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The Making of a Terrorist
by Jonathan RandalHow 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. Randal–a journalist whose experience of the
Middle East spans the past forty years–makes clear how Osama's life
epitomizes the fatal collision between twenty-first-century Islam and the West,
and he describes the course of Osama's estrangement from both the West and the
Saudi petro-monarchy of which his family is a part. He examines Osama's
terrorist activities before September 11, 2001, and shows us how, after the
attack on the World Trade Center, Osama presented the West with something new in
the annals of contemporary terrorism: an independently wealthy entrepreneur with
a seemingly worldwide following ready to do his bidding. Randal explores the
possibility that Osama offered the Saudis his Al-Qaeda forces to drive Saddam
Hussein out of Kuwait in 1991; he traces the current sources of Osama's money;
and he tells us why the Iraq war has played into the hands of the terrorists.
With his long-maintained sources in the Middle East and his intimate
understanding of the region, Randal gives us a clearer explanation than any we
have had of the whys and wherefores of the world's most prominent and feared
terrorist.
Behind The Book
With his long-maintained sources in the Middle East and intimate
understanding of the region, Jonathan Randal sheds light on Osama bin Laden's
role in the rise of terrorism. Here, Randal uses his years of research to
separate fact from fiction when it comes to basic questions Americans have about
Osama.
3 reasons why Osama is happy with the Bush administration's war in Iraq
4 myths about Osama
5 facts about Al Qaeda
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...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
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What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading, you wish the author that wrote it was a ...
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