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The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage)
by Lawrence Wright

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/525461.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage)" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vOjsXcHQL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/525461.The_Looming_Tower_Al_Qaeda_and_the_Road_to_9_11?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4258.Lawrence_Wright">Lawrence Wright</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7770710?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 5 of 5 stars holy crap.
 
 this book is a tough read on many fronts, the least of which is trying to keep track of who the perpetrators are given that they change or add names each time they become a parent or become a member of a new tribe. the author includes a handy character guide to assist in drawing your own org chart of al-qaeda. the tone and subject matter is very academic, but i thought wright did a great job of giving a thorough history of the extremists while keeping the reader engaged by writing in a style reminiscent of a spy-thriller. this dude knows his stuff.
 
 some tidbits that i didn't know prior to reading "the looming tower," that will forever change my perspective of the war on terror are as follows:
 
 1) bin Laden is not nearly the guy that americans make him out to be. he is not extraordinarily tall, he lost all of his wealth in sudan and is lost many of his loyalists due to his mismanagement of finances and banishment from most countries with the exception of afghanistan. only recently has he become a leader akin to david koresch and that is largely of our making. 
 
 2) speaking of our making; everything that these guys learned about america they learned by living here (with the exception of bin Laden). bin Laden's hatred for america is unfounded...he was banished from saudi arabia and a host of other nations that he fled to. all of this wealth was confiscated, yet he had an uncanny way of holding america accountable for his self-made misfortune despite america having nothing to do with it.
 
 3) his hatred of america is largely due to its policies pertaining to israel, yet al-qaeda recruited members in sleeper cells who were exiled from their native lands. the whole premise was bin Ladin's exile from saudi arabia. the hatred of jews is kind of ironic, don't you think?
 
 4) despite what our government would have you believe, these guys are NOT down and out in tora bora. the al-qaeda leaders and martyrs are highly educated and from privileged families. 
 
 5) this country's anti-terrorism efforts (lack of them, really) prior to 9/11 will completely blow your mind. the cia and fbi knew that hijackers were living in the country almost two years prior to the bombing and suspected that they were going to use planes to attack the country, yet they did nothing because the two agencies were "prohibited" from sharing information with each other. totally inept. it's amazing this didn't happen sooner. 
 
 i read "a mighty heart" a short time ago and think this book is a great follow up. i need someone to read this pronto for discussion purposes. 
 
 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/82510?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

jen's review
rating:

recommended for: sunday morning news junkies
status: Read in November, 2007 — I have a copy to sell/swap

holy crap.

this book is a tough read on many fronts, the least of which is trying to keep track of who the perpetrators are given that they change or add names each time they become a parent or become a member of a new tribe. the author includes a handy character guide to assist in drawing your own org chart of al-qaeda. the tone and subject matter is very academic, but i thought wright did a great job of giving a thorough history of the extremists while keeping the reader engaged by writing in a style reminiscent of a spy-thriller. this dude knows his stuff.

some tidbits that i didn't know prior to reading "the looming tower," that will forever change my perspective of the war on terror are as follows:

1) bin Laden is not nearly the guy that americans make him out to be. he is not extraordinarily tall, he lost all of his wealth in sudan and is lost many of his loyalists due to his mismanagement of finances and banishment from most countries with the exception of...more holy crap.

this book is a tough read on many fronts, the least of which is trying to keep track of who the perpetrators are given that they change or add names each time they become a parent or become a member of a new tribe. the author includes a handy character guide to assist in drawing your own org chart of al-qaeda. the tone and subject matter is very academic, but i thought wright did a great job of giving a thorough history of the extremists while keeping the reader engaged by writing in a style reminiscent of a spy-thriller. this dude knows his stuff.

some tidbits that i didn't know prior to reading "the looming tower," that will forever change my perspective of the war on terror are as follows:

1) bin Laden is not nearly the guy that americans make him out to be. he is not extraordinarily tall, he lost all of his wealth in sudan and is lost many of his loyalists due to his mismanagement of finances and banishment from most countries with the exception of afghanistan. only recently has he become a leader akin to david koresch and that is largely of our making.

2) speaking of our making; everything that these guys learned about america they learned by living here (with the exception of bin Laden). bin Laden's hatred for america is unfounded...he was banished from saudi arabia and a host of other nations that he fled to. all of this wealth was confiscated, yet he had an uncanny way of holding america accountable for his self-made misfortune despite america having nothing to do with it.

3) his hatred of america is largely due to its policies pertaining to israel, yet al-qaeda recruited members in sleeper cells who were exiled from their native lands. the whole premise was bin Ladin's exile from saudi arabia. the hatred of jews is kind of ironic, don't you think?

4) despite what our government would have you believe, these guys are NOT down and out in tora bora. the al-qaeda leaders and martyrs are highly educated and from privileged families.

5) this country's anti-terrorism efforts (lack of them, really) prior to 9/11 will completely blow your mind. the cia and fbi knew that hijackers were living in the country almost two years prior to the bombing and suspected that they were going to use planes to attack the country, yet they did nothing because the two agencies were "prohibited" from sharing information with each other. totally inept. it's amazing this didn't happen sooner.

i read "a mighty heart" a short time ago and think this book is a great follow up. i need someone to read this pronto for discussion purposes.

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