Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden (Paperback)

by Peter Bergen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
There's a lot of new information in this well-written examination by CNN's terrorism expert on the man believed to be behind the events of September 11, though some of its revelations have already been reported elsewhere in the media. What distinguishes this account is its depth: Bergen has long tracked the Islamic world the book opens with the account of his 1997 interview with bin Laden, the terrorist's first TV interview and it shows. He sheds light on several outstanding questions, arguing, among other things, that it's unlikely Iraq was involved in the September 11 attacks, and that it's a myth that the CIA directly funded and trained bin Laden during the war in Afghanistan in the 1980s. According to Bergen, the CIA gave its money to Pakistan and then let that country's intelligence agency decide what to do with it, which was to fund those they viewed as the most strictly Islamic groups among those opposing the Soviet Union. He also adds some details about bin Laden's rise from his wealthy childhood in Saudi Arabia to his current career, and the global spread of Al Qaeda's terrorizing tentacles. The information on what is known about September 11 added hurriedly after the original manuscript was completed, as Bergen admits gives the book a slightly jagged feel. But those looking for a balanced, comprehensive look at bin Laden and his crew as well as an answer to the now preeminent question "why do they hate us so much?" will do well to start here. (Nov. 13)Forecast: Given the piling up of books about bin Laden, etc., on bestseller lists, it's a foregone conclusion that this will join them, with first serial to Vanity Fair and selection by the major book clubs.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

As CNN terrorism analyst Bergen avows, this journalistic study of Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist network was rushed to publication and thus lacks some editorial smoothness in its delivery. Nevertheless, this book offers a mature, balanced description of bin Laden's background; a concise summary of the organization of the al-Qaeda terrorist network as it has developed in the Middle East, Europe, and America; and a brief narrative of terrorist events through September 11. Bergen asserts that bin Laden's hostility emanates from his religious opposition to an American military presence in Saudi Arabia, American policy toward Israel, and the "un-Islamic" behavior of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Bergen personalizes his story with an account of his 1997 interview with bin Laden and the contacts he made with bin Laden's militant Islamic associates. Here, an interesting story drifts a bit from bin Laden to accounts of al-Qaeda operations. Bergen has, however, pulled together a significant amount of solid information, which he presents with perception and without grand swings of passion. This is an important initial glimpse of bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the associated Taliban of Afghanistan and is strongly recommended for all libraries. John F. Riddick, Central Michigan Univ. Lib., Mt. Pleasant

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1st Touchstone Ed edition (May 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743234952
• ISBN-13: 978-0743234955
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #478,792 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

137 of 149 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep your cool, November 14, 2001

By	Douglas Picket (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holy War, Inc.: Inside The Secret World of Osama Bin Laden (Hardcover)

This is the ticket if you want reality. But it shows us how evil the terrorist is, how unconscious! These terrorists come to life in this book in that it shows you how they actually do believe in their cause. I now am convinced Laden thinks he is doing gods will, but how he became that way is beyond me. I cannot go into all the details here but you need to read this to understand how the situation came about, there are many facts here, including CIA and USA policies I would never of guessed that left me aware. I want to also recommend another good book like this but also predicted the WTC events and the Bio war and a few other events that have come to pass as well as more predictions. Karl Mark Maddox's SB 1 or God

32 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Readable journalistic overview, June 12, 2002

By	Dennis Littrell (SoCal) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: Holy War, Inc.: Inside The Secret World of Osama Bin Laden (Hardcover)

If you don't know the difference between al-Qaeda and the Taliban (and before September 11 ‛01, I sure did not) or if you're a little fuzzy about where Yemen is in relation to Afghanistan, this an excellent book. Peter Bergen is CNN's terrorism analyst and an experienced reporter. He uses a wide range of sources including his own experience to describe the al-Qaeda terrorist organization. There's even a map of the Middle East that you can refer to as you read.

But those with some expertise in the world of the mindless jihad masters and the issuance of pretentious fatwas will find this rather limited, I would imagine. We don't really get "Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden," but rather are provided with a narrative distilled from numerous news accounts augmented with Bergen's interviews and travel experiences. Essentially, we stay outside the organization (but so did the CIA). Furthermore, Bergen's "Holy War, Inc." characterization of al-Qaeda as a kind of multinational corporation is exactly the sort of catchy, but superficial and misleading designation that irritates the cognoscenti. Al-Qaeda does not turn a profit, nor does it look to turn a profit. It exists on funds raised from charities, from donations from Muslim fat cat businessmen, from bin Laden's inheritance and from funds siphoned from various commercial enterprises, both legal and illegal, and from what it can beg, borrow and steal. It would perhaps be more accurate to designate al-Qaeda as a Mephistophelian service organization. Perhaps "The Black Crescent" would be an appropriate agnomen.

Nonetheless, to Bergen's credit this is not the usual sort of "rush to judgment" volume churned out by book publishers to take advantage of a major news event. Bergen had the book finished in August and apparently was working on the proofs when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center buildings on September 11. At that point of course the book was reshaped and spun to tie in with that event so that Bergen's interview with bin Laden (aired on CNN May 10, 1997) forms part of a Prologue entitled, "How to Find the World's Most Wanted Man."

The strength of the book is in its readability and in the sense that Bergen gives us of what it is like to be an international journalist today (and for those out in the field, it is dangerous to be sure). Characteristically, Bergen describes his trek to and into Afghanistan including the wearing of blindfolds during the last leg to bin Laden's hideout. This personal experience view continues throughout the book and is one of the book's strengths--although of course Bergen does want to make sure we understand that he is more than a "put on the make up and read the cue cards" sort of journalist.

What Bergen notices, and what he reports to us, tell us as much about Bergen as about the world of the terrorist. He reports on the food and what the taxi drivers say. He notices the terrain, the weapons, the dress of the men he meets, and he gives us a good feel for the conditions he and other journalists encounter. What is missing, at least from my point of view, is a cohesive overall understanding or perspective. Perhaps the events are so new, and the trees of the forest so mesmerizingly vivid that it is impossible as yet to discern the larger picture.

But Bergen does attempt a larger understanding. He compares al-Qaeda to the infamous Assassins, founded as an Ismailian sect in what was then Persia in 1090. Supposedly under the influence of hashish, the Assassins brought death and destruction on Christian Crusaders for upwards of two hundred years. (It remains to be seen how long al-Qaeda lasts.) I found it revealing to learn that the head of the Assassins was referred to as "the old man of the mountain" (according to Webster's Second International), just the sort of personage that bin Laden would idolize and try to emulate.

Bergen also attempts a little political philosophy by critiquing Harvard professor Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" thesis in the Afterward, but not very successfully, I might say, since the tribal and fundamentalist world view of the Taliban and al-Qaeda supporters really is in a monumental collision with Western modernity.

Bottom line: this is a good book, a little superficial and a little thin, but then, so's the news.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Starting Point to Understand 9-11-01, December 11, 2001

By	James E. Carroll (Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Holy War, Inc.: Inside The Secret World of Osama Bin Laden (Hardcover)

Holy War, Inc. is a first rate primer on Osama bin Laden and his al- Qaeda network that every responsible American should read after the attacks of 9-11-01. Author Peter L. Bergen, a CNN correspondent, does yeoman's work in detailing the structure of bin Laden's organization, its roots, its financing, its reach and its goals. With a gripping prologue that recounts the secrecy and precautions surrounding the author's 1997 televised interview with bin Laden, the reader is drawn straight into the web of today's terrorist. It is compelling reading. In the ensuing chapters, Bergen sets out to make the case that bin Laden is the CEO of Holy War, Inc.

To most of us the origin of the ideology and historical details that culminated in the September attacks is confusing and complex. In this very readable text that provides a look, albeit cursory, inside the politics and cultures of Pakistan and Afghanistan, we see how the framework of a highly organized and sophisticated organization that employs and trains thousands in terrorism began. Bergen informs his readers that " the men who lead these movements are generally well educated and utilize the latest in technology in their various jihads." Many Americans will learn for the first time while reading this book of the constantly updated web sites where the members of these organizations communicate, the faxes that deliver the "fatwas" around the world to the group's members and news organizations and the use of the internet and DVD's to propel the group's messages and training materials. These followers are not just hiding in caves in Afghanistan, they are on line.

With bin Laden's wealth,the author asserts that terrorism has been privatized; it has cloaked itself under a corporate hierarchy; its foot soldiers are globalized connected by satellite phones; it possesses technological weapons some of which were provided to the mujahideen by the US during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This book may not be the definitive treatise on the subject of global terrorism, but it is immensely readable, well documented and an honest attempt to explain the horror of 9-11-01. You will not go wrong with this selection.