Very indepth reporting witha lot of background; book was a bit too detailed in parts ( )

The terrible tragic story of the development of modern Islamic terrorism, the results of poor communication between the CIA and the FBI, and the consequences we can obtain when ignorance and cruelty are combined with some widely held delusion. The ending is abrupt and makes the account even more tragic. The book was published in 2006, five years before OBL caught his. ( )

Det här är en banbrytande skildring av människorna och idéerna, terroristplanerna och västerlandets misslyckanden som kulminerade med angreppet på USA. Lawrence Wrights bok är baserad på fem års research och hundratals intervjuer som han gjort i Egypten, Saudiarabien, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, Frankrike, Tyskland, Spanien och USA. ”al-Qaida och vägen till den 11 september” utgår från fyra män, vars liv och gärningar korsas: de två al-Qaida-ledarna Usama bin Laden och Ayman al-Zawahiri, FBI:s antiterrorchef John O’Neill och den förra ledaren för den saudiska underrättelsetjänsten, prins Turki al-Faisal. Författaren gräver djupt och analyserar skickligt sitt material. Allt eftersom avslöjas motströmningen inom islam som hjälpte till att radikalisera bin Laden och Zawahiri, al-Qaidas födelse, O’Neills hjältemodiga ansträngningar för att spåra al-Qaida före den 11 september och hans tragiska död i World Trade Center. Wright skildrar även FBI:s, CIA:s och NSA:s misslyckande att kommunicera om information som skulle kunna ha hindrat 11 september-attacken.

It has taken me this long to read any non-fiction books at all about 9/11, because I needed the distance from my memories of the actual event. I knew from living through it the basic facts of what happened on that day, but this book filled in a lot of holes about the months and years leading up to it. Well written and engaging, this book follows the history of al-Qaeda from its earliest days, explaining well the motivations and beliefs of both the leaders and the footsoldiers. It’s really terrifying to read about how much hate some people can hold inside of them for an entire lifetime, and even scarier because Trump has engaged similar people in the US today. Though disturbing, upsetting and at times heart-wrenching, this is a very good book. ( )

Quando achávamos que o fim da Guerra Fria marcava o "fim da história" e a humanidade enfim viveria em paz, o atentado terrorista de 11/9 - o maior de todos os tempos - mergulhava o mundo em perplexidade. De repente, tomamos conhecimento de entidades e personagens até então desconhecidos: a Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, os campos de treinamento de terroristas no Afeganistão. Mas o que é a Al-Qaeda? Como surgiu? Aonde pretende chegar? Qual sua ideologia? Qual o papel dos serviços de inteligência americanos no caso? São estas perguntas que Lawrence Wright, através de um monumental trabalho de jornalismo investigativo (cinco anos de pesquisas e centenas de entrevistas no Oriente Médio, África, Europa e Estados Unidos), procura esclarecer neste livro exemplar. - 10 semanas na lista de best-sellers do New York Times;- Finalista do National Book Award 2006;- Segundo melhor livro de 2006 - Revista Time;- Um dos cinco melhores livros de não-ficção de 2006 - The New York Times Sunday Book ReviewEste e-book não contém as imagens presentes na edição impressa.