The Spymaster Of Baghdad

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The Spymaster of Baghdad

Author : Margaret Coker
Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0062947435
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (629 download)

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Book Synopsis The Spymaster of Baghdad by : Margaret Coker

Download or read book The Spymaster of Baghdad written by Margaret Coker and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-02-23 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the former New York Times bureau chief in Baghdad comes the gripping and heroic story of an elite, top-secret team of unlikely spies who triumphed over ISIS. The Spymaster of Baghdad tells the dramatic yet intimate account of how a covert Iraqi intelligence unit called “the Falcons” came together against all odds to defeat ISIS. The Falcons, comprising ordinary men with little conventional espionage background, infiltrated the world’s most powerful terrorist organization, ultimately turning the tide of war against the terrorist group and bringing safety to millions of Iraqis and the broader world. Centered around the relationship between two brothers, Harith al-Sudani, a rudderless college dropout who was recruited to the Falcons by his all-star younger brother Munaf, and their eponymous unit commander Abu Ali, The Spymaster of Baghdad follows their emotional journey as Harith volunteers for the most dangerous mission imaginable. With piercing lyricism and thrilling prose, Coker’s deeply-reported account interweaves heartfelt portraits of these and other unforgettable characters as they navigate the streets of war-torn Baghdad and perform heroic feats of cunning and courage. The Falcons’ path crosses with that of Abrar, a young, radicalized university student who, after being snubbed by the head of the Islamic State’s chemical weapons program, plots her own attack. At the near-final moment, the Falcons intercept Abrar’s deadly plan to poison Baghdad’s drinking water and arrest her in the middle of the night—just one of many covert counterterrorism operations revealed for the first time in the book. Ultimately, The Spymaster of Baghdad is a page-turning account of wartime espionage in which ordinary people make extraordinary sacrifices for the greater good. Challenging our perceptions of terrorism and counterterrorism, war and peace, Iraq and the wider Middle East, American occupation and foreign intervention, The Spymaster of Baghdad is a testament to the power of personal choice and individual action to change the course of history—in a time when we need such stories more than ever.

The Spymaster of Baghdad

Author : Margaret Coker
Publisher : Penguin UK
ISBN 13 : 0241987024
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (419 download)

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Book Synopsis The Spymaster of Baghdad by : Margaret Coker

Download or read book The Spymaster of Baghdad written by Margaret Coker and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2021-02-25 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Pulse-pounding' Sinclair McKay | 'Truly masterful' Damien Lewis | 'Who needs spy fiction, when fact can provide as thrilling a story as this?' Lindsey Hilsum The Spymaster of Baghdad is the gripping story of the top-secret Iraqi intelligence unit that infiltrated the Islamic State. More so than that of any foreign power, the information they gathered turned the tide against the insurgency, paving the way to the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019. Against the backdrop of the most brutal conflict of recent decades, we chart the spymaster's struggle to develop the unit from scratch in challenging circumstances after the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, we follow the fraught relationship of two of his agents, the al-Sudani brothers - one undercover in ISIS for sixteen long months, the other his handler - and we track a disillusioned scientist as she turns bomb-maker, threatening the lives of thousands. With unprecedented access to characters on all sides, Pulitzer Prize-finalist Margaret Coker challenges the conventional view that Western coalition forces defeated ISIS and reveals a page-turning story of unlikely heroes, unbelievable courage and good old-fashioned spycraft. 'Moving, visceral, utterly revelatory. A stunning tour de force by an author who has lived every word of it on the ground' Damien Lewis, author of Zero Six Bravo 'This compelling account of how Iraqi agents infiltrated ISIS takes us deep beneath the lurid headlines and into a sharply focused world of courage, ingenuity, terror and love' Sinclair McKay, author of Dresden 'In Margaret Coker's deeply reported, unputdownable account, the previously unknown Iraqi heros of the war against the Islamic State turn out to be braver than Bond and as subtle as Smiley' Lindsey Hilsum, author of In Extremis 'We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Falcons Unit for their important role in the fight against the most lethal terrorist group of our time' Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism

Black, White, and The Grey

Author : Mashama Bailey
Publisher : Lorena Jones Books
ISBN 13 : 1984856200
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (848 download)

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Book Synopsis Black, White, and The Grey by : Mashama Bailey

Download or read book Black, White, and The Grey written by Mashama Bailey and published by Lorena Jones Books. This book was released on 2021-01-12 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A story about the trials and triumphs of a Black chef from Queens, New York, and a White media entrepreneur from Staten Island who built a relationship and a restaurant in the Deep South, hoping to bridge biases and get people talking about race, gender, class, and culture. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY GARDEN & GUN • “Black, White, and The Grey blew me away.”—David Chang In this dual memoir, Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano take turns telling how they went from tentative business partners to dear friends while turning a dilapidated formerly segregated Greyhound bus station into The Grey, now one of the most celebrated restaurants in the country. Recounting the trying process of building their restaurant business, they examine their most painful and joyous times, revealing how they came to understand their differences, recognize their biases, and continuously challenge themselves and each other to be better. Through it all, Bailey and Morisano display the uncommon vulnerability, humor, and humanity that anchor their relationship, showing how two citizens commit to playing their own small part in advancing equality against a backdrop of racism.

Separation of Power

Author : Vince Flynn
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1439135738
Total Pages : 544 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis Separation of Power by : Vince Flynn

Download or read book Separation of Power written by Vince Flynn and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a new CIA director and chaos and devastation looming in the Middle East, counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp is called into action.

Naked in Baghdad

Author : Anne Garrels
Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN 13 : 1429930713
Total Pages : 268 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis Naked in Baghdad by : Anne Garrels

Download or read book Naked in Baghdad written by Anne Garrels and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2004-08-12 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: National Public Radio's correspondent provides a brilliant, intimate, on-the-ground account of history in the making with Naked in Baghdad. As NPR's senior foreign correspondent, Anne Garrels has covered conflicts in Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. She is renowned for direct, down-to-earth, insightful reportage, and for her independent take on what she sees. One of only sixteen un-embedded American journalists who stayed in Baghdad's now-legendary Palestine Hotel throughout the American invasion of Iraq, she was at the very center of the storm. Naked in Baghdad gives us the sights, sounds, and smells of our latest war with unparalleled vividness and immediacy. Garrels's narrative starts with several trips she made to Baghdad before the war, beginning in October 2002. At its heart is her evolving relationship with her Iraqi driver/minder, Amer, who becomes her friend and confidant, often serving as her eyes and ears among the populace and taking her where no other reporter was able to penetrate. Amer's own strong reactions and personal dilemma provide a trenchant counterpoint to daily events. The story is also punctuated by e-mail bulletins sent by Garrels's husband, Vint Lawrence, to their friends around the world, giving a private view of the rough-and-tumble, often dangerous life of a foreign correspondent, along with some much-needed comic relief. The result is enthralling, deeply personal, utterly authentic--an on-the-ground picture of the war in Iraq that no one else could have written. As Chicago Sun-Times critic Lloyd Sachs wrote about Garrels's work in Baghdad, "a few choice words, honestly delivered, are worth more than a thousand pictures . . . In your mind's eye, they carry lasting truth."

The Defector

Author : Daniel Silva
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 110110502X
Total Pages : 528 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (11 download)

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Book Synopsis The Defector by : Daniel Silva

Download or read book The Defector written by Daniel Silva and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-07-21 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Moscow Rules Gabriel Allon went up against the sadisitc Ivan Kharkov. Now he must outsmart him once and for all in this #1 New York Times bestseller from Daniel Silva. Grigori Bulganov once saved Gabriel Allon's life in Moscow—and Allon always repays his debts. So when the former Russian intelligence officer vanishes, Allon gathers his team of operatives to go after those responsible. But, in a running battle that rages across the globe, Allon soon realizes that his enemy may already hold the key to victory. And that if he continues, it will cost him more than he can bear...

Spies for Hire

Author : Tim Shorrock
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0743282248
Total Pages : 451 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (432 download)

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Book Synopsis Spies for Hire by : Tim Shorrock

Download or read book Spies for Hire written by Tim Shorrock and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008 with total page 451 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reveals the formidable organization of intelligence outsourcing that has developed between the U.S. government and private companies since 9/11, in a report that reveals how approximately seventy percent of the nation's funding for top-secret tasks is now being funneled to higher-cost third-party contractors. 35,000 first printing.

Imperial Hubris

Author : Michael Scheuer
Publisher : Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1597973084
Total Pages : 382 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (979 download)

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Book Synopsis Imperial Hubris by : Michael Scheuer

Download or read book Imperial Hubris written by Michael Scheuer and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2004-06-30 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though U.S. leaders try to convince the world of their success in fighting al Qaeda, one anonymous member of the U.S. intelligence community would like to inform the public that we are, in fact, losing the war on terror. Further, until U.S. leaders recognize the errant path they have irresponsibly chosen, he says, our enemies will only grow stronger. According to the author, the greatest danger for Americans confronting the Islamist threat is to believe-at the urging of U.S. leaders-that Muslims attack us for what we are and what we think rather than for what we do. Blustering political rhetor.

The Eagles of Heart Mountain

Author : Bradford Pearson
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1982107057
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (821 download)

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Book Synopsis The Eagles of Heart Mountain by : Bradford Pearson

Download or read book The Eagles of Heart Mountain written by Bradford Pearson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-01-05 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “One of Ten Best History Books of 2021.” —Smithsonian Magazine For fans of The Boys in the Boat and The Storm on Our Shores, this impeccably researched, deeply moving, never-before-told “tale that ultimately stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit” (Garrett M. Graff, New York Times bestselling author) about a World War II incarceration camp in Wyoming and its extraordinary high school football team. In the spring of 1942, the United States government forced 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona and sent them to incarceration camps across the West. Nearly 14,000 of them landed on the outskirts of Cody, Wyoming, at the base of Heart Mountain. Behind barbed wire fences, they faced racism, cruelty, and frozen winters. Trying to recreate comforts from home, they established Buddhist temples and sumo wrestling pits. Kabuki performances drew hundreds of spectators—yet there was little hope. That is, until the fall of 1943, when the camp’s high school football team, the Eagles, started its first season and finished it undefeated, crushing the competition from nearby, predominantly white high schools. Amid all this excitement, American politics continued to disrupt their lives as the federal government drafted men from the camps for the front lines—including some of the Eagles. As the team’s second season kicked off, the young men faced a choice to either join the Army or resist the draft. Teammates were divided, and some were jailed for their decisions. The Eagles of Heart Mountain honors the resilience of extraordinary heroes and the power of sports in a “timely and utterly absorbing account of a country losing its moral way, and a group of its young citizens who never did” (Evan Ratliff, author of The Mastermind).

The Big Truck That Went By

Author : Jonathan M. Katz
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 1137323957
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (373 download)

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Book Synopsis The Big Truck That Went By by : Jonathan M. Katz

Download or read book The Big Truck That Went By written by Jonathan M. Katz and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2013-01-08 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On January 12, 2010, the deadliest earthquake in the history of the Western Hemisphere struck the nation least prepared to handle it. Jonathan M. Katz, the only full-time American news correspondent in Haiti, was inside his house when it buckled along with hundreds of thousands of others. In this visceral, authoritative first-hand account, Katz chronicles the terror of that day, the devastation visited on ordinary Haitians, and how the world reacted to a nation in need. More than half of American adults gave money for Haiti, part of a monumental response totaling $16.3 billion in pledges. But three years later the relief effort has foundered. It's most basic promises—to build safer housing for the homeless, alleviate severe poverty, and strengthen Haiti to face future disasters—remain unfulfilled. The Big Truck That Went By presents a sharp critique of international aid that defies today's conventional wisdom; that the way wealthy countries give aid makes poor countries seem irredeemably hopeless, while trapping millions in cycles of privation and catastrophe. Katz follows the money to uncover startling truths about how good intentions go wrong, and what can be done to make aid "smarter." With coverage of Bill Clinton, who came to help lead the reconstruction; movie-star aid worker Sean Penn; Wyclef Jean; Haiti's leaders and people alike, Katz weaves a complex, darkly funny, and unexpected portrait of one of the world's most fascinating countries. The Big Truck That Went By is not only a definitive account of Haiti's earthquake, but of the world we live in today.

The Irregulars

Author : Jennet Conant
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0743294599
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (432 download)

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Book Synopsis The Irregulars by : Jennet Conant

Download or read book The Irregulars written by Jennet Conant and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-09-08 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following her bestselling accounts of the most guarded secrets of the Second World War, Conant offers a rollicking true story of spies, politicians, journalists, and intrigue in the highest circles of Washington during the tumultuous days of World War II.

Little Cyclone

Author : Airey Neave
Publisher : Biteback Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1785900285
Total Pages : 207 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (859 download)

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Book Synopsis Little Cyclone by : Airey Neave

Download or read book Little Cyclone written by Airey Neave and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2016-02-02 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The exhilarating true story of the greatest escape route of the Second World War On a hot afternoon in August 1941, a 24-year-old Belgian woman walks into the British consulate in Bilbao, neutral Spain, and demands to see the consul. She presents him with a British soldier she has smuggled all the way from Brussels, through Occupied France and over the Pyrenees. It is a journey she will make countless times thereafter, at unthinkable danger to her own life. Her name is Andrée de Jongh, though she will come to be known as the 'Little Cyclone' in tribute to her extraordinary courage and tenacity. And she is an inspiration. From nursing wounded Allied servicemen, de Jongh will go on to establish the most famous escape line of the Second World War, saving the lives of more than 800 airmen and soldiers stranded behind enemy lines. The risks, however, will be enormous. The cost, unspeakably tragic. Her story is shot through with the constant terror of discovery and interception - of late-night knocks at the door, of disastrous moonlit river crossings, Gestapo infiltrators, firing squads and concentration camps. It is also a classic true story of fear overcome by giddying bravery. Originally published shortly after the war, Little Cyclone is a mesmerising tale of the best of humanity in the most unforgiving circumstances: a remarkable and inspiring account to rival the most dramatic of thrillers. Royalties from the sale of this book will go to the Airey Neave Trust.

Daughters of Smoke and Fire

Author : Ava Homa
Publisher : Abrams
ISBN 13 : 1683358945
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (833 download)

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Book Synopsis Daughters of Smoke and Fire by : Ava Homa

Download or read book Daughters of Smoke and Fire written by Ava Homa and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2020-05-12 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The unforgettable, haunting story of a young woman’s perilous fight for freedom and justice for her brother, the first novel published in English by a female Kurdish writer Set primarily in Iran, this extraordinary debut novel weaves 50 years of modern Kurdish history through a story of a family facing oppression and injustices all too familiar to the Kurds. Leila dreams of making films to bring the suppressed stories of her people onto the global stage, but obstacles keep piling up. Her younger brother, Chia, influenced by their father’s past torture, imprisonment, and his deep-seated desire for justice, begins to engage with social and political affairs. But his activism grows increasingly risky and one day he disappears in Tehran. Seeking answers about her brother’s whereabouts, Leila fears the worst and begins a campaign to save him. But when she publishes Chia’s writings online, she finds herself in grave danger as well. Inspired by the life of Kurdish human rights activist Farzad Kamangar and published to coincide with the 10th anniversary of his execution, Daughters of Smoke and Fire is an evocative portrait of the lives and stakes faced by 40 million stateless Kurds. It’s an unflinching but compassionate and powerful story that brilliantly illuminates the meaning of identity and the complex bonds of family. A landmark novel for our troubled world, Daughters of Smoke and Fire is a gripping and important read, perfect for fans of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun.

Volunteers

Author : Jerad W. Alexander
Publisher : Hachette UK
ISBN 13 : 1643752189
Total Pages : 334 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (437 download)

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Book Synopsis Volunteers by : Jerad W. Alexander

Download or read book Volunteers written by Jerad W. Alexander and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2021-11-09 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Riveting and morally complex, Volunteers is not only an insider’s account of war. It takes you inside the increasingly closed culture that creates our warriors.” —Elliot Ackerman, author of the National Book Award finalist Dark at the Crossing As a child, Jerad Alexander lay in bed listening to the fighter jets take off outside his window and was desperate to be airborne. As a teenager at an American base in Japan, he immersed himself in war games, war movies, and pulpy novels about Vietnam. Obsessed with all things military, he grew up playing with guns, joined the Civil Air Patrol for the uniform, and reveled in the closed and safe life “inside the castle,” within the embrace of the armed forces, the only world he knew or could imagine. Most of all, he dreamed of enlisting—like his mother, father, stepfather, and grandfather before him—and playing his part in the Great American War Story. He joined the US Marines straight out of high school, eager for action. Once in Iraq, however, he came to realize he was fighting a lost cause, enmeshed in the ongoing War on Terror that was really just a fruitless display of American might. The myths of war, the stories of violence and masculinity and heroism, the legacy of his family—everything Alexander had planned his life around—was a mirage. Alternating scenes from childhood with skirmishes in the Iraqi desert, this original, searing, and propulsive memoir introduces a powerful new voice in the literature of war. Jerad W. Alexander—not some elite warrior, but a simple volunteer—delivers a passionate and timely reckoning with the troubled and cyclical truths of the American war machine.

How Spies Think

Author : David Omand
Publisher : Penguin UK
ISBN 13 : 0241385202
Total Pages : 207 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (413 download)

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Book Synopsis How Spies Think by : David Omand

Download or read book How Spies Think written by David Omand and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2020-10-29 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the former director of GCHQ, learn the methodology used by British intelligence agencies to reach judgements, establish the right level of confidence and act decisively. Full of revealing examples from a storied career, including key briefings with Prime Ministers and strategies used in conflicts from the Cold War to the present, in How Spies Think Professor Sir David Omand arms us with the tools to sort fact from fiction. And shows us how to use real intelligence every day. ***** 'One of the best books ever written about intelligence analysis and its long-term lessons' Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 'An invaluable guide to avoiding self-deception and fake news' Melanie Phillips, The Times WINNER OF THE NEAVE BOOK PRIZE 2022 LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2021

I Was Told to Come Alone

Author : Souad Mekhennet
Publisher : Henry Holt and Company
ISBN 13 : 162779896X
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (277 download)

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Book Synopsis I Was Told to Come Alone by : Souad Mekhennet

Download or read book I Was Told to Come Alone written by Souad Mekhennet and published by Henry Holt and Company. This book was released on 2017-06-13 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “I was told to come alone. I was not to carry any identification, and would have to leave my cell phone, audio recorder, watch, and purse at my hotel. . . .” For her whole life, Souad Mekhennet, a reporter for The Washington Post who was born and educated in Germany, has had to balance the two sides of her upbringing – Muslim and Western. She has also sought to provide a mediating voice between these cultures, which too often misunderstand each other. In this compelling and evocative memoir, we accompany Mekhennet as she journeys behind the lines of jihad, starting in the German neighborhoods where the 9/11 plotters were radicalized and the Iraqi neighborhoods where Sunnis and Shia turned against one another, and culminating on the Turkish/Syrian border region where ISIS is a daily presence. In her travels across the Middle East and North Africa, she documents her chilling run-ins with various intelligence services and shows why the Arab Spring never lived up to its promise. She then returns to Europe, first in London, where she uncovers the identity of the notorious ISIS executioner “Jihadi John,” and then in France, Belgium, and her native Germany, where terror has come to the heart of Western civilization. Mekhennet’s background has given her unique access to some of the world’s most wanted men, who generally refuse to speak to Western journalists. She is not afraid to face personal danger to reach out to individuals in the inner circles of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIS, and their affiliates; when she is told to come alone to an interview, she never knows what awaits at her destination. Souad Mekhennet is an ideal guide to introduce us to the human beings behind the ominous headlines, as she shares her transformative journey with us. Hers is a story you will not soon forget.

The Rise and Fall of Osama Bin Laden

Author : Peter L. Bergen
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1982170530
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (821 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rise and Fall of Osama Bin Laden by : Peter L. Bergen

Download or read book The Rise and Fall of Osama Bin Laden written by Peter L. Bergen and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-08-02 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world’s leading expert on Osama bin Laden delivers for the first time the “riveting” (The New York Times) definitive biography of a man who set the course of American foreign policy for the 21st century and whose ideological heirs we continue to battle today. In The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden, Peter Bergan provides the first reevaluation of the man responsible for precipitating America’s long war with al-Qaeda and its decedents, capturing bin Laden in all the dimensions of his life: as a family man, as a zealot, as a battlefield commander, as a terrorist leader, and as a fugitive. The book sheds light on his many contradictions: he was the son of a billionaire yet insisted his family live like paupers. He adored his wives and children, depending on his two wives, both of whom had PhDs, to make critical strategic decisions. Yet, he also brought ruin to his family. He was fanatically religious but willing to kill thousands of civilians in the name of Islam. He inspired deep loyalty, yet, in the end, his bodyguards turned against him. And while he inflicted the most lethal act of mass murder in United States history, he failed to achieve any of his strategic goals. In his final years, the lasting image we have of bin Laden is of an aging man with a graying beard watching old footage of himself, just as another dad flipping through the channels with his remote. In the end, bin Laden died in a squalid suburban compound, far from the front lines of his holy war. And yet, despite that unheroic denouement, his ideology lives on. Thanks to exclusive interviews with family members and associates, and documents unearthed only recently, Bergen’s “comprehensive, authoritative, and compelling” (H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty and Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World) portrait of Osama bin Laden reveals for the first time who he really was and why he continues to inspire a new generation of jihadists.