"The Looming Tower" by Lawrence Wright

As those of you know, I have had a fascination with details surrounding the attacks of September 11th ever since they ocurred. I have wanted to know the details as to why someone would do this, and how it was that they were able to be successful. "The Looming Tower: al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11" has done a better job than most I have read.

This is for a number of reasons. First, Mr. Wright has had the benefit of 5 years of hindsight, including poring over the 9/11 Commission hearings and reports. In addition, he was able to interview hundreds of people involved in the investigation, intelligence officers, and participants in al-Qaeda. It is the most thorough examination that I believe exists. He discusses the attackers inspirations, their motivations, the genesis of the Qaeda organization and what was going on in the government prior to all of al-Qaeda's attacks. He discusses the beurocratic process, disagreements and outright turf wars. This is a fascinating account that reads like a novel.

One of the more important aspects of this book goes towards refuting certain urban legends surrounding the attacks and the attackers. Watching the attacks unfold, people hear certain bits of information, and even misinformation, and catalouge these bits into our own narratives. In many cases, this information is incorrect or even intentionally placed in the media to throw off our understanding of the issue. First, bin-Laden does not have kidney failure, nor must he receive dialysis. It is likely that he suffers from a disorder which causes his to have low blood pressure and accounts for his gaunt appearance. The kidney disorder was misinformation, likely placed by Pakistan's ISI, to allow the Americans to believe he was on his deathbed. Another example is the legend that bin-Laden is 6 1/2 feet tall. While tall for an Arab, Wright indicates that bin-Laden is actually about 6 feet tall. And finally, it has been rumored that bin-Laden is a billionaire. Wright corrects this rumor by stating that at his wealthiest, bin-Laden had about $7 million from his father's fortune. Further, upon leaving Sudan, he moved to Afghanistan nearly penniless. It wasn't until the Africa embassy bombings that he began to reaccumulate wealth, due to Gulf Arabs sending donations for him to wage his campaign.

If you have an interest in this same topic, I highly recommend you check out this book.