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The Looming Tower
- Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
- Narrated by: Lawrence Wright
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
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The Looming Tower
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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.
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- D L Pressley
- 24-04-18
Outstanding work. Authoritative and compelling.
Outstanding work. Authoritative and compelling in equal measure. Narrated clearly by the author. impressive work.
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- Paul Hennigan
- 01-02-23
just brilliant
what incredible research and then written and narrated perfectly from start to finish. Just brilliant.
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- Mr. Lee Graham
- 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.
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- Mordecai
- 06-08-17
Fascinating
Expected nothing less than brilliance from this book mainly because of the author's rep. He delivers. A really insightful and thought provoking study of Bin laden and Al Qaeda.
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- UGA Fan
- 31-10-17
Required Reading (Listening!)
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.
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- I ain't givin' you no name
- 09-05-18
eye opening
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.
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- Amazon Customer
- 13-09-21
Gripping from start to finish
Brilliantly written and narrated, this book gives the back story of the men involved in the 9/11 bombing, role of CIA and FBI and the formation of Al Quaeda. Gives so much context to these infamous figures, which I found absolutely fascinating.
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- Sonya
- 28-03-21
Scary tales from which we must learn
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.
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- neilr1975
- 24-07-22
fantastic insight into Intell failings 9/11
great book , I found it after watching the Looming Towed mini series.
Well structured and paced with great insight without becoming over complicated.
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- Hoops
- 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.
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