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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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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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Loved it. Really well told story of what really happened. For those who doubt what happened on 911 simply listen to the story.

Fantastic, well worth the listen

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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.

Truth stranger than fiction.

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A fascinating listen with good balance between detail and narrative. The author's voice takes a while to get used to, as do the Arabic names to my western ear, but very easy to consume once you commit.

Great book, narrator takes a whole to get used to.

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So much more detail about the ideologies of Al Qaeda that the TV adaptation missed. The TV adaptation really focused on the second half of this book and with John O'Neill as such a charismatic figure I can see why.

eye opening

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This is Al Qa’ida 101, absolute definitive account of the emergence of Usama Bin Laden and AQ. I found the background on Sayyid Qutb and the emergence of political Islam particularly illuminating. Lawrence’s account of 9/11 was harrowing, a very emotional reading that had me tearing up as I listened.

Required Reading (Listening!)

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