Despite the saturation of global media coverage, Osama bin Laden's own writings have been curiously absent from analysis of the "war on terror." Over the last ten years, bin Laden has issued a series of carefully tailored public statements, from interviews with Western and Arabic journalists to faxes and video recordings. These texts supply evidence crucial to an understanding of the bizarre mix of Quranic scholarship, CIA training, punctual interventions in Gulf politics and messianic anti-imperialism that has formed the programmatic core of Al Qaeda.

In bringing together the various statements issued under bin Laden's name since 1994, this volume forms part of a growing discourse that seeks to demythologize the terrorist network. Newly translated from the Arabic, annotated with a critical introduction by Islamic scholar Bruce Lawrence, this collection places the statements in their religious, historical and political context. It shows how bin Laden's views draw on and differ from other strands of radical Islamic thought; it also demonstrates how his arguments vary in degrees of consistency, and how his evasions concerning the true nature and extent of his own group, and over his own role in terrorist attacks, have contributed to the perpetuation of his personal mythology.

"Notable for its scope and comprehensiveness, this collection of 24 newly translated public statements by Osama bin Laden offers a nuanced and revealing view of Public Enemy No. 1. Best suited for those whose knowledge of bin Linden is based upon brief, pixilated clips or quotes gleaned from news accounts, the book will provide those who have studied the man and his rarified interpretation of Islam with little, if anything, that is new. Tracing bin Laden's ascendancy from the disgruntled Saudi exile of 1994 whose letters of complaint had a nearly timid tone (in a December 1994 letter to a Saudi judicial leader, bin Laden addresses the recipient as 'Honorable sheikh' and writes, 'we pray that you do not take these words out of turn or consider them to overstep the limits of etiquette.') to the bombastic jihadist leader in hiding with a $50-million bounty on his head, his statements depict not only a fiery communicator with a knack for manipulating traditional Islamic beliefs, but a revolutionary figure whose romanticized view of himself and his cause carries echoes of iconic revolutionaries past. Familiarity with the Koran will help readers contextualize and evaluate bin Laden's claims (footnotes citing Koranic passages accompany each invocation), though even the uninitiated will have no trouble in identifying arguably willful misinterpretations. (Bin Laden cites, for instance, a verse that concludes, 'God has endless bounty and knowledge,' to support cautioning 'Muslims to be very wary and careful about befriending Jews and Christians.') Those looking for a comprehensive and unexpurgated explanation of the man behind contemporary radical Islam have a powerful reference here." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

As a rule, Americans have very little understanding of the motivations of Osama Bin Laden and his followers, a situation that is not helped by President Bush's mendacious bromides about how "they hate our freedoms." Yet without understanding Bin Laden (a rational, if immoral, political actor) how is one expected to confront the terrorism of his movement? This volume is the first to collect the major statements of Bin Laden in English translation. The statements date from 1994 to 2004 and are presented in chronological order. Editor Lawrence (humanities, Duke U.) provides an introductory essay placing Bin Laden and the statements in historical context.
Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

As a rule, Americans have very little understanding of the motivations of Osama Bin Laden and his followers, a situation that is not helped by President Bush's mendacious bromides about how "they hate our freedoms." Yet without understanding Bin Laden (a rational, if immoral, political actor) how is one expected to confront the terrorism of his movement? This volume is the first to collect the major statements of Bin Laden in English translation. The statements date from 1994 to 2004 and are presented in chronological order. Editor Lawrence (humanities, Duke U.) provides an introductory essay placing Bin Laden and the statements in historical context. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"[T]he volume will be helpful to those uninitiated in the discourses of contemporary Islamic radicalism. The real contribution of this book is what it tells us about bin Laden's own development." Noah Feldman, New York Times

"This is a fine and faithful rendition of the mind of bin Laden as set out in his own words." Foreign Affairs

The first English translation of the complete statements by Osama bin Laden, has been placed in its historical and theological context by renowned Arabist, Bruce Lawrence.

Bruce Lawrence is the Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Humanities Professor of Religion at Duke University. He is the author of New Faiths, Old Fears: Muslims and Other Asian Immigrants in American Religious Life, Shattering the Myth, and Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age.