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Summary: Witty, gritty terror travelogue the one al-Qaeda book to own
Review: A Yemeni merchant points to his infant son."This is my jihad," he tells journalist Peter Bergen. The proud father is Osama bin Laden's peaceful cousin. This tender scene represents the incongruous but frequent decency Bergen encounters in this well-documented, beautifully written account of bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and a reporter's quest to understand both.The publication date of Holy War, Inc., was accelerated after September 11th. Nonetheless, the work represents years of meticulous research, courageous reporting, and unprecedented access to some of the world's most treacherous terrain and vicious killers. Although some reviewers and even the author claim there is a "jagged" feel because the publication date was pushed up, this really isn't noticeable. The writing is fluid, harrowing, often playful, and even poignant at times. Cleverly divided into chapters that feature the countries where al-Qaeda made its bones through murder and mayhem, Holy War is a witty, gritty travelogue. Bergen's dry humor and glib narrative makes this an eminently readable book as the author explores the terror group in places as far-flung as Kenya and Kashmir. Along the way, Bergen paints a compelling portrait of bin Laden, whom he met and interviewed for CNN, and the other twisted terrorists for whom the wealthy "sheikh" serves as a cult leader. The author explores and documents what makes these killers tick. The theme is that al-Qaeda essentially is "Holy War, Inc.," a conglomerate of bloodthirsty organizations. There remains little doubt at book's end that al-Qaeda and its affiliates are a well-run cartel whose CEO's can be replaced at will. Bergen also is able to admit what some have not: bin Laden the man remains an enigma with a background shrouded in secrecy. Many of the claims about Osama, including his participation in battle, may be total myth. Bergen is careful not to make any definitive assertions about the murky details. What isn't in doubt are the deadly, cruel intentions that comprise bin Laden's demented philosophy. Bergen explains how these ideas were formed, who shaped and shares these beliefs, and the degree to which they are accepted, and rejected, in the Islamic world. Like many of the better observers of Islamist terror, Bergen isn't resigned to an inevitable struggle that will pit Muslims against the West ad infinitum. In fact, the author makes a very strong case that Samuel Huntington's clash of civilizations theory is inherently flawed. The book's afterword shows that in addition to being a great reporter, Bergen is a superb analyst. This is best displayed, though, in the aforementioned scene in rural Yemen. The author visited bin Laden's ancestral home shortly after the USS Cole was attacked. Contrary to bin Laden's beliefs, the locals there worship at the shrines of Muslim saints. The local mullah sincerely tells Bergen the Cole attack hurt both Yemen and the United States, and expresses heartfelt grief over the loss of life. The mullah invites Bergen to convert to Islam, and there is no doubt that the religious leader's intent is sincere and grounded in his faith. The same cannot be said of bin Laden. If you want to buy only one book about al-Qaeda, this should be it.
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Summary: Know thy Enemy - What motivates Osama Bin Laden?
Review: Peter Bergen is a well known terrorism analyst for the American news channel CNN. He has reported on Afghanistan and Pakistan for over fifteen years, and was familiar with bin Laden and al-Qaeda long before 9/11. 'Holy War Inc.' takes you inside the world of al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. An enormous strength of this book is Bergen's in-depth knowledge of his subject matter. 'Holy War Inc.' represents years of exhaustive investigation, gutsy reporting, and unmatched access to some of the world's most ferocious killers and hazardous terrain. The author uses his extensive range of sources, including his own experiences, to draw a remarkable portrait of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization. Bergen also has the distinct advantage of being one of the very few Western journalists who have ever met with and interviewed Osama Bin Laden. It is intense reading when Bergen describes his trek to and into Afghanistan, including the wearing of blindfolds during the last part of the trip to bin Laden's hiding place. Bergen deftly portrays al-Qaeda - a multi-national terrorist network, with 'sleepers' and members all over the world - reaching from the city of Hamburg, to the suburbs of North-West London via Disney World to Egypt. Bergen provides a comprehensive overview of the key players of al-Qaeda. He carefully examine how they carried out the terrorist attacks, including the synchronized bombings of the two US Embassies in Africa, the U.S.S. Cole attack in Yemen, and the recent attacks on the Twin towers and Pentagon in America. 'Holy War Inc.' gave me a good insight into the al-Qaeda organization, bin Laden's dynasty, the culture and thoughts of those in the Middle East. This book also gave me a better appreciation of just *how* extensive al-Qaeda and bin Laden's reach is and it broaden my understanding of the sheer complexity of the war on terrorism. 'Holy War Inc.' was recommended to me by a friend (Thanks Greg!). I read this book after reading 'Longitudes and Attitudes' (Friedman), then followed up with 'The Base' (Corbin). I finished off my 9/11 period with Giuliani's 'Leadership'. These four books compliment each other, and reading them gave me a much broader, deeper understanding of the complexity of the problem(s) we are facing.
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Summary: One of the best books on the subject.
Review: Peter Bergen isn't just another writer who after the 9/11 attacks decided to "dive deep" into the topic of Osama Bin Laden. Peter Bergen had actually started writing the book before the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Bin Laden has been a topic that Bergen has followed for years, dating back to the mid-1990s. He didn't write this book so that it didn't offend the United States and he didn't write this book expecting to do anything other then provide a deep analysis on Bin Laden, his followers and Islamic terrorism in general. I think what really sets him apart from everyone else is he has met Bin Laden. He has spoken in great detail with Bin Laden. He's one of the few Westerners Bin Laden has spoken to (in great detail) on camera and Bergen's experience is extremely interesting. I hope Bergen writes another book because "Holy War, Inc" was truly a pleasure to read, even under the current circumstances.
Rating: 
Summary: Osama Inc.
Review: Certainly, this was the easiest read that I have undertaken so far this year. Peter Bergen writes with a journalists tenacity and an historians eye for preserving a comprehensive picture of the story for the future. Clearly, he has done an awful lot of research for his book, traveling to Yemen, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan etc. It would be hard for me to believe, based simply on the amount of traveling that he has done, that he is making this up. Bergen also has the distinct advantage of being one of only a handful of western journalists who have ever interviewed Osama Bin Laden. Additionally, he has been in extensive contact with current, former, and fringe members of Al-Qaeda, making him better able to present a comprehensive picture of the organization that has dominated the headlines for almost two years now. Clearly, he has done a fair amount of homework. However, one problem Bergen does have: while he may have a historian's eye, he certainly does not have the writing style of one. His style is clipped, presenting facts almost as they come to mind as opposed to presenting a clear, comprehensive picture of Al-Qaeda. Nevertheless, his style can be easily overcome and his offering is still thoroughly enjoyable. If you want to gain a better appreciation of just how extensive Osama's reach is, this is the read for you.
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Summary: A Timely Expose of What our War is About!
Review: Peter Bergen writes a solid -- if somewhat breezy -- account of the background and development of Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and the anti-Western Islamist movement. The greatest revelations were the naivete and outright incompetence of various U.S. government officials and agencies in failing to heed intelligence warnings and placing political or diplomatic considerations above the safety of Americans -- specifically in Somalia, at the east African embassies, and in Yemen at the time of the USS Cole bombing. Bergen makes it clear -- Bin Laden and the Islamic Jihadists are engaged in a war without mercy against Western policies in the Middle East. They hold the U.S. responsible for the domestic failures of despotic regimes throughout the Islamic World. Bergen reveals -- as Thomas Friedman says -- the extent to which these nations and cultures have "failed at modernity." The Islamists seek nothing less that to drive us from the region and destroy American political influence under the guise of religious orthodoxy. Let there be no doubt about it -- and Bergen explores this well -- if we cherish tolerance, the rule of law, freedom of expression, and the fundamental dignity of all people, then we need to be prepared to fight to the end against Bin Laden and his sympathizers. Our political values mean nothing to them! Bergen should be thanked for exposing the extremists, our weak government, and our duplicious "allies" so thoroughly.
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Summary: The History of Osama bin Laden
Review: This book does a great job telling the history of Osama bin Laden and gives some insight to his motivations for war with the United States. Even though this story is through the eyes of a United States reporter; he has spent significant time studying Islamic groups with extensive travel and interviews in many "terrorist zones" of the world.
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Summary: One of the best books on the subject.
Review: Peter Bergen isn't just another writer who after the 9/11 attacks decided to "dive deep" into the topic of Osama Bin Laden. Peter Bergen had actually started writing the book before the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Bin Laden has been a topic that Bergen has followed for years, dating back to the mid-1990s. He didn't write this book so that it didn't offend the United States and he didn't write this book expecting to do anything other then provide a deep analysis on Bin Laden, his followers and Islamic terrorism in general. I think what really sets him apart from everyone else is he has met Bin Laden. He has spoken in great detail with Bin Laden. He's one of the few Westerners Bin Laden has spoken to (in great detail) on camera and Bergen's experience is extremely interesting. I hope Bergen writes another book because "Holy War, Inc" was truly a pleasure to read, even under the current circumstances.
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Summary: We should study this book carefully
Review: In compiling this book, Peter Bergen learned of the Taliban's extreme religious vision, talked with child soldiers willing to die for the cause, and interviewed the world's most wanted man. In the late 1970s bin Laden was influenced by an extremist, international jihardist network, the overthrow of the Shah of Persia by the Ayatollah Khomeini, the peace deal between Egypt and Israel, the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He lost his father at an early age: "My father was very keen that one of his sons should fight against the enemies of Islam. So I am the one son who is acting according to his father's wishes." As Muslims rallied to Afghanistan's support, bin Laden built safe havens and rudimentary hospitals inside the mountains. The Russians killed a million people, forced a third of the population into exile and destroyed countless villages; it was a war of the infidel against Muslims. The lessons learned there are now being used to carry the war against all infidels and all the enemies of Islam with the help of about 4000 well trained and highly committed Afghan veterans the majority of whom are part of a loose world-wide network. The dual attacks in New York and Washington were the deadliest salvo in the decade long war against the US which started with the bombing of a Yemen hotel housing American soldiers. The suicide bombers were well-educated, technically savvy men who blended well with their American communities; they looked and acted like the increasingly diverse US of the 21st century. The destruction of the World Trade Center has to be viewed as just one incident in a long series into the distant future. In this book we gain an insight into bin Laden's political views, why he advocates violence against Americans, the perceived injustices visited upon Muslims, his intention to topple the Saudi regime and replace it with rule aligned to the 7th century teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, the jihad against the American government for its support of Israel and his goal of driving Americans from all Muslim countries. Governance of al-Qaeda is through a policy-making council that makes executive decisions passed to committees for implementation. Al-Qaeda can be thought of as a multinational holding company, headquartered in Afghanistan, chaired by bin Laden and with a financial and business network comparable to an international corporation. Graduates of the training camps export terrorism and holy war to every corner of the world. The Internet allows recruitment tapes to be downloaded; websites are devoted to teaching terror tactics. Al-Qaeda is to terrorism what the Mafia is to crime. The west is dealing with an extensive network of highly committed, very capable people who seek martyrdom for their cause and against whom a military solution is no solution. Their motto is "Jihad and the rifle alone: no negotiations, no conferences and no dialogues." For the terrorist jihad is an obligation. Even if we capture or kill the leaders, there are hordes of new recruits waiting in the wings to continue their acts of terrorism. To combat this new enemy we need to understand what drives the mastermind and his council; only then can we hope to be successful in meeting the challenge that lies before us. Peter Bergen has done an excellent job of providing us with much that we need to know. We would be wise to study this book very carefully.
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Summary: What they'd like you to believe
Review: OK-Let me get this straight- we have a 252 page book on Osama and Al Quaeda and there is ONE page describing the non-relationship!?!! of the CIA and Osama and his crew? Only on page 33 is the CIA even mentioned and that is to say that anyone who thinks Osama was involved with them "doesn't understand the relationship.."!! Craziness! Like saying there's no evidence of a relationship between say the Cubans and the Soviet Union or the Vichy French and the Nazis. The fact is that the CIA directly and through its proxy the Pakistani ISI created, armed, trained, supported and gave technology to Islamic Fundamentalist fighters from all over the Moslem world to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. These groups were their pride and joy for many years for making the Russians bleed. Now that they're making us bleed its as if the 80s didn't happen. This book is a classic in the literature of denial and obfuscation- a minutely detailed description of a worldwide terrorist organization which seems to have given birth to itself out of a vague hate for America. On page 19 the real reason for this hate comes out of Osama's mouth: "..America became an arrogant superpower after the fall of the USSR...". This book could be the primer for the US press's current rule- talk as much about WHO and HOW as you can but never talk about WHY we're hated. The book also suffers from almost terminal journalistic self-importance. Far from a wake-up call its a pathetic cry for stupid business-as-usual.
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Summary: Gutsy, credible journalism
Review: This book is a wonderful read because of Bergen's truly gutsy journalism. Usually a "gutsy" journalist is one who will accuse someone in a position of power, or who will report the unpopular facts. Bergen's brand of chutzpah seems more fully developed. He walks into the heart of terrorist organizations unfazed. This kind of journalism leads to a depth of experience and understanding from which Bergen draws this book. Even given his broad personal experience, Bergen manages to fill a full fifty pages with the citations for his work. The whole book has an air of well-rounded credibility that make it great.
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