Synopses & Reviews
On September 11, 2001, the world in which we live was changed forever. The twin towers of the World Trade Center came crashing down, one side of the Pentagon burst into flame, and more than six thousand men, women, and children lost their lives in the most deadly terrorist attack on American soil. As shocking as it was, it had been long in the making: The assault was the most sophisticated and horrifying in a series of operations masterminded by Osama bin Laden and his Jihad group -- an organization that CNN's terrorism analyst Peter Bergen calls Holy War, Inc.
One of only a handful of Western journalists to have interviewed the world's most wanted man face to face, Peter Bergen has produced the definitive book on the Jihadist network that operates globally and in secrecy. In the course of four years of investigative reporting, he has interviewed scores of insiders -- from bin Laden associates and family members to Taliban leaders to CIA officials -- and traveled to Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom to learn the truth about bin Laden's al Queda organization and his mission.
Immense in scope and unnerving in its findings, Holy War, Inc. reveals:
- How bin Laden lives, travels, and communicates with his "cells."
- How his role in the crushing defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan made him a hero to Muslims all over the world -- and equipped him to endure a long and bloody siege.
- How the CIA ended up funding -- to the tune of three billion dollars -- radical, anti-American Afghan groups allied to bin Laden.
- How the attacks that foreshadowed the destruction of the World Trade Center -- among them the bombings of the American embassies in Africa and the warship USS Cole in Yemen -- were planned and executed.
- The dimensions of bin Laden's personal fortune, and why freezing his assets is both futile and nearly impossible.
- The ideology of bin Laden's number two, the man who has influenced him most profoundly in his holy war -- the Egyptian Ayman al Zawahiri.
- What we can expect from Islamist extremists in the future.
Above all, Peter Bergen helps us to see bin Laden's organization in a radically new light: as a veritable corporation that has exploited twenty-first-century communications and weapons technologies in the service of a medieval reading of the Koran and holy war. Holy War, Inc. is essential reading for anyone trying to understand tomorrow's terrorist threats and the militant Islamist movements that could determine the fate of governments -- and human lives -- the world over.
Both author and publisher will donate a portion of the proceeds from this book to United Way's September 11th Fund for the relief of victims of the World Trade Center attacks.
Review
"Bergen has a fine eye for detail...Bergen frames several issues well that are now of some urgency to grasp." New York Times Book Review
Review
"The only book you need to read about bin Laden...Lively, literate and authoritative equal parts journalism, history and...whimsical travelogue." Washington Post
Synopsis
On September 11, 2001, the world changed forever as more than three thousand men, women, and children lost their lives in the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. The attack was masterminded by Osama bin Laden and his Jihad group -- an organization that CNN's terrorism analyst Peter Bergen calls Holy War, Inc. One of the few Western journalists to have interviewed bin Laden face-to-face, Bergen has produced the definitive book on the global Jihadist network, revealing: andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt; How bin Laden lives, travels, and communicates with his "cells." andlt;BRandgt; How his role in the crushing defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan made him a hero to Muslims all over the world. andlt;BRandgt; How the bombings of the American embassies in Africa and the USS andlt;Iandgt;Coleandlt;/Iandgt; in Yemen were planned and executed. andlt;BRandgt; What we can expect from Islamic extremists in the future. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt; Above all, Peter Bergen helps us to see bin Laden's organization in a radically new light: as a corporation that has exploited modern technology and weaponry in the service of global terrorism and the destruction of the West. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;Bandgt;Both author and publisher will donate a portion of the proceeds from this book to the International Committee of the Red Cross.andlt;/Bandgt;
About the Author
andlt;bandgt;Peter Bergen andlt;/bandgt;is the author of andlt;iandgt;Holy War, Inc. andlt;/iandgt;and andlt;iandgt;The Osama Bin Laden I Know, andlt;/iandgt;both named among the best nonfiction books of the year by andlt;iandgt;The Washington Post. andlt;/iandgt;He is a contributing editor at andlt;iandgt;The New Republicandlt;/iandgt; and has worked as a correspondent for National Geographic television, Discovery, and CNN. His writing has appeared in the andlt;iandgt;New York Timesandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Washington Postandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Wall Street Journalandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Foreign Affairsandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Atlanticandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Rolling Stoneandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Timeandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Vanity Fairandlt;/iandgt;, among other publications.
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Note from the Authorandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Prologueandlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How to Find the World's Most Wanted Manandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Chapter 1andlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;While America Sleptandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Chapter 2andlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Afghan Jihad: The Making of a Holy Warriorandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Chapter 3andlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Blowback: The CIA and the Afghan Warandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Chapter 4andlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Koran and the Kalashnikov: Bin Laden's Years in Sudanandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Chapter 5andlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;From the Peaks of the Hindu Kush: The Declaration of Warandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Chapter 6andlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Investigation and Retaliation: The Embassy Bombingsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Chapter 7andlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The American Connection: From Brooklyn to Seattleandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Chapter 8andlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;True Believers: The Taliban and Bin Ladenandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Chapter 9andlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Holy Warriors of Yemen: The Bombing of the U.S.S. andlt;Uandgt;Coleandlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Chapter 10andlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Global Network: Around the World in Eighty Jihadsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Uandgt;Afterwordandlt;/Uandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Acknowledgmentsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Notesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Index