false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1244800444m/6542802.jpg 110890 19 <p>A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright&#8217;s remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States.<br><br><i>The Looming Tower</i> achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy and insight by telling the story through the interweaving lives of four men: the two leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the FBI&#8217;s counterterrorism chief, John O&#8217;Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal.<br><br>As these lives unfold, we see revealed: the crosscurrents of modern Islam that helped to radicalize Zawahiri and bin Laden . . . the birth of al-Qaeda and its unsteady development into an organization capable of the American embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the attack on the USS<i> Cole</i> . . . O&#8217;Neill&#8217;s heroic efforts to track al-Qaeda before 9/11, and his tragic death in the World Trade towers . . . Prince Turki&#8217;s transformation from bin Laden&#8217;s ally to his enemy . . . the failures of the FBI, CIA, and NSA to share intelligence that might have prevented the 9/11 attacks. <br><br><i>The Looming Tower</i> broadens and deepens our knowledge of these signal events by taking us behind the scenes. Here is Sayyid Qutb, founder of the modern Islamist movement, lonely and despairing as he meets Western culture up close in 1940s America; the privileged childhoods of bin Laden and Zawahiri; family life in the al-Qaeda compounds of Sudan and Afghanistan; O&#8217;Neill&#8217;s high-wire act in balancing his all-consuming career with his equally entangling personal life&#8212;he was living with three women, each of them unaware of the others&#8217; existence&#8212;and the nitty-gritty of turf battles among U.S. intelligence agencies.<br><br>Brilliantly conceived and written, <i>The Looming Tower</i> draws all elements of the story into a galvanizing narrative that adds immeasurably to our understanding of how we arrived at September 11, 2001. The richness of its new information, and the depth of its perceptions, can help us deal more wisely and effectively with the continuing terrorist threat.</p> 2567720 8 8 2006 The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 total:1756|5:891|4:669|3:164|2:24|1:8| 1756 7679 2882 482 525461 1400030846 9781400030842 192 56 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255612925m/525461.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/525461.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 3 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 23 08:12:04 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 05 19:56:42 -0800 2007 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 Th...more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 2 false Thu Sep 20 07:45:28 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 27 23:28:49 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5961454 6 4 4.37 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5961454.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 1 false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 30 13:33:41 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 13:35:45 -0800 2008
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...more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 2 false Wed Sep 19 07:38:12 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 23 11:50:23 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 19 07:36:19 -0700 2007 more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 1 false Sun Feb 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 02 09:08:38 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 11 09:26:44 -0800 2008 The New Yorker over the past couple of years. The overall book is a rare combination of gripping story-te...more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 2 false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 04 08:22:51 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 26 10:40:32 -0700 2007 more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 1 false Tue May 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 04 07:36:50 -0700 2008 Tue May 27 19:01:33 -0700 2008
Lawrence Wright conducted an enormous number...more...]]> 525461 1400030846 9781400030842 192 56 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255612925m/525461.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/525461.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 0 false Tue Mar 17 22:28:16 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 14:11:47 -0700 2009 more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 3 0 false Thu Oct 18 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jan 15 18:23:03 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 18:37:28 -0800 2009 more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 1 false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri May 02 13:26:44 -0700 2008 Wed May 14 18:46:58 -0700 2008
*the other four book are:
America Alone...more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 0 false Mon Dec 07 21:27:27 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 08 08:42:15 -0800 2009 more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 0 false Thu Nov 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 21:15:37 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 21:21:46 -0800 2009
Wright does a good job following the lives of bin Laden and...more...]]> 525461 1400030846 9781400030842 192 56 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255612925m/525461.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/525461.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 0 false Thu Oct 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 15 16:59:51 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 15 18:43:22 -0700 2009 1
Starting in the '40s with Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian who visited America and condemned the nation for its individualism, secularism, and wome...more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 0 false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Jul 24 18:23:45 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 18:24:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 0 false Wed Jul 08 16:26:59 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 16:50:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 0 0 false Mon Jun 22 11:00:30 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 11:00:30 -0700 2009 STOP SMILING interview with author Lawrence Wright

Q&A: Lawrence Wright
By James Hughes

Lawrence Wright is an Austin-based author and frequent contributor to The New Yorker magazine whose 2006 book, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, was nominated for th...more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 4 0 false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 07:25:44 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 07:43:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 0 false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 03 19:35:59 -0700 2009 Sun May 03 19:53:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 5 0 false Fri Jan 30 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 05:25:26 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 05:20:21 -0800 2009 more...]]> 110890 037541486X 9780375414862 1523 412 4.37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171646758m/110890.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110890.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11 4 0 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jan 08 09:15:46 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 09:15:46 -0800 2009 ...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6542802