was advance negotiating for alternative air rights in the event of retaliation by closing US access to Afghanistan. The US paid $2 million in "blood money" for the release of Raymond Davis, a CIA agent held for the murder in broad daylight of two Pakistanis who could be killed in prison. The principals had to maintain poker faces in public during the hours before the operation - notably President Obama joking at the Press Club Dinner and Michael Leiter (Head of the National Center for Counterterrorism) following through in his wedding plans. President Obama released his birth certificate as the SEALs left the US, was this part of a plan to distract the press?

I learned that entering the house and capturing or killing its resident was the easy part (apparently SEALs do this a lot in Afghanistan and other places). But the conditions of this entry, exit and aftermath carried enormous risk. The SEALs would have to slip inside a sovereign airspace undetected, land their helicopters in a neighborhood, and enter a household that, hopefully, was Bin Laden's. Robert Gates and others put the chance of it being the terrorist's home was 40%.

I believe this book was rushed to press. Not many people could have produced a volume so informative and so engagingly written so fast, but there are gaps. The Bush years are raced through. What did those 2 dozen or so people at the CIA actually do for 7 years? What of the cell phones known to be in the compound belonging to users who "weren't taking any such precautions" (p. 130 )? Why couldn't these phones be tracked for a confirmation? Was there a "safe house" in Abbottabad, as other accounts suggest? Doctor Shakil Africhi really stuck his neck out with the vaccination project. I'm told he is being held in a Pakistani jail... is he? While no longer wealthy, Bin Laden is still supporting a large family and a far flung network. Where is this money coming from? The only mention of money is that donations are drying up.

I liked the style of Notes. While there are no numbers in the text, when you come to an item you are interested in, you can flip to the Notes section which is arranged by page number and has the referenced text in bold letters. This is easier to use than conventional footnotes. The Index has few further breakdowns for its entries so for most page referrals you have to guess; but the book is short, so it is still functional. Many of the photos have been seen before.

If you are an American, this book will make you really proud of the team. Once you understand and consider the logistics and risk, you marvel at the planning, determination, training, technology and, of course, the amazing abilities of the Navy SEALs.
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Aug 29, 2012 John DeDakis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My CNN colleague Peter Bergen's book on the hunt for Osama bin Laden is gripping. Bergen is staggeringly brilliant, meticulous, level-headed -- and writes clearly and factually with understated power, yet still manages on-target stabs of droll humor like this characterization of bin Laden's dull successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, calling him "a black hole of charisma."

According to Bergen, there was never 100 percent certainty among President Obama's advisors and intelligence analysts that bin Laden w...more My CNN colleague Peter Bergen's book on the hunt for Osama bin Laden is gripping. Bergen is staggeringly brilliant, meticulous, level-headed -- and writes clearly and factually with understated power, yet still manages on-target stabs of droll humor like this characterization of bin Laden's dull successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, calling him "a black hole of charisma."

According to Bergen, there was never 100 percent certainty among President Obama's advisors and intelligence analysts that bin Laden was at the walled compound. The option the president chose was perhaps the riskiest, plus he went ahead against the advice of his Defense Secretary Robert Gates who was involved in Jimmy Carter's failed mission to rescue the U.S. hostages in Iran.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

*Michael Scheuer, founder of the CIA's bin Laden unit, on why women are great intelligence analysts: "They seem to have an exceptional knack for detail, for seeing patterns and understanding relationships, and they also, quite frankly, spend a great deal less time telling war stories, chatting, and going outside for cigarettes than the boys. If I could have put up a sign saying, 'No boys needs apply,' I would've done it."

*Barack Obama, from his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech: "I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history, the imperfections of man, and the limits of reason."

*Michele Flournoy, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, on the plans of Admiral William McRaven to get bin Laden: "McRaven had a backup for every possible failure, and a backup to the failure of the backup, and a backup to the failure of the backup of the backup."

*Joint Chiefs Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, on the importance of witnessing in person the rehearsal of the SEALs training for the raid: "If I am going to send somebody in to die, I want to...[have] the opportunity to look the men in the eye. Every single one of them. Personally." [That quote, I'm not ashamed to say, brought me to tears.]

If you're looking for an objective read on the strategy behind the take-down of bin Laden, this is it.
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Aug 19, 2012 VaultOfBooks rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

By Peter L. Bergen. Grade: B+
Non-fiction and History are a strange combination that requires intense solitary writing and profound research. ’Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden–from 9/11 to Abbottabad’ is an example of a book that will take you step-by-step, event-after-event, right from September 11,2001 to May 2,2011 – the day the world’s most wanted man was successfully killed. The book is based on the exhaustive research by Peter L. Bergen and the exceptional access to White House of...more By Peter L. Bergen. Grade: B+
Non-fiction and History are a strange combination that requires intense solitary writing and profound research. ’Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden–from 9/11 to Abbottabad’ is an example of a book that will take you step-by-step, event-after-event, right from September 11,2001 to May 2,2011 – the day the world’s most wanted man was successfully killed. The book is based on the exhaustive research by Peter L. Bergen and the exceptional access to White House official documents make it the best source material available on the subject. Something that should not be missed.
It was only a week before 9/11 that Peter Bergen turned in the manuscript of Holy War, Inc., the story of Osama bin Laden–whom Bergen had once interviewed in a mud hut in Afghanistan–and his declaration of war on America.
Here are riveting new details of bin Laden’s flight after the crushing defeat of the Taliban to Tora Bora, where American forces came startlingly close to capturing him, and of the fugitive leader’s attempts to find a secure hiding place. As the only journalist to gain access to bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound before the Pakistani government demolished it, Bergen paints a vivid picture of bin Laden’s grim, Spartan life in hiding and his struggle to maintain control of al-Qaeda even as American drones systematically picked off his key lieutenants.
Half a world away, CIA analysts haunted by the intelligence failures that led to 9/11 and the WMD fiasco pored over the tiniest of clues before homing in on the man they called “the Kuwaiti”–who led them to a peculiar building with twelve-foot-high walls and security cameras less than a mile from a Pakistani military academy. This was the courier who would unwittingly steer them to bin Laden, now a prisoner of his own making but still plotting to devastate the United States.
It was May 3rd,2011 when I heard the news that Bin Laden was dead. My first reaction was skepticism. But then US President Barack Obama confirmed the news and removed my doubts. I found it a bit strange that he was found in Pakistan, but since politics is not really my thing, I left that thought there.
I remember Peter Bergen as the writer of Holy War Inc. which talked about how religion can flip the face of terrorism. Only a week after its publishing, 9/11 happened. ‘Manhunt…’ is a detailed account of how America searched and killed the world’s most brutal terrorist. Throughout the book, there is a sense of knowing a secret and with the passing pages you can feel the weight of the revelation. With these fourteen chapters, you live the mission all over again.
The prologue of the book is about Bin Laden’s life before 9/11. I am still amazed by Bergen’s research because he not only wrote about Laden, but about his family, and the even families of his family! So much detailing on every fact with hundred percent precision.
The initial chapters encapsulated details of 9/11, Al-Qaeda’s working principals, rise of Osama, his personal life, failure of America’s Intelligence service; which almost everyone knows of (especially if you have an interest in history). As we progress, we learn more about America’s counterattack on Bin Laden who was hiding in Afghanistan’s mount Tora Bora range at that time. Bergen has neutrally written how America almost got the man but at the last moment, due to a blunder, lost him and he slipped away.
The actual hunt for the man begins from chapter five, and the author’s narration made the rest of the book a real page turner. In later chapters Bergen has crisply described how the CIA devised the strategy to find Osama, how they failed many times, clashes of high ranked officers and their views, and finally about the ‘action’ in Abbottobad.
In ‘Manhunt…’ you can see Bergen’s research on Bin Laden in every chapter and knowing the fact that not everyone can understand the terms, places and names easily, a detailed map of Afghanistan and Pakistan, with US Navy SEALs operational plan, is given at the starting of the book. By reading it, you can easily figure out the US Foreign Policy. It has Osama’s mindset, his views (that actually sound correct at some point if you are a neutral reader).
My only gripe is that Bergen totally missed out how Al-Qaeda’s finances started to go down, and where their money went. This is really important because when you are talking about millions of dollars that they had once, and then showing them poor as ever, we must need to know how it happened. Nonetheless rest of the research is really extensive and complete from start to end.
I am also very impressed by the fact that Bergen presented both sides of the conversation and even on the most controversial issues he remains unbiased. It also raised a question of Pakistan’s role in fight against terrorism because according to CIA, Pakistan was not brought into concern because they believe they were a threat that could jeopardize the mission. I enjoyed it because I’ve followed 9/11 thoroughly but even if you are clueless about 9/11, it will quickly become a must-read. However, this one is for patient readers and requires a lot of analytical skills and your grey cells to be working the entire time.

Originally reviewed at http://the-vault.co.cc (less)

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Jul 20, 2012 Jonny99 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Say what you like about the book, you have to love the ending. Bergen lays out the details of the ten year effort to improve the world by taking out international scumbag and world's worst suburban neighbor Osama Bin Laden. Bergen's writing style leans more journalist than story-telling but give him credit in two major areas.

First, he pulls off the neat trick most successfully done in Ron Howard's retelling of the "Apollo 13" mission of wringing tension and drama out of a story despite the fact

...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Anjit Sharma rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Non-fiction and History is an outright strange combination that requires intensely solitary writing and profound collectivity on subject. 'Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad’ is example of such a book that will take you step-by-step, event-after-event, right from 9/11/2001 to 3/2/2011 (Date of Osama Bin Laden’s Death). Book is based on exhaustive research by Peter L. Bergen and on exceptional access to White House official documents that makes it a bona fide book...more Non-fiction and History is an outright strange combination that requires intensely solitary writing and profound collectivity on subject. 'Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad’ is example of such a book that will take you step-by-step, event-after-event, right from 9/11/2001 to 3/2/2011 (Date of Osama Bin Laden’s Death). Book is based on exhaustive research by Peter L. Bergen and on exceptional access to White House official documents that makes it a bona fide book on Mission to hunt down mastermind of the biggest terrorist attack in American History.

It was May 3rd,2011 when I heard the news “Bin Laden is killed” I thought “just like he was killed 3 times before” but with the sun trying to push the mercury push a bit more to cross 45 degree mark, US President Barack Obama confirmed the news. I found it a bit strange that he was found in Pakistan and US Military actually did the operation on their land but since politics is really an out of my brain thing I left that thought.
I remember Peter Bergen as writer of Holy War inc. which talked about how religion can flip the face of terrorism and only after a week of its publishing 9/11 happened. ‘Manhunt’ is a detailed account of how America searched and killed world’s most brutal terrorist. Page by Page, Chapter By Chapter, there is a sense of knowing a secret and with the passing pages you can feel the weight of revelation. Book is consisting of 14 chapters that will take you to the Hunt for Bin Laden.

Prologue of book is about Bin Laden’s life before 9/11and Abbottabad, where Bin Laden was hiding in his last days. I am still amazed by Bergen’s research because he not only wrote about Laden, but about his family, and even families of his family! So much detailing on every fact with hundred percent precision. The way Bergen described Bin Laden made me feel how strongly he lived his life (of’ course before 9/11).
Chapter 1 is dedicated to 9/11 and reactions of it from both sides i.e. America and Al-Qaeda. This chapter clearly describes the intentions and mindset of so called Jihadists. Bergen also wrote about Low life of militants and their belief in their Leader.
Chapter 2 is about America’s counterattack on Bin Laden who was hiding in Afghanistan’s mount Tora Bora range. Bergen has neutrally written how America almost got the man but at last moment due to a blunder lost him and he slipped away from their hands.
After reading Chapter 3 I realized the reason of efficient working of Al-Qaeda. According to Bergen it was almost like an organization where Osama was CEO. A revelation about those popular Video Messages of Osama is also there.
Initial chapters encapsulated details of 9/11, Al-Qaeda’s working principals, Rise of Osama, his personal life, failure of America’s Intelligence service; which almost everyone know (in case if you really like history). But from chapter 5 the actual process of searching the man starts and Bergen’s narration is really a page turner.
In later chapters Bergen has crisply described how CIA made the strategy to find Osama, how they failed many times, Clashes of High Ranked Officers and their views, and finally about the ‘Action’ in Abbottobad. Being an avid follower of 9/11, it was really easy for me to recognize the names and places that Bergen described and even if you are not familiar with them; it’s really not a problem because every person and place is described fantastically.
In ‘Manhunt’ you can see Bergen’s research on Bin Laden on every chapter and knowing the fact that not everyone can understand the terms, places and names easily, a detailed map of Afghanistan and Pakistan, with US Navy SEALs operational plan, is given at the starting of the book. By reading it, you can easily figure out US Foreign Policy (which is very dominant according to me). It has Osama’s mindset, his views (that sounds correct at some point if you are a neutral reader), Working of CIA and people involved in making this operation possible, you can even read about how Navy SEALs get trained and how they prepared for most critical mission of American History. Book is full of real statements of persons which are a plus point to increase its credibility plus many Real Photos are an additional welcome feature.
Even after having everything almost perfect I found some flaws that are only from a normal reader’s perspective. Book deals with so many characters, though they are all real, which makes it really hard to remember people and their exact role.
Another point that Bergen totally missed out in Manhunt is that there is no detail about how Al-Qaeda’s finances started to go down, and where did their money go. This is really important because when you are talking about millions of dollars that they had once, and then showing them poor as ever, we must need to know how it happened. Nonetheless rest of the research is really extensive and complete from start to end.

So my take on ‘Manhunt’ is, throughout the book, Bergen presented the evidence on both sides and even on the most controversial issues he remains unbiased. It also raised a question of Pakistan’s role in fight against terrorism because according to CIA, Pakistan was not brought into concern because they believe Pakistan was a threat to jeopardize the mission. I enjoyed it because I’ve followed 9/11 thoroughly and if you are clueless about 9/11, it becomes a Must Read for you. Book is for patient readers and requires a lot of analytical skills that makes it One-Time-Read.
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Jun 20, 2012 The-vault rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

By Peter L. Bergen. Grade: B+

Non-fiction and History are a strange combination that requires intense solitary writing and profound research. 'Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad’ is an example of a book that will take you step-by-step, event-after-event, right from September 11,2001 to May 2,2011 - the day the world's most wanted man was successfully killed. The book is based on the exhaustive research by Peter L. Bergen and the exceptional access to White House o...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Brenton rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A well-researched and engagingly written history of the long search for Osama Bin Laden. I’m tempted to give it five stars, but I have two complaints. First, at several points the author reveals an anti-Bush and pro-Obama bias. At some points I found myself agreeing with him, and I am more willing after reading the book to give the Obama administration more credit for getting OBL than I had before. President Obama has taken a much more aggressive approach to exterminating terrorists than I reali...more

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May 19, 2012 Bernie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The killing of Bin-Laden with two precision shots in the head is the culmination of this riveting book by Peter Bergen, CNN's natioal security analyst. This is Bergen's fourth book about Bin-Laden and Al-Queda, and his sources in the military and intelligence communities in Washington, as well as in the Arab world, seem impeccable.

What makes the book so good -- aside from the fact that it reads like a novel --is that Bergen is without bias (he takes no slaps at Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld) and h...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Ben rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's a quick read, but a more accurate name of the book would probably be Tora Bora and Abbottabad, as there really isn't much detail about where he was in the intervening years. The narrative around the raid on the compound is of course compelling, but also didn't feel exceptionally more detailed than what already published reports in the Times and elsewhere captured. That said, writing and pacing are good and it's worth picking up if you haven't read much about the raid yet.

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Jan 30, 2013 Liz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, non-fiction, international-stuff, sjcpl-kindle

This book was REALLY interesting, and parts of it were positively riveting. It covers the ten year hunt for bin Laden, and especially the intelligence leading up to the raid on his compound in Pakistan. It was interesting to hear little tidbits about al-Qaeda that I had never heard before - like that they commonly used "an interest in falconry" as a reason to enter the US, and that bin Laden was notoriously cheap. I also laughed out loud when they mentioned that al-Qaeda didn't think Joe Biden w...more

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May 20, 2012 Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

No doubt this was a compelling read--I'm glad I picked it up on a weekend when I could read it straight through. Presumably because of Bergen's deep immersion in his sources, he offers several details I hadn't read before, such as the heavily female composition of the CIA's original Bin Laden unit ("[Women] seem to have an exceptional knack for detail, for seeing patterns and understanding relationships") and the apparent truth behind Pakastani officials' ignorance that Bin Laden was residing in...more

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May 04, 2012 Jorge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: politics-economics, history

Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden From 9/11 to Abbottabad by Peter L. Bergen

"Manhunt" is the riveting and insightful ten-year pursuit of America's most wanted man. Best-selling author and acclaimed security analyst Peter L. Bergen provides the most thorough and discerning account of what actually went down and the people behind the manhunt of Bin Laden. This well-researched book reads like a good spy novel and offers keen insight that only a person as well-connected and methodical as Be...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Karen Naide rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I was inspired to learn more about the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden after seeing "Zero Dark Thirty", and given the author's impressive resume (the last Western journalist to interview Bin Laden), I thought this would be an excellent choice.

Simply put, this book was fascinating. I never got confused about all of the Arab names (truthfully, I started having more trouble keeping track of all the Americans involved!), and Bergen does an excellent job describing co...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Brett rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Without a doubt the most well-known Bin Laden author (even sitting with him for an interview prior to the 9/11 attacks), Bergen closes the door with this well-researched 10-year search for the evasive terrorist. I read this immediately after (pseudonym) Mark Owen's 'No Easy Day', the first-hand account of a Navy SEAL actually on Operation Neptune Spear, and it was enjoyable to see the picture painted from different brushes. Unfortunately, several details of the actual raid differ between the two...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Maura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a fascinating book. It details the background of the search for bin Laden from the 1990's on, as the US connected the dots of the bombings of the USS Cole and the African embassies. It was interesting to see how the US failures in previous missions such as the Iran hostage rescue attempt and the Blackhawks lost in Somalia created a risk-averse mentality in many of the people making decisions at a high level. The result was that several early opportunities to get bin Laden were lost befo...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Will Byrnes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: afghanistan, american-history, military-and-intelligence-non-fic, terrorism, the-bush-administration, non-fiction

Peter Bergen, has been on the bin Laden beat for a long time, most notably since he interviewed the al-Qaeda leader in 1997. He has reported the exploits of Osama for the full arc of his career, from freedom fighter for the Afghanis against the Soviet invader, through the rise to infamy of al Qaeda, from training Somalis in the use of RPG, to training thugs and fanatics to seize commercial airliners to dark purpose. Now he writes about the Osama we have not seen, mostly because he has had to rem...more Peter Bergen, has been on the bin Laden beat for a long time, most notably since he interviewed the al-Qaeda leader in 1997. He has reported the exploits of Osama for the full arc of his career, from freedom fighter for the Afghanis against the Soviet invader, through the rise to infamy of al Qaeda, from training Somalis in the use of RPG, to training thugs and fanatics to seize commercial airliners to dark purpose. Now he writes about the Osama we have not seen, mostly because he has had to remain in hiding, and follows the story to its bloody end. But Osama, per se, is not the central focus of the story.

This is an insider’s look at the process of hunting down the world’s most infamous terrorist. From well before September 11, 2001, the USA had been trying to find bin Laden, but he somehow always eluded his pursuers. It is no secret that his initial escape from Tora Bora was the result of tactical foolishness—subcontracting border security to a group of very corruptible locals pretty much guaranteeing failure—and the diversion of resources from Afghanistan to that other, less relevant war. But what was secret was UBL’s whereabouts for the next ten-plus years. (Government sorts first referred to him as Usama bin Laden, thus the UBL moniker that stuck, despite a later change in vowel) Bergen looks at the efforts that were made to track him down, and offers insight and new knowledge in the doing.

For example

The conventional view is that Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor and al-Qaeda’s longtime second in command, was bin Laden’s “brain.” But in making the most important strategic shift in al-Qaeda’s history—identifying the United States as its key enemy, rather than Middle-Eastern regimes—bin Laden brushed aside Zawahiri’s obsessive focus on overthrowing the Egyptian government. Bin Laden also kept Zawahiri in the dark for years about al-Qaeda’s most important operation—the planning for the 9/11 attacks—apprising his deputy only during the summer of 2001.

He offers the not shocking evaluation that

Mullah Omar was a dim-witted fanatic with significant delusions of grandeur who believed he was on a mission from Allah.

He also takes to task the notion that it was the intention of UBL and Al-Qaeda, by their actions, to draw the USA into a military quagmire.

This was post facto rationalization of al-Qaeda’s strategic failure. The whole point of the 9/11 attacks had been to get the United States out of the Muslim world, not to provoke it into invading and occupying Afghanistan and overthrowing al-Qaeda’s closest ideological ally, the Taliban. September 11, in fact, resembled Pearl Harbor. Just as the Japanese scored a tremendous tactical victory on December 7, 1941, they also set in motion a chain of events that led to the eventual collapse of imperial Japan. So, too, the 9/11 attacks set in motion a chain of events that would lead to the destruction of much of al-Qaeda and, eventually, the death of its leader.

There are more like this. Bergen looks at the effectiveness of torture as a source of useful intelligence, the growth of the Joint Special Operations Command, the change in approach re drone strikes in tribal Pakistan, the tricky relationship between the US and Pakistan, how US intelligence tracked their man down, the decision-making process, and details of the raid. Then he follows up with an analysis of the significance of al-Qaeda in the world today.

For a guy who is a major wonk on things military and spooky, Bergen writes like an actual person. He has always been a compelling TV journalist and his communication skills are put to good use here. I was particularly taken with his depiction of the raid. It read like an action adventure novel. And as a lifelong resident of NYC, I confess to welling up more than a little when the man responsible for murdering thousands of my neighbors was put down. Bergen’s access is impressive. He interviewed many of the principals involved and offers a rich portrait of the hunt.

Peter Bergen is the real deal. He knows his stuff and if you want to know how Osama bin Laden was found and dispatched track down a copy of Manhunt.

PS - A visit to Bergen’s site, http://peterbergen.com/, will offer the reward of multiple articles relating to our favorite dead evildoer. Well, the articles are mostly elements taken from the book, so if you want a peek at the book, check these samples.
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Sep 10, 2012 Jesse rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

this is really a magazine article streched into a full length book. what most disappointed me about it (besides the rush job to try and capitalize on the event) is that bergen offers not real contemplation on the idea of our soveriegn nation, shooting to kill, in a mission that sounded as if it was assasination all the way. he also breezes right on by the wife and brother of the courier who were shot and killed, not really explining why they shot them. i guess it felt like an outline of the even...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Shaun Lysen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After watching Zero Dark Thirty, I wanted to know more about the back story of getting Bin Laden and this book completely delivers in amazing detail. You feel like you're sitting in the room for those tense deliberations about how to go into Abbottabad. They had 4 potential courses of action.

Some of my favorite bits I learned were
1) Obama's first call after learning they killed Bin Laden was to President Bush
2) The SEAL team had contingency plans for almost every situation, yet the one thing th...more

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May 18, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: school

Peter Bergen has done it again. Just a little over a year after he published his stellar history of the war between the US and al-Qaeda (The Longest War), he comes back with this. Bergen is already well known as the expert's expert when it comes to bin Laden; his books are surely on many policymakers' shelves (and more than a few CIA agents' shelves, too, I'd imagine). He has consistently been able to get the scoop on almost every other Western journalist when it comes to bin Laden, beginning wi...more Peter Bergen has done it again. Just a little over a year after he published his stellar history of the war between the US and al-Qaeda (The Longest War), he comes back with this. Bergen is already well known as the expert's expert when it comes to bin Laden; his books are surely on many policymakers' shelves (and more than a few CIA agents' shelves, too, I'd imagine). He has consistently been able to get the scoop on almost every other Western journalist when it comes to bin Laden, beginning with his 1997 CNN interview with OBL himself. Now, it's clear what all that expertise does for a man: it gives him unparalleled access to, well, everyone. With such a stellar success on their hands, surely the Obama administration wanted Bergen's narrative out there (and it is an election year...); their cooperation shows in the reams of information, photographs, and interviews with key players, from Obama to Hillary Clinton to members of JSOC who took part in the raid....he even met with the Pakistani interrogators of bin Laden's surviving family members. Overall, this is an intensely fascinating and altogether breathless page-turner, especially the last several chapters, in which they actually move forward with the plan to go after bin Laden. The narrative moves; there's no downtime, so don't forget to bring a drink with you when you open the book!
Many of his arguments are not new if you're familiar with Bergen's other texts; indeed, there's a fair amount of overlap between this book and The Longest War (as well as The Osama bin Laden I Know), but even if you've read his other books multiple times, like I have, you won't be bored. Many of the new perspectives and quotes from key interviewees have already been hashed over in the press and blogosphere (my favorite was that bin Laden, in one of his last addresses during which he ranted about America's lack of attention to climate change issues and its continued support of rapacious multinational corporations, seemed "more like an elderly reader of The Nation than the leader of global jihad") so I won't repeat them, but I will tell you what I found especially interesting and new in this narrative.
First of all, Bergen has changed his tune somewhat on the efficacy of torture. Although he makes a strong argument against the policies of the Bush administration in his previous book, he's more nuanced here. His evidence shows that, well, the jury's out on whether or not torturing KSM and the others was useful - they DID, it turns out, PERHAPS give up SOME information under duress. Was it worth it? Hard to say; there's at least as much evidence that torture didn't elicit useful insights (after all, under torture KSM and al Libi both downplayed the role of "the Kuwaiti", who was finally the contact that led the US to Abbottabad), but I appreciated his forthright discussion. It's a well thought-out and thorough section of the book that left me with some new evidence to think about (and another source to assign my students next spring!).
Secondly, and, to my mind, even more importantly because this is the first time I've seen such a perspective, was the really key role that women played in tracking down bin Laden. Bergen points us to a number of very capable, lightning-smart analysts who had been on OBL's tail since the 1990s (one of them famously lost her life in the attack on the CIA base in Afghanistan in 2009). I was vaguely aware that women had been part of the intelligence team from the beginning, but Bergen really draws this out and in so doing, made me especially appreciative of how far our governmental organizations have come in the last 50 years (can you imagine, even for a moment, a woman working on the plots to overthrow Fidel Castro, say?). These analysts, coupled with the well known Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and the less well known but at least as important under Secretary of Defense, Michele Flournoy, create a picture of a world in which women are no longer on the margins. (Disclaimer: I did read this on Mother's Day.)
Finally, Bergen does an excellent job of showcasing the cool and intellectual decision-making process within the Obama White House. The nature of the risk taken, the level of planning inherent in the process, the deliberate attempts to poke holes in the theory that it was bin Laden, after all, pacing around that compound - these perspectives come together to convince the reader that this is a very, very different White House than it was 4 years ago.
If you're interested in the War on Terror or the Obama White House, this book should definitely be at the top of your "must read" stack. You won't regret it. (And for you dog lovers out there, there's even a little section on Cairo, the pup who was part of the team on the ground for the Abbottabad raid.)(less)

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Mar 10, 2013 Mart rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After seeing the movie 'Zero Dark Thirty' of director Kathryn Bigelow I wanted to read more about the hunt
on Osama Bin Laden. For the record, the movie was great and especially the leading actress should have won
the oscar (9/10). So I started Manhunt with great enthousiasm and it really wasn't a lead down. Peter Bergen writes non-fiction
in a fiction way, you almost think it is a novel albeit it isn't. Same as the movie, the tension increases and you're a bit excited
for what is going to happen. T...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Sabrina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Could there have been anyone better to write this book than Peter L. Bergen? CNN’s national security analyst has penned three previous books on Osama bin Laden and now he ties up the loose ends with the exploration of Bin Laden’s final defeat in Manhunt. Honestly, I’m not the most worldly person. All the news updates I get are from Twitter (incidentally, that’s how I heard about bin Laden’s death). So when I picked up this book, I knew the content would ultimately be interesting, but I expected...more Could there have been anyone better to write this book than Peter L. Bergen? CNN’s national security analyst has penned three previous books on Osama bin Laden and now he ties up the loose ends with the exploration of Bin Laden’s final defeat in Manhunt. Honestly, I’m not the most worldly person. All the news updates I get are from Twitter (incidentally, that’s how I heard about bin Laden’s death). So when I picked up this book, I knew the content would ultimately be interesting, but I expected to do a lot of flipping around. Let me tell you, I was hooked and read each word–twice. Not only do we get an insight into what life was like for Osama bin Laden, before and during his 6-year sojourn in the Abbottabad compound, we are also taken deep within the confines of the Situation Room, the Oval Office, and the wild caves of Tora Bora. Bergen cuts down to the basic facts and helps shed light on the arduous task of finding one of the world’s most notorious terrorists. I was also surprised to find that the book took a lighter, more humorous note at times, which made it all the more appealing to me. It showed that the people who dealt with this situation were in fact people and not drones, only programmed and trained heavily to act.

Most of us already know that bin Laden never relied on the comforts of home that one would be accustomed to on a daily basis. “You should learn to sacrifice everything from modern life, like electricity, air-conditioning, refrigerators, gasoline. If you are living the luxury life, it’s very hard to evacuate and go to the mountains to fight.” He never believed in the use of telephones or cellphones either, which made him even more difficult to track down. It would be one thing for a man to have used these comforts for awhile and then abandoned them to take flight. Eventually, they’ll figure themselves safe enough to turn back just for a moment. Usually, that’s how they get nabbed. With bin Laden, it slowed down his progress and communication vastly, but it kept him well off the grid. It’s quite the feat for a man to run such an operation with so limited means. Of course, once he was in Abbottabad, his role as leader significantly diminished. I almost wonder how long he would have continued to stay shielded.

Bergen tells us that bin Laden spent a lot of his ‘retirement’ time reading and watching old videos of himself giving speeches and interviews. He is particularly famous for saying “Thank God for that…” with regards to the 9/11 attacks, back when he was still pretending he had nothing to do with the act. He compared the attacks to the “humiliation” and “degradation” that the Islamic world has seen for almost a century. He always worked off of the notion that America was “weak” and that if it was hit in the right spots, it would crumble and fall. Despite his plans backfiring, he never gave up that notion. His dedication to destroying America and his loyalty to his people already made him a martyr to most of his followers. His wives in particular, all highly educated women of different ages, worshipped him and his politics. I almost admire their devotion for him, giving up their comforts to trek in the wilderness and finally hide in a compound for years with no outside contact. One wife, Amal, told her cousin that marrying Osama would allow her to go down in history. Her cousin bantered that her only history was to belong in the kitchen to which she retorted, “You mean history is only for you men?” It amazed me how such a forward thinker could follow the footsteps of such a warped lifestyle. The first chapter or two shed a lot of light on Osama’s views on marriage and his personal life and relations with his wives. He had a great deal of respect for all of them and was very attentive to each. He boasted that to marry more than once was to increase the nation of Muslims, a great thing. Bergen notes that Osama joked “I don’t understand why people take only one wife. If you take four wives, you live like a groom”. Bergen then jokes and says “This seems to be the only recorded joke bin Laden ever made.”

One of the most fascinating chapters from the book was entitled “The Working Theory of the Case”. As a criminal justice graduate, it aways fascinates me to watch how case theories are pieced together and then either accepted or rejected based on the smallest of facts. The real shining reason that made this chapter stand out was the prominent role of women in the hunt for bin Laden. Naturally the CIA had an entire unit dedicated to finding bin Laden day and night. Most of this unit was made up of female analysts. Founder, Michael Scheuer explained his reasoning: “They seem to have an exceptional knack for detail, for seeing patterns and understanding relationships, and they also, quite frankly, spend a great deal less time telling war stories, chatting, and going outside for cigarettes than the boys. If I could’ve put up a sign saying, “No boys need apply, I would’ve done it”. HA! Loved that.

Another part of the book that I absolutely loved was when a chief of staff, Jeremy Bash, demanded that his analysts come up with at least 25 operational ways to get into the compound or to get bin Laden out. It’s the perfect brainstorming strategy; any idea is welcome no matter how ludicrous. So one person suggested that they make an announcement on the loudspeakers outside the compound, pretending to be the Voice of Allah and say “You are commanded to come out into the street”. Not to make fun of anyone’s beliefs or religion, but I definitely had a good chuckle at that one. We often hear acts of terrorism blamed on the voice of God, so this was an ironic and funny turnaround.

I realize this is turning into more of a book report than a review, so I’ll keep the rest succinct. I’ve always admired the men in service and their families. To put themselves through hellish training and real-life combat situations while their wives, parents, and children wait at home for just a phone call, sick with anxiety–I could never do it. Bergen dedicates a bit of chapter space to showing us exactly what it was like for the SEALs to train and how they lived daily. When I read that one of the leaders only saw his wife once a month for FIVE YEARS, I thought to myself, “My God. Now that’s commitment.” Hats off to them. Everyday should be Memorial Day.

Lastly, the chapter that details the attack itself. We all know how the story ends, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that my heart was pounding with anticipation. To read that bin Laden’s last words were “Don’t turn on the light” was such an anticlimactic surprise, and yet it seemed so poignant. The agonizing wait in the Situation Room almost brought sweat to my brow. It was crazy to think that the world saw Obama fighting Donald Trump’s ridiculous accusations and demands for birth certificates while behind the scenes, he was preparing for one of the biggest moments in his presidential career and in history.

It’s a fairly short book but Bergen gives you everything you need to know. Frankly, it left me curious to read his other three books to get more into the mindset of bin Laden and his life.

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May 23, 2012 Brent rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, military

A pretty comprehensive account of Bin Laden's life from September 11, 2001 to May 1, 2011. What makes this book enjoyable is the fact Bergen included so many interviews from the decision-makers who pulled this off. It was so intriguing to read how the intelligence community discovered, exploited, planned, deliberated, and finally decided to go after the jihadist mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

I understand a lot of what happened is classified, but I wish the book had included more detail about Bi...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Jaishree rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Espionage, Intelligence and covert military operations.
Now who would have thought it would so much more exciting in real life.
Exciting to read, incredible to think it really did happen.
With precarious political and diplomatic stakes that seem very high.
How many nations would have risked what the US did? Finally politicians with guts!

The author - Peter Bergen is clearly an expert in this subject, having dedicated decades to reporting about Al Qaeda in particular. He writes it all in this book, th...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The story of the hunt for Bin Laden, starting before 9/11 to the night they got him at his compound in Abbotabad. The most fascinating parts are the way he got away at Tora Bora and the pretty detailed story of the way he was found there and the night of the raid. The author clearly knows his stuff; the last 20% of the book is footnotes, and he wrote 3 other books on Bin Laden and interviewed him for CNN.

Here's a list, page 105-106 of reports created for policymakers in 2001, which apparently w...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Abner rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Perhaps the most exciting portion of this book, as you might imagine, is the description of the final mission to get Bin Laden - the SEAL team's dash into Abbottabad and Bin Laden's compound, the accident with the first chopper, the confrontation with Bin Laden, all of which is being monitored in real time back at the White House. There's a lot of great "inside baseball" info as it relates to the hunt for Bin Laden - for example, an argument at the White House over whether or not Obama should be...more

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About Peter L. Bergen

Peter Bergen (born 1962) is an American born, England-raised print and television journalist, author, and CNN's national security analyst. Bergen produced the first television interview with Osama Bin Laden in 1997. The interview, which aired on CNN, marked the first time that bin Laden declared war against the United States to a Western audience. Bergen has written several books including: Holy W...more

More about Peter L. Bergen...

Books by Peter L. Bergen

The Longest War: A History of the War on Terror and the Battles with Al Qaeda Since 9/11

Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden

The Osama Bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of Al Qaeda's Leader

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