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14th out of 56 books
—
9 voters
The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
The definitive account of the decade-long pursuit and capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the terrorist mastermind of 9/11
Only minutes after United 175 plowed into the World Trade Center's South Tower, people in positions of power correctly suspected who was behind the assault: Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. But it would be 18 months after September 11 before investigators w...more
Only minutes after United 175 plowed into the World Trade Center's South Tower, people in positions of power correctly suspected who was behind the assault: Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. But it would be 18 months after September 11 before investigators w...more
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
March 26th 2012
by Little, Brown and Company
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The Hunt for KSM gives us a chronological, detailed, and carefully researched account of the investigation into the characters that planned, financed, and executed the 9/11 attacks. McDermott and Meyer give us anecdotes, conversations, and small details that must have come from extensive interviews. The authors are quick to give credit to individual investigators and are not afraid to mention mistakes and lost opportunities when discussing earlier attempts to pinpoint the planners and actors in...more
http://philadelphiareviewofbooks.com/...
If public discourse is any measure, as a nation we’ve become comfortable with the idea that the national security apparatus is working. To what extent it’s working, is less agreed upon. But fewer and fewer of us are disputing the contention that if the men and women who serve protecting our interests abroad and American lives at home were not doing what they’re doing, we would all be considerably less safe. This is not to say there are no voices of dissent...more
If public discourse is any measure, as a nation we’ve become comfortable with the idea that the national security apparatus is working. To what extent it’s working, is less agreed upon. But fewer and fewer of us are disputing the contention that if the men and women who serve protecting our interests abroad and American lives at home were not doing what they’re doing, we would all be considerably less safe. This is not to say there are no voices of dissent...more
I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaways contest and I'm glad I did. This book is an exhaustive account for the search for KSM. The book reads like a novel and I learned so many facts about the KSM search investigation. The writers must have done hundreds or thousands of interviews and poured over countless reports in order to compile this book. I applaud them for that. The story is interesting and a fairly quick read if you are interested in learning about terrorism and our national...more
Incredibly disappointing.
I learnt almost nothing new from reading the book.
I still have no idea about KSM. I only seem to have learned about what kinds of beer his FBI investigators liked to drink, or what music they listened to when they were working out, and these kinds of details.
The authors seem to take it as a given that Mohammad was a 'terrorist' and that this label explains everything that he worked towards. The book offers no real explanation of his behaviour, no sense of his inner life,...more
I learnt almost nothing new from reading the book.
I still have no idea about KSM. I only seem to have learned about what kinds of beer his FBI investigators liked to drink, or what music they listened to when they were working out, and these kinds of details.
The authors seem to take it as a given that Mohammad was a 'terrorist' and that this label explains everything that he worked towards. The book offers no real explanation of his behaviour, no sense of his inner life,...more
I won this book for a Goodreads Giveaway and was really happy to have won it! I found this book exceedingly well-researched and almost exhaustive in detail. To read it is to submerse yourself in every detail of "The Hunt for KSM," not just on the ground in uniform but from the very beginning of his prominence of a main objective in both FBI and CIA headquarters. It's a multilayered and complex journey and I honestly salute the authors for going to such lengths to provide an objective and clear-c...more
I've read only fragmentary accounts of the takedown of KSM (Bergen, Tenet,Suskind, Risen, Rashid) so I'm glad I finally managed to read this.
"The Hunt for KSM" gives us a chronological, detailed, and carefully researched account of the investigation into the characters that planned, financed, and executed the 9/11 attacks. McDermott and Meyer give us anecdotes, conversations, and small details that must have come from extensive interviews. The authors are quick to give credit to individual inves...more
"The Hunt for KSM" gives us a chronological, detailed, and carefully researched account of the investigation into the characters that planned, financed, and executed the 9/11 attacks. McDermott and Meyer give us anecdotes, conversations, and small details that must have come from extensive interviews. The authors are quick to give credit to individual inves...more
Jun 20, 2012
Natalya
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Natalya by:
Goodreads First-Reads giveaway
Shelves:
first-reads
I won this book in a Goodreads First-Reads giveaway.
This is an incredibly detailed narrative, from the United States intelligence viewpoint, of the investigation and eventual capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. What I most valued about the book were the insights into the FBI, CIA, and other intelligence teams which were involved in the manhunt and in the investigation of extremist Islam jihad movements and terrorism. It was thrilling (if saddening) to be taken inside a world that not only didn't...more
This is an incredibly detailed narrative, from the United States intelligence viewpoint, of the investigation and eventual capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. What I most valued about the book were the insights into the FBI, CIA, and other intelligence teams which were involved in the manhunt and in the investigation of extremist Islam jihad movements and terrorism. It was thrilling (if saddening) to be taken inside a world that not only didn't...more
First, I'm required to note that I won this book in Goodreads' First Reads giveaway. Second, this was a great book. Much in the same vein of "Triple Agent", which I read a while ago, this is a very in depth look at Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. This book cataloged KSM's life, his education in the US, joining the fight in Afghanistan against the Soviets, and his subsequent activities efforts to terrorize America and Israel. I don't think that I realized what a bi...more
Incredibly well done. Solid research that is a total page turner and reads like a thriller. A timely study that fills a big gap in scholarship and is totally recommended for any one who has an interest in following the KSM trials and piecing together the story of who is the man who masterminded the 9/11 plot.
Great book. Reads like a Tom Clancy novel. Interesting insight on the 9/11 attacks, and how they may have been prevented. Very intresting on how our government does and does not work. Based on the point of view of the FBI. I am guesing CIA team did not cooperate for the book as much as the FBI.
Caveat: I know one of the authors, so am a little biased. However, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the inner workings of the intelligence world, or in geopolitics generally. It's meticulously researched, informative and well-paced.
This was a very good book that I would recommend to anyone who would like the real story behind a REAL terrorist. I am passing it around to all of my non-fiction friends. Thank you so much for the give-away book
The author does an excellent job of following the twists and turns in the multiple investigations that finally led to the capture of KSM. He does an excellent job of getting into the minds of KSM's pursuers.
This is a solid four star read. The reason i gave it five, usually a rating i reserve for classics or outstanding books, is because it was written by my very first boyfriend (josh). Mushy, i know.
Feb 26, 2012
Rena
marked it as to-read
I won this book from First Reads Giveaway. Waiting to read it when I receive it. Thanks.
Another chilling look at U.S. intelligence failures before and after 9/11.
Unbelievable journalism. best of all the terrorist take down books.
Terrific followup to Perfect Soldiers. It doesn't put you in the head of KSM like Peter Bergen's The Osama Bin Laden I Know did with bin Laden. However it does give you a better understanding of the man behind 9/11 and how those attacks, though certainly the most devastating he devised, were just one of many that originated from KSM over more than a decade of terrorist activity. Interesting, too, to learn about his relationship with bin Laden and to find out more about KSM's time as a college st...more
Knowledgeable and readable.
Can't wait to read this!
Ok narrative of what I consider the most significant arrest of the war on terror. Could stand to be a little better researched.
I don't usually read non-fiction, so it was different to start. Once I started, i found the story very interesting and intriguing to learn all that happened wiht KSM and Al Qaeda.
Recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of 9/11 and general jihad terror plots.
Recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of 9/11 and general jihad terror plots.
Everyone in America was affected in one way or another by the events of September 11, 2001. The details provided in this book about the background of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and how everything went down was very interesting to read. This is something I am sure will be studied as a part of history classes throughout the rest of the future.
Beginning is confusing with strange names of people and places but after a bit everything falls into place. I learned a huge amount and cannot believe the amount of undercover work and dangers josh put himself in. Definitely read
Being considered for the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism.
May 15, 2013
Nisar Ahmed
marked it as to-read
May 13, 2013
Eric Smith
is currently reading it
May 12, 2013
Michael Safoschnik
is currently reading it
May 11, 2013
David
marked it as to-read
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Terry McDermott is the author of Perfect Soldiers (HarperCollins, 2005), and 101 Theory Drive (Pantheon, 2010). His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Smithsonian, Columbia Journalism Review, the Los Angeles Times Magazine and Pacific Magazine. McDermott worked at eight newspapers for more than thirty years, most recently for ten years at the Los Angeles Times, where he was a national corres...more
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