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Book review: The Looming Tower

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Up today: The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright.  Summary: this gripping book is a look at the history and development of al-Qaeda leading up to 9/11.  Very highly recommended.

The subject of this book is easy to discern, but amazingly unknown in the broader US population.  The writing is excellent, and Wright gives a deep and sympathetic account of al-Qaeda's underpinnings without losing his essentially American perspective.  Ever heard of Sayyid Qutb?  If not, read this book.  Nearly every page contained a revelation of some sort for me.

Wright also goes into the infuriating story of the few intelligence officials who had some inkling of 9/11 and failed to prevent it, for mainly idiotic reasons.  I won't go into detail save that the CIA emerges as the main villain.

Really, I can't recommend this book highly enough.  It should be required reading for every American.  Enough said.
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