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The Looming Tower
Book

The Looming Tower

Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Lawrence Wright
Knopf, 2006

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Religious zealotry, poverty, repression and cheap weapons are critical elements for any terrorist group, but in the hands of a charismatic leader they can foment a formidable movement. That’s how millionaire Osama bin Laden revived an archaic form of Islam to confront contemporary Muslims, modernity and Western culture. Lawrence Wright richly describes the people and events, including mismanaged U.S. intelligence information, which led to numerous attacks on U.S. interests – culminating, of course, in the destruction of the World Trade Center. This disturbing book explaining the prospects of a long-term jihad has all the elements of a crime thriller, except it is real. getAbstract considers this essential reading for anyone interested in terrorism, current events and how the forces of radical terrorism hope to shape the decades ahead.

Take-Aways

  • In 1993, bin Laden tried to buy uranium and to develop chemical weapons.
  • The first World Trade Center bombing, also in '93, was meant to kill 250,000 people.
  • The U.S. was unprepared for war against radical Muslim terrorists.

About the Author

Lawrence Wright taught at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, for two years. A staff writer for The New Yorker, he is a fellow at the Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law. His books include City Children, Country Summer, In the New World, Saints and Sinners, Remembering Satan, Twins and one novel, God's Favorite. He co-wrote a film, The Siege.

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