The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of Al Qaeda's Leader - Rilegato

Bergen, Peter L.

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0743278917 ISBN 13: 9780743278911

Casa editrice: Free Pr, 2006

Riassunto

Osama bin Laden has haunted the popular psyche and stymied the world's mightiest military for the last five years. Despite President Bush's declaration that he wanted bin Laden "dead or alive," despite being one of the world's most notorious men, and despite the barrage of coverage surrounding him, Osama bin Laden remains at large -- and shrouded in a fog of anecdote and myth, rumor and fact. Peter Bergen, author of the bestselling book Holy War, Inc., offers an astounding, unparalleled portrait of bin Laden, comprised of Bergen's own interviews with more than fifty people who have known bin Laden personally, from his brother-in-law to his high school English teacher to former members of al Qaeda. The resulting collage of voices and memories affords an unprecedented glimpse into the life and the true nature of the man directly responsible for the largest terror attack in history.No journalist knows more about Osama bin Laden than Peter Bergen. In 1997, well before bin Laden became a household name, Bergen met with him, and has since followed his activities closely. After an insightful introduction -- in which Bergen recounts how, at their meeting, bin Laden "presented himself as a soft-spoken cleric, rather than as the firebreathing leader of a global terrorist organization" -- Bergen stands aside to make way for the voices of dozens of people with firsthand, sometimes intimate experience with the al Qaeda leader.Current conventional wisdom seems to be that bin Laden and his organization have faded in importance, but Bergen argues urgently that that perspective is far from accurate -- indeed, each day that bin Laden remains free adds to al Qaeda's public relations triumph, for his legend only grows among his supporters. More concretely, he continues to provide broad strategic guidance for jihadists -- his many statements released on video or audio tape since 9/11, for instance, have exerted direct influence on terrorists' actions. In 2003 the world suffered more significant terror attacks than had occurred in a single year during the previous two decades -- and in 2004, the number of attacks doubled over 2003. In 2004, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, Iraq's most ferocious insurgent leader, pledged his allegiance to bin Laden, a sign of the continued importance of al Qaeda's leader.How did Osama bin Laden transform himself from a shy, polite, middle-of-his-class schoolboy to commander of the world's most formidable terrorist organization? Where was bin Laden on 9/11, and what was his reaction to it? How did he escape from Tora Bora? Is al Qaeda a top-down organization or a loose ideological alliance? What is it about this man that draws hundreds of thousands of followers, and makes men willing to fly airplanes into buildings at his command? This definitive and engaging portrait gives the American public its first true, enduring insight into a man who has declared us his greatest enemy.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

'Fascinating... Bergen has unearthed some great nuggets... This extremely important book reminds us that {bin Laden] is still out there' SUNDAY TIMES
'[THE OSAMA BIN LADEN I KNOW] is simply one of the most important works to have been published on the subject' GUARDIAN
'what shines out...is a profound desire to investigate and reveal the truth' GUARDIAN
'For anyone who seeks the reality behind the myth of the world's greatest bogeyman, here are some remarkable insights' THE HERALD
'Bin Laden emerges as manipulative, paranoid and exceptionally talented' THE TIMES
‘A sense of al-Qaeda as an opportunistic, chameleon-like organisation permeates Peter Bergen’s fascinating book' NEW STATESMAN

L'autore:

Peter Bergen, a British journalist, is a veteran of print and television journalism and has done extensive reporting about al-Qaeda for more than a decade. He has appeared on the BBC, Channel 4, CNN, and NBC. His work has been cited hundreds of times by leading magazines and newspapers around the world.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Free Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0743278917
• ISBN 13: 9780743278911
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 444