The Looming Tower AlQaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Audible Audio Edition) Lawrence Wright Random House Audio Books
Download As PDF : The Looming Tower AlQaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Audible Audio Edition) Lawrence Wright Random House Audio Books
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'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.
The Looming Tower 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's counterterrorism chief, John O'Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal.
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 Cole
- O'Neill's heroic efforts to track al-Qaeda before 9/11, and his tragic death in the World Trade towers
- Prince Turki's transformation from bin Laden's ally to his enemy
- The failures of the FBI, CIA, and NSA to share intelligence that might have prevented the 9/11 attacks
The Looming Tower 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'Neill's high-wire act in balancing his all-consuming career with his equally entangling personal life - he was living with three women, each of them unaware of the others' existence - and the nitty-gritty of turf battles among US intelligence agencies.
Brilliantly conceived and written, The Looming Tower 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.
The Looming Tower AlQaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Audible Audio Edition) Lawrence Wright Random House Audio Books
This is a well-researched, temperate account of how various modern fundamentalist Islamic movements coalesced under different leaders and became juggernauts moving toward various bombing attacks and finally – 9/11.If you often just listen to the news casually, as background “Newsack,” you might not really understand the difference between such groups as Hamas, al Jihad, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban. This book distinguishes those groups by region, history, and leadership so that readers can approach currently unfolding news stories more intelligently.
“Looming Tower” starts in the early1950’s with Egyptian Sayyid Qutb, telling how his ultimate martyrdom gave impetus to much of modern terrorist activity. Wright proceeds through the formation of the Taliban in the wake of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and on to bin Laden’s activities under the al-Qaeda banner. He tells how the latter became in effect, “a death-cult.” Enough biographical information is given about each of these leaders to convey a sense of who they were in their personal lives – of the frequent disjunction between what they did publicly and how they lived privately. There isn’t a huge amount of psychological analysis of how presumably religious people arrived at the point of justifying mass murder and suicide, but Wright does provide some insights into the process of transformation away from simple, often happy childhood days.
This book is written in straight-forward reportorial style. But it includes enough telling metaphor to graphically illustrate many points. For example, Wright tells how some factions fell away from having a centralized leadership and instead organized themselves into cells. This gave them a “spongy quality, clandestine, hard to combat.” With that one word “spongy,” Wright conveys the difficulty that U.S. and allied military forces have been up against.
The narrative includes some really surprising details about how Western and Middle Eastern cultures can differ in their interpretation of events. I had no idea how the Monica Lewinsky/President Clinton scandal was interpreted by many in the Middle East – and how it served to fuel further terrorist activity. Wright also tells of other instances where our failure to speak the language and realize cultural differences led to serious diplomatic and military miscalculations.
The last third of the book moves quickly, almost too quickly, towards 9/11. A lot of it is told from the perspective of FBI investigator John O’Neill. There isn’t quite the measured detail here that there is the first part of the book. I felt a little hurried along. Of course, events themselves were rapidly sweeping towards the terrorists’ fearful culmination. But I would have liked to have known somewhat more about how vital information that might have forewarned us got lost in the jostling egos of FBI and CIA operatives. Well, more detail on that score might have made this book too long and was perhaps better saved for separate books.
“Looming Tower” was first published in 2006, and includes an “Afterword” written in 2011. In that afterword, Wright expresses some optimism that a partial, peaceful resolution might be possible – an optimism that unfortunately doesn’t seem justified in light of recent developments.
There’s a map at the front of the book showing Middle East countries’ relationships to each other, and the location of key bases of activity. Wright also provides a list of “Principal Characters” at the back of the book, reminding the reader who’s who. Despite the many names in this book, I found that I didn’t often have to refer back to that reference section. Wright provides such a clear, chronological account, it was easy to keep track of the key players.
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The Looming Tower AlQaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Audible Audio Edition) Lawrence Wright Random House Audio Books Reviews
Who didn't see the tragedy of 9/11? Not many. However, " The LoomingTower " provides astonishing insights into what the government knew prior that infamous morning. Just as interesting is the summary of the genesis of Islamist Jihadism. The crucible of the terror/nationalist movement, Egypt, successfully controlled the the movement founders in their own country which forced the fanatics to other Middle Eastern countries. The relocation of the movement stakeholders subsequent to WW II is fascinating. The Russian invasion and then retreat from Afghanistan motivates the rebel groups to export their organized terror around the world in support of their twisted interpretation of the Koran. This fascinating story demonstrates how ignoring unique hard to piece together known information sealed the fate of the unfortunate innocents working in the twin towers, the Pentagon and the innocent passengers on the four airplanes that morning. If you think you have 9/11 fatigue you won't feel that way if you choose to ready " The Looming Tower ". This is a contemporary must read
Alert the book is not the TV series, and vice versa. Each will have to be judged on their own merit. As for the book, the first half (roughly) is filled with detail about the origins of AL Qaeda and radical Islamist movements. I found this history, often giving depth to what we heard on the news, very informative, albeit a little overwhelming. Then the author chillingly reveals why the US intelligence agencies failed to prevent 9/11. The bureaucratic jealousy, the individual "scores" to be settled, and the stifling lack of individual courage among all but a few of the government actors, is maddening. Notwithstanding the creation of DHS in the wake of the failures chronicled in the book , this work leaves one skeptical of any really significant improvement just from moving the players around.. It is not and easy read because the names of the many Middle Eastern players is mind-boggling and the material is loaded with detail (The author tries to assist with a useful Appendix of the names.)
This is a well-researched, temperate account of how various modern fundamentalist Islamic movements coalesced under different leaders and became juggernauts moving toward various bombing attacks and finally – 9/11.
If you often just listen to the news casually, as background “Newsack,” you might not really understand the difference between such groups as Hamas, al Jihad, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban. This book distinguishes those groups by region, history, and leadership so that readers can approach currently unfolding news stories more intelligently.
“Looming Tower” starts in the early1950’s with Egyptian Sayyid Qutb, telling how his ultimate martyrdom gave impetus to much of modern terrorist activity. Wright proceeds through the formation of the Taliban in the wake of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and on to bin Laden’s activities under the al-Qaeda banner. He tells how the latter became in effect, “a death-cult.” Enough biographical information is given about each of these leaders to convey a sense of who they were in their personal lives – of the frequent disjunction between what they did publicly and how they lived privately. There isn’t a huge amount of psychological analysis of how presumably religious people arrived at the point of justifying mass murder and suicide, but Wright does provide some insights into the process of transformation away from simple, often happy childhood days.
This book is written in straight-forward reportorial style. But it includes enough telling metaphor to graphically illustrate many points. For example, Wright tells how some factions fell away from having a centralized leadership and instead organized themselves into cells. This gave them a “spongy quality, clandestine, hard to combat.” With that one word “spongy,” Wright conveys the difficulty that U.S. and allied military forces have been up against.
The narrative includes some really surprising details about how Western and Middle Eastern cultures can differ in their interpretation of events. I had no idea how the Monica Lewinsky/President Clinton scandal was interpreted by many in the Middle East – and how it served to fuel further terrorist activity. Wright also tells of other instances where our failure to speak the language and realize cultural differences led to serious diplomatic and military miscalculations.
The last third of the book moves quickly, almost too quickly, towards 9/11. A lot of it is told from the perspective of FBI investigator John O’Neill. There isn’t quite the measured detail here that there is the first part of the book. I felt a little hurried along. Of course, events themselves were rapidly sweeping towards the terrorists’ fearful culmination. But I would have liked to have known somewhat more about how vital information that might have forewarned us got lost in the jostling egos of FBI and CIA operatives. Well, more detail on that score might have made this book too long and was perhaps better saved for separate books.
“Looming Tower” was first published in 2006, and includes an “Afterword” written in 2011. In that afterword, Wright expresses some optimism that a partial, peaceful resolution might be possible – an optimism that unfortunately doesn’t seem justified in light of recent developments.
There’s a map at the front of the book showing Middle East countries’ relationships to each other, and the location of key bases of activity. Wright also provides a list of “Principal Characters” at the back of the book, reminding the reader who’s who. Despite the many names in this book, I found that I didn’t often have to refer back to that reference section. Wright provides such a clear, chronological account, it was easy to keep track of the key players.
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