Try an audiobook on us
The Looming Tower
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Terror Years
- From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State
- By: Lawrence Wright
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer, Lawrence Wright
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright became generally acknowledged as one of our major journalists writing on terrorism in the Middle East. This collection draws on several articles he wrote while researching that book as well as many that he's written since, following where and how al-Qaeda and its core cultlike beliefs have morphed and spread.
-
Directorate S
- The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
- By: Steve Coll
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 28 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Resuming the narrative of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars, best-selling author Steve Coll tells for the first time the epic and enthralling story of America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 9/11.
-
-
Filled with facts and beautifully written
- By Saad on 08-05-18
-
The Exile
- The Flight of Osama bin Laden
- By: Cathy Scott-Clark, Adrian Levy
- Narrated by: Chris Kayser
- Length: 24 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Exile joins Osama bin Laden as he escapes into Pakistan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, bringing to vivid life the years leading up to his death spent on the run and in exile. It tells the human story, and illuminates the global political workings. It is a tale of evasion, collusion, betrayal and the deep pain of isolation.
-
-
Just brilliant
- By GRAEME on 18-02-18
-
ISIS: The State of Terror
- By: Jessica Stern, J. M. Berger
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two leading experts on violent extremism explain the genesis, evolution, and implications of today's most barbaric jihadist army, Islamic State.
Drawing on their unusual access to intelligence sources and material, law enforcement, and groundbreaking research into open-source intelligence, Stern and Berger outline the origins of ISIS as the formidable terrorist group it has quickly become.
-
-
Stunning insight
- By Mr. Alan R. Jenkins on 19-06-15
-
Nine Lives
- By: Aimen Dean, Tim Lister, Paul Cruickshank
- Narrated by: Assaf Cohen
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As one of al-Qaeda's most respected bomb-makers, Aimen Dean rubbed shoulders with the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden himself. As a double agent at the heart of al-Qaeda's chemical weapons program, he foiled attacks on civilians and saved countless lives, brushing with death so often that his handlers began to call him their spy with nine lives. This is the story of how a young Muslim, determined to defend his faith, found himself fighting on the wrong side - and his fateful decision to work undercover for his sworn enemy.
-
Columbine
- By: Dave Cullen
- Narrated by: Don Leslie
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What really happened on April 20th, 1999? The horror left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we thought we knew was wrong. It wasn't about jocks, goths or the Trench Coat Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on the scene, and he spent 10 years on this book, the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, he draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world's leading forensic psychologists. Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers.
-
The Terror Years
- From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State
- By: Lawrence Wright
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer, Lawrence Wright
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright became generally acknowledged as one of our major journalists writing on terrorism in the Middle East. This collection draws on several articles he wrote while researching that book as well as many that he's written since, following where and how al-Qaeda and its core cultlike beliefs have morphed and spread.
-
Directorate S
- The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
- By: Steve Coll
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 28 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Resuming the narrative of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars, best-selling author Steve Coll tells for the first time the epic and enthralling story of America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 9/11.
-
-
Filled with facts and beautifully written
- By Saad on 08-05-18
-
The Exile
- The Flight of Osama bin Laden
- By: Cathy Scott-Clark, Adrian Levy
- Narrated by: Chris Kayser
- Length: 24 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Exile joins Osama bin Laden as he escapes into Pakistan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, bringing to vivid life the years leading up to his death spent on the run and in exile. It tells the human story, and illuminates the global political workings. It is a tale of evasion, collusion, betrayal and the deep pain of isolation.
-
-
Just brilliant
- By GRAEME on 18-02-18
-
ISIS: The State of Terror
- By: Jessica Stern, J. M. Berger
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two leading experts on violent extremism explain the genesis, evolution, and implications of today's most barbaric jihadist army, Islamic State.
Drawing on their unusual access to intelligence sources and material, law enforcement, and groundbreaking research into open-source intelligence, Stern and Berger outline the origins of ISIS as the formidable terrorist group it has quickly become.
-
-
Stunning insight
- By Mr. Alan R. Jenkins on 19-06-15
-
Nine Lives
- By: Aimen Dean, Tim Lister, Paul Cruickshank
- Narrated by: Assaf Cohen
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As one of al-Qaeda's most respected bomb-makers, Aimen Dean rubbed shoulders with the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden himself. As a double agent at the heart of al-Qaeda's chemical weapons program, he foiled attacks on civilians and saved countless lives, brushing with death so often that his handlers began to call him their spy with nine lives. This is the story of how a young Muslim, determined to defend his faith, found himself fighting on the wrong side - and his fateful decision to work undercover for his sworn enemy.
-
Columbine
- By: Dave Cullen
- Narrated by: Don Leslie
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What really happened on April 20th, 1999? The horror left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we thought we knew was wrong. It wasn't about jocks, goths or the Trench Coat Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on the scene, and he spent 10 years on this book, the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, he draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world's leading forensic psychologists. Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers.
-
The Cold War
- A World History
- By: Odd Arne Westad
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 25 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Germany and then Japan surrendered in 1945, there was a tremendous hope that a new and much better world could be created from the moral and physical ruins of the conflict. Instead, the combination of the huge power of the USA and USSR and the near-total collapse of most of their rivals created a unique, grim new environment: the Cold War. For over 40 years the demands of the Cold War shaped the life of almost all of us. There was no part of the world where East and West did not ultimately demand a blind and absolute allegiance.
-
-
One of the best books I've ever read
- By Anonymous User on 01-11-18
-
Kursk
- By: Robert Moore
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 11.30 a.m. on Saturday 12 August 2000, two massive explosions roared through the shallow Arctic waters of the Barents Sea. The Kursk, pride of the Northern Fleet and the largest attack submarine in the world, was hurtling towards the ocean floor. In Kursk (originally published as A Time to Die), award-winning journalist Robert Moore vividly re-creates this disaster minute by minute.
-
-
A. Time to Die
- By Gill on 16-11-18
-
Manhunt
- By: Colin Sutton
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Levi Bellfield is one of the most notorious British serial killers of the last fifty years - his name alone evokes horror and revulsion, after his string of brutal murders in the early 2000s. At 3:07pm on 21st March, 2002, Milly Dowler left her school in Surrey for the last time. Less than an hour later, she was to be abducted and murdered in the cruellest fashion, sparking a missing person investigation that would span months before her body was found.
-
-
very good
- By Amazon Customer on 18-02-19
-
Team of Vipers
- My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House
- By: Cliff Sims
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May, Cliff Sims - introduction
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After standing at Donald Trump’s side on Election Night, Cliff Sims joined him in the West Wing as special assistant to the president and director of White House message strategy. He soon found himself pulled into the president’s inner circle as a confidante, an errand boy, an advisor, a punching bag, and a friend. This is the story of what it was really like in the West Wing as a member of the president’s team. It's a story of power and palace intrigue, backstabbing and bold victories, as well as painful moral compromises, occasionally with yourself.
-
-
Bleeping out swear words? Really?
- By Adam on 05-02-19
-
1983
- The World at the Brink
- By: Taylor Downing
- Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1983 was a supremely dangerous year - even more dangerous than 1962, the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the US, President Reagan massively increased defence spending, described the Soviet Union as an 'evil empire' and announced his 'Star Wars' programme, calling for a shield in space to defend the US from incoming missiles. Yuri Andropov, the paranoid Soviet leader, saw all this as signs of American aggression and convinced himself that the US really meant to attack the Soviet Union. He put the KGB on alert to look for signs of an imminent nuclear attack.
-
-
Enthralling but let down by narration
- By Oliver Moor on 08-10-18
-
Chernobyl
- History of a Tragedy
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the morning of 26 April 1986, Europe witnessed the worst nuclear disaster in history: the explosion of a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Soviet Ukraine. The outburst put the world on the brink of nuclear annihilation. In the end, less than 5 percent of the reactor's fuel escaped, but that was enough to contaminate over half of Europe with radioactive fallout. In Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy re-creates these events in all of their drama, telling the stories of the firefighters, scientists, engineers, workers, soldiers and policemen who found themselves caught in a nuclear Armageddon....
-
-
Fascinating
- By C Vernon on 07-02-19
-
The Oil Kings
- How the U.S., Iran, and Saudi Arabia Changed the Balance of Power in the Middle East
- By: Andrew Scott Cooper
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 19 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Struggling with a recession... European nations at risk of defaulting on their loans... A possible global financial crisis. It happened before, in the 1970s. The Oil Kings is the story of how oil came to dominate U.S. domestic and international affairs. Brilliantly reported and filled with astonishing details about some of the key figures of the time, this is the history of an era that we thought we knew, an era whose momentous reverberations still influence events at home and abroad today.
-
-
Very informative
- By Rosanella on 26-12-16
-
A People’s Tragedy
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: Roger Davis
- Length: 47 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Opening with a panorama of Russian society, from the cloistered world of the Tsar to the brutal life of the peasants, A People’s Tragedy follows workers, soldiers, intellectuals and villagers as their world is consumed by revolution and then degenerates into violence and dictatorship. Drawing on vast original research, Figes conveys above all the shocking experience of the revolution for those who lived it, while providing the clearest and most cogent account of how and why it unfolded.
-
-
A good guide to the repeating history of Russia
- By Mikhail Tikilyaynen on 14-02-19
-
Rise and Kill First
- The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations
- By: Ronen Bergman
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 25 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this pause-resisting, eye-opening audiobook, journalist and military analyst Ronen Bergman - praised by David Remnick as 'arguably [Israel's] best investigative reporter' - offers a riveting inside account of the targeted killing programs: their successes, their failures, and the moral and political price exacted on the men and women who approved and carried out the missions.
-
-
Fascinating account of the history of Israeli spyworld
- By Mr. K. Leigh on 23-10-18
-
The Secret World
- By: Christopher Andrew
- Narrated by: Laurence Kennedy
- Length: 36 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The history of espionage is far older than any of today's intelligence agencies, yet the long history of intelligence operations has been largely forgotten. The codebreakers at Bletchley Park, the most successful World War II intelligence agency, were completely unaware that their predecessors in earlier moments of national crisis had broken the codes of Napoleon during the Napoleonic wars and those of Spain before the Spanish Armada.
-
-
Couldn't Finish This
- By Amazon Customer on 20-10-18
-
National Populism
- The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy (A Pelican Book)
- By: Matthew Goodwin, Roger Eatwell
- Narrated by: Matthew Goodwin
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Across the West, there is a rising tide of people who feel excluded, alienated from mainstream politics and increasingly hostile towards minorities, immigrants and neoliberal economics. Many of these voters are turning to national populist movements, which have begun to change the face of Western liberal democracy, from the United States to France, Austria to the UK. This radical turn, we are told, is a last howl of rage from an aging electorate on the verge of extinction.
-
Fear
- Trump in the White House
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The inside story on President Trump, as only Bob Woodward can tell it. With authoritative reporting honed through eight presidencies from Nixon to Obama, author Bob Woodward reveals in unprecedented detail the harrowing life inside President Donald Trump’s White House and precisely how he makes decisions on major foreign and domestic policies. Woodward draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, files and documents. The focus is on the explosive debates and the decision-making in the Oval Office, the Situation Room, Air Force One and the White House residence.
-
-
balanced and the text is served well by narration.
- By David W. on 12-09-18
Summary
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.
Critic reviews
What members say
Average customer ratings
Overall
-
-
5 Stars150
-
4 Stars28
-
3 Stars5
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Performance
-
-
5 Stars120
-
4 Stars33
-
3 Stars9
-
2 Stars2
-
1 Stars1
Story
-
-
5 Stars140
-
4 Stars19
-
3 Stars4
-
2 Stars1
-
1 Stars0
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- HashTag
- Corby, UK
- 03-09-18
Astounding
I am a Muslim. I was left speechless once again at the extent one person's drive and hatred can change the course of history. That, and the arrogance and hubris of those we have elected to keep us safe.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Norman
- 31-08-18
A must listen
An excellent insight to the history of al qaeda, the horrific violence of a minority of fanatics and the mistakes that allowed the terrorist pilots to carry out the awful crimes. Brilliantly narrated by the author.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sean Wafer
- Liverpool
- 13-02-19
Utterly magnificent
Truly, and I say this as a prolific nonfiction reader/listener, probably the best I've ever heard. It has everything, is researched magnificently, both narrated with skill and narratively phenomenal. Listen to this book, you will not be disappointed
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- G. Rosenberg
- United Kingdom
- 03-01-19
Good but disturbing and sad.
A great deal of the background and detail make this an interesting and disturbing book. From the egotistical rants of the disaffected and weak to the ineptitude of the CIA. What a waste of life.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gsav
- 23-12-18
excellent
really good. very informative and insightful. learned a lot , with a very engaging narrative.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr. Lee Graham
- Ireland
- 07-11-18
Fantastic, well worth the listen
Loved it. Really well told story of what really happened. For those who doubt what happened on 911 simply listen to the story.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- james Sinon
- UK
- 19-09-18
Great stuff
simple get it you will love it .....end of story and a spot light on the middle east
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- C I H
- Bath, United Kingdom
- 10-06-18
Interesting Overview of an incident that shocked the Western world.
Well researched and presented, many people can remember exactly were they where and what they were doing when the Twin towers were struck. The events that led to this have been reported upon many times; The Looming Tower chronicle the history and events that led to this atrocity, an excellent read and listen. There is so much information to take in I had to play it at 0.75 of the normal speed, a fascinating story.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Alan Hooper
- 01-06-18
Truth stranger than fiction.
Fascinating account of people and events around the world that led to 9/11. Incredible how personalities, poor communication, vanity and pettyness hampered the search for key terrorists.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anthony Sharma
- 18-05-18
better than the show
this book was informative right from the beginning of radical Islam beginnings to the 9/11 attacks. the CIA and FBI are shown to be at odds. we have great heroes and villans and its all true.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- S Foster
- 10-12-17
The Looming Tower
A very detailed writing of the murders and people in our government who allowed 9/11 to happen.
CIA and FBI could not cooperate and help each other eve though they both had valid, pertinent information.
Mr Wright writes and speaks so well of the time before 9/11.
Excellent book.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Josh
- 05-10-17
Supremely thorough and interesting
Do not give up on this Audiobook just because it starts slowly. It is a remarkable work by Lawrence Wright and he does an admirable job narrating it as well given his lack of experience. The failures to communicate by the CIA and FBI are atrocious but Wright does a terrific job explaining this in terms any reader or listener can understand.
12 of 13 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sharla Burkett
- 31-03-18
Excellent book a must read.
Factual well written story of the time leading up to the 911 attacks and the breakdown of communication between two branches of our government who put their egos and childish rivalries ahead of the job they were sworn to do therefore missing several opportunities that could and would have changed everything.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- R. Burroughs
- 15-03-18
Great book, could have used professional narration
The author read the book and while his performance wasn’t horrible, I think a stronger narrator would have elevated the material. Lot of great info though.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- stuartjash
- 19-08-18
Great story, but should've found a narrator
Exactly as the headline reads: this is a fantastic story with so much incredible backstory. It was very impressive how in-depth this story was. The only fault was that the author narrated it. Although it wasn't a horrible narration, getting a reader who is a professional might have been a good idea.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Big Poppa Gibs
- 18-03-18
Required Reading
Like Halberstam’s “The Best and the Brightest,” this is a classic example of how much we can learn on a critical topic from an informed author.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andrew Nicks
- 18-02-18
Unparalleled account of Al-Qaeda
This is the first book I have read on the subject of Al-Qaeda and I thought it was a masterful narrative into the history, progression, and actions of Al-Qaeda.
Wright details the foundations of Al-Qaeda, and Islamic fundamentalism and weaves it with their principles, beliefs, as well as the simultaneous American intelligence investigation. This was an unbiased, thorough, and candid piece about every detail that produced the men responsible on September 11th.
I loved this book, and strongly recommended it for anyone who looks for edification on the subject of Al-Qaeda.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- paul ogburn
- 04-12-17
Very Detailed
Easy to listen to and fallow, not overly flooded with jargon and complected facts that would require additional research just to keep up.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robert N. Driscoll
- 16-07-17
Fantastic
Thorough but still engaging, I learned much about the history of Al Qaeda and US attempts to track it pre 9/11.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K. H. Jones
- 01-04-18
Excellent
Learned a lot. Could not help but be angered by the bureaucratic nightmare that prevented the prospect of avoiding what happened on 9/11.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful