The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • A “heart-stopping account of the events leading up to 9/11” (The New York Times Book Review), this definitive history explains in gripping detail the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, the rise of al-Qaeda, and the intelligence failures that culminated in the attacks on the World Trade Center. One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century • A Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of the Last 30 Years In gripping narrative that spans five decades, Lawrence Wright re-creates firsthand the transformation of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri from incompetent and idealistic soldiers in Afghanistan to leaders of the most successful terrorist group in history. He follows FBI counterterrorism chief John O’Neill as he uncovers the emerging danger from al-Qaeda in the 1990s and struggles to track this new threat. Packed with new information and a deep historical perspective, The Looming Tower is a sweeping, unprecedented history of the long road to September 11. |
Contents
Prologue | 3 |
The Martyr | 9 |
The Sporting Club | 38 |
The Founder | 69 |
Change | 97 |
The Miracles | 114 |
The Base | 139 |
Return of the Hero | 165 |
Hijira | 254 |
Going Operational | 269 |
Bread and Water | 278 |
Now It Begins | 297 |
The New Millennium | 325 |
Boom | 340 |
The Big Wedding | 376 |
Revelations | 408 |
Paradise | 185 |
The Silicon Valley | 200 |
Paradise Lost | 213 |
The Prince of Darkness | 230 |
The Boy Spies | 242 |
Principal Characters | 423 |
| 489 | |
Acknowledgments and Notes on Sources | 509 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Abdul Rahman Abdullah Azzam Abu Jandal Afghanistan agency agents Ahmed Badeeb al-Jihad al-Qaeda al-Zawahiri Alec Station American Arab Arab Afghans asked assassination attack Ayman became began bombing bureau Cairo called camp Coleman Deraz Egypt Egyptian embassy Essam Fadl father fatwa Gaudin Hazmi hijackers Ibrahim inside intelligence interview with Jamal investigators Islamic Islamic Group Islamist Jack Cloonan Jamal al-Fadl Jamal Khalifa Jamal Khashoggi Jeddah jihad Khaled Khartoum killed king Kingdom later leader lived Maadi Mahfouz Massoud Mawn Mihdhar military million Mohammed Mohammed bin Laden mosque mujahideen Mullah Omar Nasser never O'Neill O'Neill's organization Osama bin Laden Pakistan Peshawar political Prince Turki prison Prophet Qaeda Quran Qutb's religious Report Saudi Arabia says Sayyid Qutb Scheuer Sheikh Soufan Soviet Sudan Sudanese Taliban talk Tameem Terror terrorist tion told Trade Center United wanted weapons Yemen York young Yousef Zawahiri