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The Making of a Terrorist
by Jonathan Randal
Book Reviewed by:From the book jacket: How is it possible for one middle-aged Saudi millionaire to
threaten the world's only superpower? This is the question at the center
of Jonathan Randal's riveting, timely account of Osama bin Laden's role
in the rise of terrorism in the Middle East.
Comment: Considering how little is known about Osama bin Laden, some
might think it a little challenging to produce a 300 page biography of
the man. However, by
setting what is known of bin Laden's life in the context of the larger
regional issues, this is what Jonathan Randal has done. Osama has received generally positive reviews;
negative comments are not so much to do with his fact gathering but his
presentation of the facts in a light that is not flattering to the USA
government, from Clinton through to the present.
Personally, I found it an interesting book which added considerably to
my understanding of the situation as it now stands. However, I'm
not in any position to comment on the reliability of the content
itself. For this I'm going to rely heavily on Robert D Kaplan's
review for The Washington Post (as he appears to be the reviewer writing
with the most authority). Kaplan opens by describing Randal (a
retired foreign correspondent for the Washington Post) as representing
'a breed of journalist now gradually going extinct: the seasoned,
multilingual man or woman of the world who lives overseas and has an
intimate, inside-baseball knowledge of dozens upon dozens of countries
and their politics, with the added advantage of being able to write
about it all at reasonable length, rather than having to reduce it to
television sound bites.' He goes on to compliment
Randal for describing the panoramic milieu of violence well and also for
exploring many sub-issues that are often more important than the
so-called big issues in the Middle East. However, after praising
Randal for content, Kaplan criticizes him for having insufficient
'understanding or empathy for the realities in which any American
administration is forced to deal', and concludes by saying 'Randal the
seasoned man-of-the-world is more insightful than Randal the expatriate.
Nevertheless, American policymakers would do well to excuse the latter
in order to glean perceptions from the former.'
As always, you can read an excerpt for yourself. I also
recommend Jon Lee Anderson's The
Fall of Baghdad.
This review
first ran in the September 14, 2005
issue of BookBrowse Recommends.
If you liked Osama, try these:
by Yaroslav Trofimov
Published 2008
The dramatic and immensely consequential story of the violent takeover of Islam's holiest shrine, the Grand Mosque in Mecca, by Muslim fundamentalists in 1979. With nearly 100,000 worshipers trapped inside the holy compound, Mecca’s bloody siege lasted two weeks, inflaming Muslim rage against the United States with repercussions we still feel...
by Gerald Seymour
Published 2008
A young man starts a journey from a dusty village in Saudi Arabia. An armed protection officer is charged with neutralizing the growing menace to London's safety. With intelligence and deep understanding, Seymour shows us the world in which we live, with all its dangers and complexities, and the choices we are forced to make.
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