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The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader

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Peter Bergen again manages to write a fascinating book that, for all intents and purposes, states the basic facts of something that has been overly complicated by politics, sensationalistic journalism and just plain ignorance. An attempt is not made to demonize Bin Laden, which is almost always the case with books on Bin Laden, which have unfortunately been plentiful and severely lacking in both substance and often out of context. What makes this book far better than the rest is that everyone can understand it and gleam information from it. I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable about Osama Bin Laden and terrorism in general. The appeal of this book though is that the novice, the person just starting to learn about Bin laden, can gleam the same knowledge and information from this book as me or anyone else who has followed Bin Laden for years.

This book is different than most books out there for one reason and one reason only: Peter Bergen gets it. The reality is that Bin Laden is demonized to no end, to the point where fact and fiction become blurred for the average man or woman trying to learn about him. Bin Laden is a bad person, I'm not arguing otherwise. However he's not the personification of evil like people wish to paint him as. Those people do all of us a disservice because it forces us to rely on politicians to educate us. While I'm sure I will come off as an anti-Government nut job, the truth is that the politicians don't want you or I to truly understand the nature of our enemy. They benefit from demonizing him because it wins them elections, it boosts poll numbers and brings campaign donations. The facts though are far more disturbing than what politicians, from both sides of the aisle, lead us to believe. This book is invaluable because it does exactly the opposite of what the media and our Government does. It states the facts and lets them stand on their own so that you and I can judge on our own because the facts are damning enough, there is no need for rhetoric that only serves to help those who wish to remain and obtain power, or in the case of the media, get ratings.

Bin Laden isn't insane. He's not even evil. He believes in everything he is doing and that is the real motivation behind it, not this thirst for bloodshed. In the eyes of his supporters they look at him no differently than we look at our founding Fathers. He truly believes, with all of his heart, that this is his duty. If he were fighting for a different cause, one that you or I looked at as being truly noble, I have no doubt that he would fight for that cause with the same dedication and sense of moral obligation as he does with his cause today. While I hate to stir debate with a fellow reviewer, Michael Scheuer is correct in stating that Bin Laden is "a great man". If you are able to look at it from the point of view of Bin Laden and his followers, he is a great man. He is different from Hitler and other murderers because they knew what they were doing was wrong and immoral. Bin Laden believes in what he does and passionately so, to the point where he will give up his own life. Another thing that makes Bin Laden completely different than Hitler is that Hitler initiated the conflict and violence which he was guilty of, while Bin Laden, wrong or right, believes that he is merely responding to attacks on Islam. This book helps explain all of that, minus the comparison to Hitler, without coming off as being sympathetic to his cause or to him. It gives you a portrait of how Bin Laden sees himself and how he sees us. At the end you will see why the facts are far more disturbing than the myth put out by Governments... Bin Laden is very human in every sense of the word and he truly doesn't believe what he is doing is wrong or immoral. That, to me, is far more scary than "the crazy Arab evil doer" rhetoric. This man started his anti-American movement first by boycotting American goods and doing away with friendly regimes of America. With the help of those closest to him, some whom are truly nothing more than blood thirsty savages (Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi would qualify as blood thirsty savages in my opinion, though they are not people I am referring to here), he morphed into what he is today. That is very startling because how many other people are out there that are following in those footsteps?

Bergen does a excellent job separating the facts and his opinions so that you are able to tell between the two. He's also written this book in an approachable manner that will not intimidate you or overwhelm you, such as may be the case with Steve Coll's excellent "Ghost Wars". He also offers a rare opportunity to learn from one of the few Westerners who have met the man and spoken with him about his beliefs. While this alone doesn't offer the book unquestionable credibility it does give the book a feeling of authenticity that you do not get from most books on the subject.

If you have not read "Holy War, INC" I would recommend you read that first, though Bergen does a good job of writing the book so that you can follow it and understand it without having read his previous book. Just leave your preconceived notions behind and read the book with an open mind. Soak it up, take it in and then compare it to what you used to think. I think you'll realize that the man you thought he is is far more different, and ultimately, in my opinion, far more dangerous.

I had never heard this French phrase until it was introduced in this book by Peter Bergen. It means "to understand all is to pardon [or forgive] all." The sentiment appeals to me intellectually, even though I don't agree with it. I more agree with the phrase you must to understand your enemy to be better able to defeat him.

I think it helps to know that Osama fasts every Monday and Thursday, that he arises before sunrise every day for prayer in a private mosque, that he prays five times a day, that he listens to no music, watches no television except the news, and he keeps no photographs or paintings of any type. It helps to know that he has four wives but that he has only divorced one of them.

It helps to know that he believes his father's generation is weak and that his constant refrain to his followers is "Unless we, the new generation, change and become stronger and more educated and more dedicated, we will never reclaim Palestine."

It helps to know that he counsels his followers not to wear shorts or short sleeve shirts. It helps to know that he is soft spoken and seldom "preaches", preferring to lead by example. It helps to know that his followers tend to follow the example he sets.

It helps to know that he reveres his father, a one-eyed laborer who started a construction empire that built the mosques at Islam's three most holy sites, Mecca, Medina, and the Dome of the Rock (which he deliberately bid at below cost, donating a large portion of the construction money). It helps to know that Osama was enraged when the Saudi Government drove tanks into the mosque at Mecca. The tank treads desecrated the building his father had built.

It helps to know that his father had his private jet take him to all three holy sites in a single day, so he could pray at each, and that he did this twice a month.

It helps to know that when Osama entered his father's road contstruction business, he worked from dawn to sunset in the desert, pausing only to have lunch with the workers. He was dedicated to being know as a worker, not as the spoiled son of a rich and powerful businessman.

How does knowing some of Osama's personal background help? When you know that Osama doesn't listen to music because it is forbidden, you understand the depth of John Walker Lindh's committment to Islam when he destroyed his album collection. When you know that Osama forbids homosexuality you understand Lindh's rejection of his father's committment to the gay lifestyle, and the younger Lindh's decision to leave California and study in Yemen. It also helps you understand why Lindh joined the Taliban and chose to fight against the U.S. when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan.

When you know that Osama keeps "no graven image" you understand why Muslims rioted at the depiction of Mohammad in a series of Dutch cartoons. Depiction of the Prophet violates the Second Commandment against making a graven image of anything on earth.

Other cult figures, like Hitler, have been dedicated to austere personal lives. Hitler was a vegetarian, non-smoker, anti-hunter, and animal rights activist. You may not believe any of those things about him, but they appear to be true. These traits were part of his mystique.

Other reviewers have critized this book's literary failings. Whatever literary failings it has are common to oral histories which are, by nature, anecdotal. I would rather praise this book's educational value, which is great.

I doubt that you will be disappointed.

This is quite a superb composition of the statements of others about Bin Laden, interspersed with very credible observations and conclusion by Peter Bergen.

The book opens with a cast of characters and ends with a "where are they now" listing. It also provides a timeline, but a limitation of this book is that it focuses on Bin Laden alone.

I have a number of notes from this excellent book:

1) The 1967 war in which Israel won was vital in showing the Arabs that it was their own inept and corrupt regimes that were leaving the Zionists in power. Also this book, at the end, where the Sykes Picot 1916 agreement highlighted in the Lawrence of Arabia epic movie, is clearly identified by Bin Laden as the start of the current "crusade" against Islam.

2) Bin Laden was a shy and polite, very religious person with a good education--the classic revolutionary (contrary to conventional wisdom, the rebels are the smart ones that see through the facades).

3) The 1979 invasion by Saudi forces to recapture the Al Haram mosque radicalized Bin Laden, as did the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The writings of Egyptian Sayyid Qutb on Islam as a complete way of life, when COMBINED with the corrupt and often decadent lifestyles of the Saudi, Egyptian, and other Arab rules, were in tandem a foundation for the radicalization of youth across the region.

4) The Pakistani cleric Abdullah Azzam was a major influence and enabler for jihadists seeking to fight the Soviets by entering via Pakistan, and the clearly untold story, in this book or any other, is the deep and constant relations between the Pakistani intelligence service, the Taliban, and Bin Laden.

5) In Afghanistan the back story is Bin Laden the theocrat versus Massoud the tolerant secularist in the Northern Alliance.

6) Soviet invasion of Afghanistan produced 6 million refugees, half to Pakistan and half to Iran.

7) The open sources of information available on Bin Laden and anti-Israel and anti-us plans are legion, and the author is extremely effective in cataloging all of the overt information that the U.S. Intelligence Community simply ignored from 1988, when the Commandant of the Marine Corps and I first made terrorism, and the use of open sources to understand terrorism, a national issue.

8) In 1996 Jamal Al Fadl walked in to a US Embassy (probably Sudan) with plans for attacks on US by Bin Laden, and also in 1996 Bin Laden announced on CNN, ABC News and in Al Jazeera that he was declaring war on the US. My comment: in the US, only Steve Emerson ("American Jihad") and Yossef Bodansky "Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America") took the declaration seriously.

9) Clinton and Bush BOTH were happy to deal with the Taliban, and the Taliban understood that the Americans, regardless of party, wanted a pipeline from Caspian energy to Pakistan (rather naively assuming Pakistan would be able to protect it), as well as bases against China and Iran.

10) This book makes it clear that every time George W. Bush talks about them attacking us for our way of life he is simply demonstrating either his idiocy or his hypocrisy. Bin Laden, over and over and over again, has specified Israeli and US behaviors, actions, and policies as the basis for his challenge.

11) In 1998 US rebuked Taliban and Bin Laden raised the ante, also focusing on the jailed Sheikh Abdel Rahman, the only religious figure to have blessed Bin Laden's lay fatwa with a commanding fatwa of his own. This individual, in US custody, has inspired violence from 1981 onwards, and US appears to have not understood his potency.

12) Quote on page 211: Zawahiri was to Osama Bin Laden what Karl Rove is to the White House."

13) Bin Laden explicitly cites Nagasaki and Hiroshima as justifications for targeting US civilians. While the author of this book discounts Bin Laden's having nuclear suitcase bombs, he acknowledges that nuclear waste is easily acquired.

14) On 10 June 1998 ABC aired an exclusive interview with Bin Laden and introduced him as the wan who had declared war on the US. No one noticed. (Steve Emerson's PBS broadcast in 1994 also got blown off).

15) The book toasts the Clinton Administration for both incompetence at getting Bin Laden (but then, the Saudis tried to assassinate Bin Laden several times and also failed), and for lionizing Bin Laden with the Tomahawk missile strike (which another book I have reviewed says included several that did not explode and enriched Bin Laden with $10 million from their sale to the Chinese).

16) The author recounts Bin Laden's illnesses witnessed by others as being Soviet gas impact on breathing, back pain, low blood pressure, foot wound, and NOT kidney failure.

17) Al Qaeda started looking for WMD after they noticed US beating that drum, and probably got their first chemicals from Uzbeckistan.

18) First references to airplanes attacking buildings were in Egyptian press 12 Aug 00.

19) Cheney and Franks both lied to US public about Bin Laden not being at Tora Bora (see my reviews of "JAWBREAKER" and "First In").

20) Al Qaeda's general guidance to all is to first, cause the West pain, and second, seek to arouse all Muslims.

21) Iraq is teaching foreign fighters and Iraqis who will likely become foreign fighters elsewhere, how to use IEDs, suicide bombs, and urban warfare against the West elsewhere.

Bottom line: has we stayed in Afghanistan, and dropped Rangers on Bin Laden as he walked from Tora Bora to Pakistan, it would have been "game over," and even if we had not caught him, he would have been marginalized. The author concludes that everything the US has done, both in the Clinton and the current Administrations, has served to empower Bin Laden and inspire millions of others to support terrorism as a tactic against the Israel, the US, the West, and the corrupt Arab regimes.

I've read just about every credible book out there on Osama Bin Laden(OBL)and I think this one is by far "THE BEST." What I particularly like about this book is it's approach - the snapshots in time, the individual personal remembrances that give fascinating little details into the personality and character of OBL. These little details and Peter Bergen's excellent commentary throughout the book help us to develop a profile of OBL and gain a better understanding of who he is and what made him into the person he is today. As a former military analyst this is fascinating stuff, but don't just take my word for it - READ THIS BOOK!

Peter Bergen, along with Steve Coll ("Ghost Wars") and Jason Burke ("Al Qaeda, Casting a Shadow of Terror"), are --in my opinion-- authors of the best English-language books on al-Qaeda out there. Peter Bergen also has the distinction of being the first to publish with "Holy War Incorporated."

In my opinion, pretty much all the other books on the topic are trash. They are either superficial or laced with conspiracy theories (my advice to readers out there, if a book about al-Qaeda claims that Bin Laden was behind the TWA-800 crash or Oklahoma City don't buy it). I reserve special contempt for Michael Scheuer, the former head of the CIA Bin Laden Group and author of "Imperial Hubris" and "Through the Eyes of the Enemy."

The fact that someone in the position that he occupied at the CIA could state that "Without the connotation good or bad, bin Laden's a great man in the sense that he's influenced the course of history" is deeply disturbing to me. And for Scheuer's apologists, they should think how they'd react if someone said the same thing about Hitler.

"The Osama Bin Laden I Know" is a very worthy companion book to "Holy War Incorporated." Bergen obviously did an enormous amount of research and it clearly shows. What's more: it's all documented.

The book's title is a bit misleading (no problem) in that there is no single "I." Instead, Bergen recounts the observations of the many people who knew Bin Laden at different stages of his life. He also provides new and interesting material about the evolution of al-Qaeda.

The most interesting passages for me have been the ones that talk about the Bin Laden family, Bin Laden's time in Sudan, and his relationship with Abdullah Azzam. There is also a fascinating extract from the "Encyclopedia of Jihad" that details a hypothetical kidnapping operation conducted by al-Qaeda.

For me the best part of the book is the fact that it shows that people like Bin Laden have bad days too. You don't get that from much of the media coverage of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror (i.e. the war against Islamic fanatics). Reading typical news coverage, you would get the impression that everything that the terrorists do is part of some grand design that unfolds. Bergen's book shows that to be a ludicrous overestimation of the enemy. For example, after Bin Laden lost his Saudi citizenship in 1994, he lost much of his access to funds. Al-Qaeda was facing lean times that did not change until Bin Laden returned to Afghanistan. In fact one of Bin Laden's men even embezzled from the organization.

This being said, the book is not perfect. There are a few passages that are pointless (like an al-Qaeda man talking about how he bought a plane for the organization). Another problem is that Bergen's "witnesses" are almost all people who admired, loved, or respected Bin Laden. So we don't get too much about stuff that might cast him in an unflattering light. Bin Laden is undoubtedly a monster, but I am sure that he is a monster who has quirks and traits that make him "human" as much as anyone else is.

Finally, Bergen states that if the US hadn't invaded Iraq, that the jihadi movement would have fallen apart. He really doesn't offer anything in the way of evidence to support that. Frankly, I don't have much for speculative history because it is inherently "speculative." One could just as easily posit a scenario where if the US had not invaded Iraq perhaps Saddam and Bin Laden would have overcome their mutual disdain for each other and actually had some sort of operational partnership. Or one could just as easily argue that the invasion of Iraq has had a sort of "flypaper" effect where a lot of Islamic terrorists who would be going elsewhere to cause trouble are instead coming to Iraq where they face over 100,000 heavily armed American soldiers (as opposed to innocent civilians like those killed in the US, Spain, London, Bali, and elsewhere).

But nothing in this world is perfect, and I recommend people read this book if they want to understand a little bit better what they are up against

I read the excerpts in Vanity Faire and had to get the book. Bergen brings Osama to life as no one has before. Dead or alive he is a messianic figure for much of Islam and America haters everywhere. Bin Laden declared war on the U.S. 12 years ago on CNN and has since carried out the most audacious attacks on the U.S since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Some good photos of a very scary man. Can't put it down.

Despite President Bush's declaration that he wanted bin Laden "dead or alive," and being hunted by the world's mightiest military for the last five years, Osama remains at large and shrouded in mystery. Nor has Osama become a "has been" - 2003 saw more significant terror attacks than in any year within the past 20, while 2004 brought a doubling again. Thus, Bush's 3/02 claim that bin Laden had been marginalized has no basis in fact.

Nor are Osama's accomplishments limited to 9/11. Within four years of Osama's CNN declaration of war against the U.S. his organization had bombed two U.S. embassies in Africa, attacked the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen, helped drive the U.S. out of Somalia, and of course, the WTC attack - more damage to the U.S. than the Soviet Union had done during nearly five decades of the Cold War.

Every day Osama remains at large is a propaganda victory for al Qaeda. We need to understand bin Laden, not be confused by our own propaganda - eg. he has never expressed an interest in attacking the West because of our "freedoms." (In fact, Bergen's book includes a direct Osama quote refuting that point - suggesting that if so, one should wonder why he hadn't attacked Sweden.)

Peter Bergen draws on interviews with over 50 individuals who have known bin Laden personally, plus his own interview. A number of written and video materials, including ten years of Jihad magazine, also were utilized. The material is presented in an objective manner, and is invaluable for one wanting to better understand bin Laden and his motives - both prior to 9/11, and on through the Iraq war.

"An Oral History" begins with Osama's early days. His father was very, very anti-Israel. He was educated in a good school, was very polite (an attribute maintained into adulthood), but was not a stand-out student. Osama was also quite religious, even in his youth. Rather than inheriting a $200-$300 million fortune, Bergen believes that a more credible figure is around $20 million (there were 53 siblings with which to share).

The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan shocked bin Laden, along with thousands of other devout young Muslims - it was the first time since WWII a non-Muslim power had invaded a Muslim country. Bin Laden's involvement began as a donor, and then to holy warrior. Most who knew of his military involvement were scornful, seeing that he had no military skills and was probably simply creating martyrs. Further, Bergen concludes that Osama's impact was very limited - the number of Afghans fighting the Soviets varied from 175-250,000, while the number of Arabs involved at any point was no more than a few hundred, and that was split between several groups. Thus, the "real" outcome was determined by the Afghans themselves, together with the aid provided by about $3 billion in U.S. aid (no evidence ANY of it went to Afghan Arabs), and additional support from Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden's victory vs. the Russians at Jaji in '87 was only a p.r. accomplishment involving 50-60 Arabs (including bin Laden) over a 22 day period.

Osama also spent six months building a road through the Tora Bora mountains in '87 (Jaji to Jalalabad), gaining familiarity that undoubtedly benefited when the U.S. invaded in 2001.

Ayman al Zawahiri, bin Laden's chief deputy, had been radicalized by three years' imprisonment and torture in Egypt, part of the reaction to Sadat's assassination (was not involved). He got Osama to focus not only on the Afghan jihad, but also regime change in the Arab world (ousting repressive secular regimes, which also were supported by the U.S.).

After the Soviets left Afghanistan in '89 the country slipped into civil war - first to drive out the Communist regime left behind, and then between various Afghan factions. Osama washed his hands of the area and moved to Sudan. While there Osama journeyed back to Saudi Arabia and made speeches against both the U.S. (its support of moving one million Russian Jews to Israel) and Saddam Hussein. He even volunteered the services of his Afghan Arab veterans, plus new recruits, to repel Hussein from Kuwait - being turned down in preference for more Americans was the "last straw" for Osama - he turned against the Saudi royal family, and ultimately had his citizenship revoked.

Drug monies were offered to support Osama's efforts - he declined, not wanting to "profit" from the blood of innocent people. At this point Osama had four wives - three were university lecturers and spinsters whom he married in support of Islamic principles.

Osama opposed the '92 landing of 28,000 Americans in Somalia for food relief, seeing it as part of a larger American strategy to take over the Islamic world. At about the same time,Ramzi Yousef masterminded the '93 WTC bombing - he had been trained in an al Qaeda camp. The bomb itself cost about $20,000; the rationale was U.s. support of Israel.

Osama has repeatedly been challenged for actions that killed children and other innocents. His response has been to reference U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, as well as the purported loss of one million Iraqi children due to U.S.-supported sanctions.

Bergen also reports that prior to 9/11 an Afghan being used as a gofer both by Osama and a British cameraman wanted help to tell the U.S. that al Qaeda was planning to hijack jets in the U.S. to secure the release of the "Blind Sheikh" held for the WTC bombing. The FBI ended up both delaying his movement to Thailand and meeting with him - until after 9/11.

Bergen states that bin Laden was not involved in 9/11 details (nor those for the Cole, etc. bombings). Nonetheless, he was the ultimate commander, knew of the plans, and supported the effort. Bergen also believes that bin Laden made a serious error in projecting U.S. reaction - he had hoped, based on prior U.S. actions in eg. Lebanon, that the U.S. would withdraw from the Middle East, or invade Afghanistan and become bogged down in a protracted guerrilla war. Instead, the U.S. used about 300 Special Forces troops on the ground, massive airpower, and the Northern Alliance forces to quickly defeat al Qaeda.

"The Osama ... I Know" also presents credible information from knowledgeable sources to refute the rumor that Osama suffers form acute kidney disease - just low blood pressure and a foot wound incurred fighting the Soviets.

Bergen is rather critical of the U.S. vs. Osama's escape from Afghanistan. Sources clearly place bin Laden there (including bin Laden himself) with only 300 others - yet he got away. Bergen claims that there were more American journalists on the scene than U.S. soldiers.

"Acquiring nuclear and chemical weapons is a religious duty" - Osama, in '99. Bergen's sources, however, are doubtful than Osama has had any success acquiring nuclear capability, though he apparently has been scammed in the effort.

Osama has opposed efforts to foment civil war between Shia and Sunni, reports Bergen; meanwhile, Zarqawi did not join al Qaeda until '04 - two years after Sec. Powell claimed that Iraq was harboring Zarqawi as a major al Qaeda figure in his effort to justify invading Iraq.

Bergen sees greater danger in the future from Iraq "foreign fighters" after the Iraq struggle than from their Afghan counterparts. The rationale - their experience fighting a stronger U.S. army and focus on urban strategies (IEDs and suicide bombers).

Bergen also makes a strong criticism of U.S. intelligence efforts. He notes there have been over 30 audio and videotapes from bin Laden and his chief deputy post 9/11, and the one guaranteed method of finding them is tracing back their chain of custody. Even knowing that a tape would likely be delivered to Al Jazeera's Pakistan bureau prior to the 2004 election the U.S. failed to stake out the scene. Thus, our $30+ billion has proven totally inadequate.

Finally, Bergen is also quite critical of bin Laden's strategies-to-date, noting that his efforts to remake the Muslim world have not succeeded - the U.S. is more involved than ever. Further, the Taliban ahs been destroyed. Bergen believes that without the U.S. invasion of Iraq the fragmented Islam militant movement would have imploded in a year or so post 9/11.

Bottom Line: Al Qaeda has no attractive vision of a world it seeks to create - at best it is associated with creating a Taliban-like control over other Muslims.

Drawing on more than 50 interviews with people who have known bin Laden personally, and on magazine articles, plus his own exclusive personal interview, Peter Bergen has cobbled together a more or less coherent but greatly rehashed picture of Osama's emergence. There is very little new here.

Over the span of his late teens into early adulthood, Osama went from a not particularly bright but well-educated, and mild-mannered rich kid, to a religious zealot and holy warrior. Bin Laden then cut his military teeth and made his bones during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. During which he used his considerable wealth to build roads and finance military hardware and otherwise, more or less bought the respect, admiration and trust of his fellow Afghan freedom-fighters. After the Russians were successfully defeated, bin Laden was cocky enough to offer his services to Saudi Arabia in efforts to help re-conquer Kuwait. The Saudis naturally declined, relying on the U.S. instead. This embittered Osama and set the Saudis up as one of his three primary targets -- the others of course being Israel and the U.S.

Not much is said about bin Laden's private life except that he has four wives, all of whom are well educated and are allowed, from time to time to speak on behalf of Muslim causes.

As for as his leadership abilities, Bergen does not paint a very pretty picture of the terrorist as leader. According to him bin Laden is a lacksadasical kind of hands off administrator, relying heavily on his top Lieutenants for planning, new ideas and keeping him informed of day-to-day activities. But he seldom gets directly involved in planning and reviewing particualr details. Many of his strategies have fizzled and he does not seem to have a keen awareness of his primary adversaries. That is, according to Bergen he seems to be quite ignorant of what makes both the U.S and Israel tick.

Towards the end of the book Bergen expresses frustration at Bush's inability to catch Osama even though he has spent nearly $300 billion trying to do so. He also speculates about terrorism, and Bush and bin Laden strategies, concluding that many of Bush's assumption about bin Laden -- such as that he has been marginalized; and that he hates the U.S. because of its freedoms, etc. have little basis in fact. He also believes that Iraqi insurgents and terrorists offer a much more potent terrorist punch in the Middle East for the future than will Osama bin Laden and his ragtag gang of terrorists.

The book itself is quite misleading. Its not the Osama bin Laden that Peter L. Bergen knows but a combination of many people comments that the writer feels are useful. Better described as a scrap book on the subject. Still it is the best picture of him that you are going to get now. The major problem that people that are interested in this subject will have is that they have read much of this book before in other places.

The other problem is that the writer thinks that the war against terrorism is the all big problem forgetting that other issues are important for example whatever the reasons for invading Iraq, they had little to do with bin Laden.

One point after reading the book, I don't think what is covered is what is bin Ladin objectives! If his main agenda was to spread his type of Islam then I disagree with the writer that 911 was a strategic mistake for bin Laden. 911 became a major inspirer of many fundamentalist Muslims and organizations. If bin Ladin's mission was to become a major leader in Saudi Arabia, as some others suggest, then it was disaster. He underestimated the US power and resolve.

Now by evading capture bin Laden personally symbolizes that his militant Islam is fighting the West. Depending on whether he is capture or the manner of his death, it will have a major impact but its not a knockout blow either way as he has become irrelevant except as a symbol. We are now dealing with bin Ladin's ideology. Whether this ideology can thrive in modern world is yet to be seen.

Overall the writer is quite critical of the US policy regarding the war against terrorism and in the long term position, on Muslim fundamentalist terrorism, the writer thinks that they are going to grow partly as a consequence of flawed US policy. This remains to be seen.

One hesitates to give five stars to anything, because no book is perfect (4 and a half stars?). Nonetheless, Bergen's book is a convincing and well-documented account of Osama bin Laden, his youth, his developing radical outlook, set within the context of his family, and his major infuences - such as Abdullah Azzam and Ayman al Zawahiri. Anyone seeking to comprehend bin Laden should be pleased with this work. Bergen portrays bin Laden without glamorizing or demonizing, but showing bin Laden for what he is.