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The Looming Tower

Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

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The Looming Tower

By: Lawrence Wright
Narrated by: Lawrence Wright
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About this listen

 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • A “heart-stopping account of the events leading up to 9/11” (The New York Times Book Review), this definitive history explains in gripping detail the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, the rise of al-Qaeda, and the intelligence failures that culminated in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century • A Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of the Last 30 Years

In gripping narrative that spans five decades, Lawrence Wright re-creates firsthand the transformation of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri from incompetent and idealistic soldiers in Afghanistan to leaders of the most successful terrorist group in history. He follows FBI counterterrorism chief John O’Neill as he uncovers the emerging danger from al-Qaeda in the 1990s and struggles to track this new threat.

Packed with new information and a deep historical perspective, The Looming Tower is a sweeping, unprecedented history of the long road to September 11. 20th Century Americas Freedom & Security Modern Politics & Government United States War & Crisis Espionage Africa Middle East Royalty Iran Saudi Arabia War Middle Ages Thought-Provoking Scary Refugee Crusade

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All stars
Most relevant
The author sometimes goes into excruciating detail in an effort to bring these events to life. Sometimes this can be horrifying and other times it can be very protracted and mundane. But this detail serves to demonstrate how attentive and studious the author really is in their work.

The frustration felt by those involved in the investigations is conveyed so well that I sometimes found myself having to stop the book because I was so on dumbfounded by the degree to which so much pain and destruction could have been averted had there been fewer pissing contests between the fbi and cia.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a historical or more personal depiction of the events that culminated in the worst day in US history.

Disturbing and amazingly insightful

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An excellent book well written and narrated. I have listened to it 4 times so far.
I can thoroughly recommend it. I have also watched the series and if all of this is true, why hasn't Michael Scheuer been prosecuted? He has blood on his hands, if his pathetic jealousy of John O'Neill hadn't so consumed him, he would have shared the intelligence with the FBI that could have led to 9/11 being scuppered. All terribly sad.

Excellent

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well written and informative was intrigued by the narrative and subject matter it casts a light on both sides of the events

Captivating Read

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An insight into a scary world of terror. One can’t help but wonder how to tackle this monstrosity. Well written and narrated, with a great overview of history of the movement and failures of counter-terrorism agencies. We remember all the victims of this vile thing.

Scary tales from which we must learn

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simple get it you will love it .....end of story and a spot light on the middle east

Great stuff

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