The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Book Description

A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright’s remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States.

The Looming Tower achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy and insight by telling the story through the interweaving lives of four men: the two leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the FBI’s counterterrorism chief, John O’Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal.

As these lives unfold, we see revealed: the crosscurrents of modern Islam that helped to radicalize Zawahiri and bin Laden . . . the birth of al-Qaeda and its unsteady development into an organization capable of the American embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the attack on the USS Cole . . . O’Neill’s heroic efforts to track al-Qaeda before 9/11, and his tragic death in the World Trade towers . . . Prince Turki’s transformation from bin Laden’s ally to his enemy . . . the failures of the FBI, CIA, and NSA to share intelligence that might have prevented the 9/11 attacks.

The Looming Tower broadens and deepens our knowledge of these signal events by taking us behind the scenes. Here is Sayyid Qutb, founder of the modern Islamist movement, lonely and despairing as he meets Western culture up close in 1940s America; the privileged childhoods of bin Laden and Zawahiri; family life in the al-Qaeda compounds of Sudan and Afghanistan; O’Neill’s high-wire act in balancing his all-consuming career with his equally entangling personal life—he was living with three women, each of them unaware of the others’ existence—and the nitty-gritty of turf battles among U.S. intelligence agencies.

Brilliantly conceived and written, The Looming Tower draws all elements of the story into a galvanizing narrative that adds immeasurably to our understanding of how we arrived at September 11, 2001. The richness of its new information, and the depth of its perceptions, can help us deal more wisely and effectively with the continuing terrorist threat.

Customer Reviews:

Muslims and al-Qaeda 101.......2007-10-10

The Looming Tower is a must read for anyone wanting to know why world events have brought us to today. Lawrence Wright also makes it clear how difficult it will be to negotiate any type of peace with certain Muslim sects. Very factual. Well-researched and documented.

Excellent.......2007-10-10

This book, The Looming Towers, is an excellent portrayal of the genesis of the Muslim feelings of denigration and disgrace at the hands of the leaders of Western world. This book is sobering and frightening. It is well written and extremely interesting with excellent references.

The Looming Tower.......2007-10-10

I thought this an exciting and meaningful book,incredibly rich in detail.
Particularly enjoyed the background on bin Laden's father.

a fascinating read........2007-10-08

this is the third book in a row i have read that covers the events leading to the 9/11 attacks, and, of those three, it is by far the page for page best. "the looming tower" is a masterpiece of nonfiction that works wonderfully on so many levels: mideast politics, the dangers of religious extremism, the rise of al-Qaeda and its partner group al-Jihad, biographical work that paints a vivid human portrait of bin Laden, the best intentions of some and petty ego trips of others within the CIA and FBI whose conflicts hindered cooperation between those agencies leading up to 9/11, the complex and often quirky personalities of those working within the CIA and FBI, the conflicting intentions and seemingly zombie-like acts of cruelty perpetrated by the Taliban, etc... mile after mile of interesting ground is covered in a riveting narrative which never flounders on a single page. i found this to be one of the most thrilling books i have read in quite some time. putting aside the fact that this work is a first-rate primer on our contemporary history, you could simply look at it as a true crime masterpiece (right up there with norman mailer's "the executioner's song"). it certainly deserves the pulitzer prize it won. and it gets my highest recommendation. yes, indeed.

great insight into the killers attacking western civilization.......2007-10-06

This is a great work. Wright's Looming Tower provides an in-depth view of the main organization trying to bring down western civilization. In reading this treatment of this group, one quickly recognizes that these people do not like what we stand for as a country. From their eyes, we are the forces of debauchery, immorality, and crudeness. Their organization is structured to kill our civilization and us. Its really that simple. The cells of terrorists do not need technology, or resources, because they are smart and directed to one purpose. That focus will allow them to come at us repeatedly. Wright makes this clear, and does so by showing how their actions are directed to that one goal. So don't be deluded by those who claim the enemy is us or the president. Get this book, and become knowledgeable about what we face.

Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to the Facts

Average customer rating:

hey
Propaganda and a waste of money.
Reads like propaganda
Junk Science
Hint: don't drink fluoridated water.

Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to the Facts
The Editors of Popular Mechanics
Manufacturer: Hearst
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 158816635X

Book Description

Conspiracy theories about Sept. 11, 2001 continue to spread. Now, in a meticulous, scientific and groundbreaking new book, Popular Mechanics puts these rumors to rest. The magazine’s editors analyze the 20 most persistent claims underlying 9/11 conspiracy theories—and conclusively disprove each one. The result is a triumph of hard fact over conspiratorial fantasy.

Customer Reviews:

hey.......2007-09-20

so i haven't read the book, i will tell you that, but i think it's funny how John McCain helped write it. That guy needs to be off the balot and in jail for sure. Not all CT's are crazy either. They are family memebers who didn't get a proper investigation from the gov't. The Gov't doesn't care about them or the investigation and they call it a horrible attack on America. Bin Laden isn't even wanted for it. He i wanted for bombing in 198 or something on an american embassy killing maybe 200.
Anyway, read "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" wesome "truther" book

Propaganda and a waste of money. .......2007-09-20

Buy a copy of Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin before buying this pack of lies. You can save your time and money and learn what Popular Mechanics says and OMITS in building their case against the truth. Hearst Publishing is still in the business of propaganda. Wake Up.

Reads like propaganda.......2007-09-14

I wish just once somebody would publish an objective book or collection of writings about this topic. The afterward is particularly insulting to the millions of concerned citizens with legitimate questions. Anyone can see that this book was written with an agenda. If this book doesn't give you ammo for you hate-spewing debunking arsenal, it might actually convince you that there are suspicious circumstances to consider.

Junk Science.......2007-08-29

This analysis doesn't even rise to the level of being wrong. You don't have to be a structural engineer to know that a steel-framed building cannot "pancake" at free-fall speed. You don't have to be a metallurgist to know that jet fuel won't leave pools of molten metal weeks after the fire is out. If you cherry-pick your "facts" you can make Stalin look like a boy scout or Mother Theresa look like the devil. This book starts with the conclusion and then tries to prove it. If you want an analysis that starts with the facts and works towards a logical conclusion, try any (or all) of David Ray Griffin's books.

Hint: don't drink fluoridated water........2007-08-24

I really wanted to fall for the "Official" fairytale. Sorry. Anyone who read this steaming terd and didn't find it insulting to their intelligence must be jacked up on fluoride. Do you know Prozac is 97% sodium fluoride? Do you know Hitler used it to sterilize and dumb down people? Do you know it is toxic waste from nuke power plants and aluminum production? You DO know your government puts it in YOUR water supply and toothpaste? Tell you what, figure out how MINOR structural damage and jet fuel pulverizes tons of concrete and EVERYTHING inside these giant skyscrapers into a fine dust before it can hit the ground, each with 47 welded and riveted massive core columns (approx 2/3 of its footprint!) Spraying sheitloads of human bone fragments atop the many adjacent buildings only to be discovered and reported years later and I will forget all about the bazillion lies, scandals and "coincidences", the complete failure of NORAD. Better stop, too much too list. Get a frikkin' clue retards, this is a cover-up hit piece AND do some homework to discover who owns Popular Mechanics Magazine. Better yet, buy the books of the great scholar David Ray Griffin instead, he easily destroys these brownshirt bootlickers using simple and sound logic.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory

Average customer rating:

Best book on 911 and very READABLE
Not a great book
An Absolutely Undebunkable Rebuttal to the Official Theory Pushers
Excellent Read
Logical, rational, and undeniable

Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory
David Ray Griffin
Manufacturer: Olive Branch Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out, Vol. 1
Towers of Deception: The Media Cover-up of 9/11
The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions And Distortions
9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA, Fourth Edition
Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to the Facts

ASIN: 156656686X

Book Description

By virtue of his previous four books on the subject, David Ray Griffin is widely recognized as one of the leading spokespersons of the 9/11 truth movement, which rejects the official conspiracy theory about 9/11. Although this movement was long ignored by the US government and the mainstream media, recent polls have shown that (as Time magazine has acknowledged) the rejection of the official theory has become "a mainstream political phenomenon." It is not surprising, therefore, that the government and the corporately controlled media have shifted tactics. No longer ignoring the 9/11 truth movement, they have released a flurry of stories and reports aimed at debunking it.

In the present book, David Ray Griffin shows that these attempts can themselves be easily debunked. Besides demonstrating the pitiful failure of Debunking 9/11 Myths (published by Popular Mechanics and endorsed by Senator John McCain), Griffin riddles recent reports and stories put out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Time magazine as well as a new book by the chairmen of the 9/11 Commission. He also responds to criticisms of the 9/11 truth movement by left-leaning and Christian publications--which one might have expected to be supportive.

Throughout these critiques, Griffin shows that the charge that is regularly leveled against critics of the official theory-that they employ irrational and unscientific methods to defend conclusions based on faith-actually applies more fully to those who defend the official theory.

This book, by debunking the most prevalent attempts to refute the evidence cited by the 9/11 truth movement, shows that this movement's central claim-that 9/11 was an inside job-remains the only explanation that fits the facts.

Customer Reviews:

Best book on 911 and very READABLE.......2007-10-09

I am stunned by Dr. Griffin's meticulous attention to facts and research. I challenge anyone who thinks the Truth movement is a bunch of 'crackpots' to actually read this book and THEN decide!

I agree with the positive reviews already posted, so no need to add more, other than to say that I especially liked his analogy of a compact car hitting an 18-wheeler and continuing at its original speed and even gaining speed - right! just like what happened when the upper floors crashed into the much greater mass of the lower floors - and continued on with ZERO resistance! C'mon, people, use some common sense! You don't have to be a scientist to see that we've been duped BIG TIME!

I will just say that I was surprised by how very READABLE it is - I was expecting an exhausting, dry list of technical facts, but I am actually having trouble putting it down! Well done!

Not a great book.......2007-10-02

Having read the book in full, I must admit that Griffin does poke several holes and highlights some inconsistencies in the four documents he challenges. However, despite his critiques, the four documents still appear more scientifically and statistically sound than what Griffin offers as an alternative theory.

Too often, Griffin dwells on the semantics of "conspiracy theory" vs. "alternative conspiracy theory", while making far-fetched claims involving "voice-morphing technology", on the extreme end.

As a book, it simply drags. Griffin is too wordy and repetitive with his arguments. He could have put forth the same claims with half the verbiage. Either way, though, most of the claims are indeed bogus.

An Absolutely Undebunkable Rebuttal to the Official Theory Pushers.......2007-10-01

As a philosopher and epistomologist, Dr. Griffin examines all subjects dispassionately and with pure intellect and reason. Here is a fact. It is indeed correct that "conspiracy theorists," in the pejorative sense of the term, do indeed cherry-pick random facts to bolster their case. They also omit data that doesn't fit their case.

Another fact is that a conspiracy is simply an agreement between two or more people in secret to do something illegal and/or immoral. A conspiracy theory is a hypothesis as to who is responsible for the act. The officially historically sanctioned version of what happened is itself a conspiracy theory: The idea that 19 Muslim extremists conspired to attack America, their motive being they hated our freedoms (or, in an another interpretation, out of "blow back" for decades of aggressive U.S. imperial-style foreign policy) is itself a conspiracy theory.

Throughout Griffin's latest excellent volume, he shows how the champions of the official theory are guilty of precisely what they accuse the alternative theorists of doing: cherry-picking, omitting and distorting.

The NORAD tapes likely involve distortion, as their version is corroborated by no one but themselves. All news reports and personal anecdotes from the time run to the contrary of what the tapes allegedly reveal.

Popular Mechanics engages in all of the negative traits. Here is but one example: Omission. They claim that no one could have imagined what would happen if a large jetliner slammed into the building. They omit the crucial words of one of the chief architects of the towers. He said: "There would be a huge fire, and massive damage, and a lot of people would be killed, but in the end, the structure would still be there."

The above is just one of countless omissions and distortions in the Popular Mechanics book. Griffin's latest volume is especially important for balance in libraries and the like, because many major institutions, such as the BBC and the History Channel, not to mention the U.S. Government's own State Department website page, continue to cite Popular Mechanics as the final answer to debunking "9/11 conspiracy theories." This book is the REAL conspiracy theory debunker.

Excellent Read.......2007-09-26

I loved this book. David Ray Griffin has a lot to say and every bit of it is presented cogently and clearly. He sticks to the facts and adheres to the scientific method. In defending himself and other "conspiracy theorists," he presents an excellent case showing that documents presented to the American public as the "official story of 9/11" rely on two main methods to present their cases: cherry picking of evidence that bolsters the official story, and complete omission of evidence that doesn't.

The backers of the official story would like you to believe that people who believe in conspiracy theories are nut cases. But David Ray Griffin points out that the official story itself is a conspiracy theory. Therefore, the only real question is this: Who were the participants in the conspiracy? This book presents a very strong case that participants included top American officials and members of the Big Business elite. But that's only the case presented by the facts. There's also the case presented by a few of the "really good looking facts." Take your pick.

Logical, rational, and undeniable.......2007-09-17

Griffin's book is a devastating critique not only of the government's story regarding the events of 9/11, but also of the official defenders of that story. It it this book that finally convinced me beyond all doubt that the official story isn't only suspicious, but utterly absurd. I would strongly encourage anyone with even a mild interest in the events of 9/11 to read this book. Dr. Griffin cites strong evidence (with mountains of useful and accessible references) and uses basic logic and fundamental physics to dismantle the (as Griffin terms it) "official conspiracy theory". While there still may not be any solid proof about precisely what DID happen on that day, Griffin succeeds spectacularly in proving what did not. I would without any hesitation recommend this book to anyone, especially those who do not understand what reasons there are to question the government's version of events. Griffin's articulate, dispassionate, and intelligent arguments are very difficult to dismiss.

Average customer rating:

Terse, Quite Compelling Novel On 9/11 From Don DeLillo
Tedious Going and Very Bad
Very good, despite what many reviewers said.
"A Clear Day Gone" ... THE Definitive 9/11 Novel (for now)
A Masterpiece

Falling Man: A Novel
Don DeLillo
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1416546022
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Amazon.com

The defining moment of turn-of-the-21st-century America is perfectly portrayed in National Book Award winner Don DeLillo's Falling Man. The book takes its title from the electrifying photograph of the man who jumped or fell from the North Tower on 9/11. It also refers to a performance artist who recreates the picture. The artist straps himself into a harness and in high visibility areas jumps from an elevated structure, such as a railway overpass or a balcony, startling passersby as he hangs in the horrifying pose of the falling man.

Keith Neudecker, a lawyer and survivor of the attack, arrives on his estranged wife Lianne's doorstep, covered with soot and blood, carrying someone else's briefcase. In the days and weeks that follow, moments of connection alternate with complete withdrawl from his wife and young son, Justin. He begins a desultory affair with the owner of the briefcase based only on their shared experience of surviving: "the timeless drift of the long spiral down." Justin uses his binoculars to scan the skies with his friends, looking for "Bill Lawton" (a misunderstood version of bin Laden) and more killing planes. Lianne suddenly sees Islam everywhere: in a postcard from a friend, in a neighbor's music--and is frightened and angered by its ubiquity. She is riveted by the Falling Man. Her mother Nina's response is to break up with her long-time German lover over his ancient politics. In short, the old ways and days are gone forever; a new reality has taken over everyone's consciousness. This new way is being tried on, and it doesn't fit. Keith and Lianne weave into reconciliation. Keith becomes a professional poker player and, when questioned by Lianne about the future of this enterprise, he thinks: "There was one final thing, too self-evident to need saying. She wanted to be safe in the world and he did not."

DeLillo also tells the story of Hammad, one of the young men in flight training on the Gulf Coast, who says: "We are willing to die, they are not. This is our srength, to love death, to feel the claim of armed martyrdom." He also asks: "But does a man have to kill himself in order to accomplish something in the world?" His answer is that he is one of the hijackers on the plane that strikes the North Tower.

At the end of the book, De Lillo takes the reader into the Tower as the plane strikes the building. Through all the terror, fire and smoke, De Lillo's voice is steady as a metronome, recounting exactly what happens to Keith as he sees friends and co-workers maimed and dead, navigates the stairs and, ultimately, is saved. Though several post-9/11 novels have been written, not one of them is as compellingly true, faultlessly conceived, and beautifully written as Don De Lillo's Falling Man. --Valerie Ryan

Book Description

There is September 11 and then there are the days after, and finally the years.

Falling Man is a magnificent, essential novel about the event that defines turn-of-the-century America. It begins in the smoke and ash of the burning towers and tracks the aftermath of this global tremor in the intimate lives of a few people.

First there is Keith, walking out of the rubble into a life that he'd always imagined belonged to everyone but him. Then Lianne, his es-tranged wife, memory-haunted, trying to reconcile two versions of the same shadowy man. And their small son Justin, standing at the window, scanning the sky for more planes.

These are lives choreographed by loss, grief and the enormous force of history.

Brave and brilliant, Falling Man traces the way the events of September 11 have reconfigured our emotional landscape, our memory and our perception of the world. It is cathartic, beautiful, heartbreaking.

Customer Reviews:

Terse, Quite Compelling Novel On 9/11 From Don DeLillo.......2007-10-06

For better or for worse, a literary cottage industry has arisen in the aftermath of 9/11. This still recent horrific event - which ought to endure within the American psyche for decades, if not centuries - has become either the subject of several critically acclaimed novels, or a firmly entrenched background to the tales being spun by such gifted writers from Jonathan Safran Foer to William Gibson. Now one of the truly great writers of American fiction, Don DeLillo, has chimed in with "Falling Man"; a novel that is remarkable not only for its relative brevity, but also for delving deeply into the psyche of New Yorkers who witnessed the World Trade Center terrorist attack and are still coping with their psychological trauma years later. Quoting from its dust-jacket blurb, "Falling Man" is indeed a work of fiction that is "cathartic, beautiful and heartbreaking". Without question, it also demonstrates that DeLillo is still a worthy literary artist at the height of his creative powers; a keen observer of human nature in the wake of unspeakable tragedy. His latest novel also proves that DeLillo is an elegant storyteller delving into the lives of ordinary people who remain mentally imprisoned by the searing images and painful memories of that fateful, tragic clear blue September morning not so long ago. Without question, for these very reasons, "Falling Man" is one of the most impressive novels published this year.

DeLillo deftly weaves the narratives of three members of a rather unremarkable New York City family, whose lives remain touched forever by what they witnessed on 9/11/01; a dysfunctional American family which was tearing itself apart at the seams long before that September morning. We meet Keith as he stumbles through the grayish ash blizzard of building debris and human remains, soon after the collapse of the first World Trade Center building to fall, his face splattered by glass fragments and blood, pressing northward on foot towards Canal Street. Years later his estranged wife Lianne remains in a psychotherapy support group, reliving the grim memories of that day, recalling Keith's unexpected arrival at the Upper East Side apartment of herself and their young son Justin, whose hobby is to stare out of apartment windows, searching the skies with a pair of binoculars for more airplanes crashing into tall buildings like the World Trade Center towers. But is it really a hobby, or rather a phobia, brought on by witnessing the terrorist attacks from the window of a young friend's apartment not far from the World Trade Center? DeLillo's literary ambitions are so vast, that he takes us to an Afghanistan Al-Qaeda training camp, and to Germany, allowing his audience to reside inside the mind of one of the 9/11 hijackers, right up to the final fateful moments of the terrorist's life. But this is an excursion that deflects from, not enhances, the powerful narratives he's created for his three main protagonists, and one that remains a rather facile effort in trying to explain the psychological motivation of one of the nineteen Al Qaeda hijackers. It is also an effort that makes this figure sympathetic to the reader, as if his blind adherence to Islamofascism is one worthy of pithy; an effort that others, most notably John Updike, have handled far better.

Tedious Going and Very Bad.......2007-09-27

This book was like reading a loosely put together collection of stories of how 9/11 affected a husband, his estranged wife, their child (the kid), and others. The characters are hard to connect with and even harder to keep straight. DeLillo jumps from charcter to character with the ease of a jackhammer and the charcters are not at all interesting. Even the eventual story of the main character's escape from the Twin Towers was anticlimatic. All in all this is a book that tries, and fails miserably, at capturing our thoughts about that fateful day and the reactions we had to it. I found myself struggling to finish this book and would not recommend it to anyone.

Very good, despite what many reviewers said........2007-09-14

If you read any mainstream reviews about this book you got the distinct impression that it was sort of a dud. I could not disagree more.

I often struggle with what I call "period fiction," in which the author tries to encapsulate the feelings/mood of a perticular period/event through fiction. However, this book had me in its first pages. DeLillo does a terrific job of conveying the sort of numb anger that many of us felt along with the "now what" questions that we were left asking.

This is one of those books that you may read and enjoy but I did not truly appreciate how good it was until a few days after I had finished it and allowed my brain to process what I had just read. It was then that I began to think that this was one of the best books I had picked up in a long time.

For me, this book is a must read for anyone but especially if you are in that 18-34 age group, for which 9/11 is likely to be one of the major events of our lives. I suspect this is how many children of the Cold War felt when they read "Underworld." Kudos to Delillo for doing such a great job at capturing the emotion of such an event.

"A Clear Day Gone" ... THE Definitive 9/11 Novel (for now).......2007-09-13

FALLING MAN is an unorthodox yet compelling novel of 9/11 and its immediate aftermath. DeLillo tells the story primarily through the eyes of protagonist Keith, a survivor who walked out of the World Trade Center that fateful morning with minimal injuries but sizable emotional scars. Plot lines follow his strained relationship with his estranged wife, a dalliance with another World Trade Center survivor whose briefcase he retrieves and a growing obsession with poker.

Parallel to this is a depiction of the Islamic "martyrs" who eventually hijacked the planes on their way to presumed Paradise. A recurring motif is a performance artist known as "Falling Man," who at random points throughout New York City pantomimes falls from buildings and structures as the essence of his "art."

If it sounds strange, it is, but oddly compelling nonetheless. The characters' dialogue is odd but weirdly believable.

On this sixth anniversary of 9/11, FALLING MAN prompts us to think of what meaning we invest in that experience. Perhaps there will be many more novels to come about that fateful Tuesday, but DeLillo has staked a claim for now to THE definitive 9/11 story.

A Masterpiece.......2007-09-09

An emotional, breathtaking work that captures 9/11 and it's aftermath superbly. In Delillo's masterful style there is amazing insight into what it was truly like for those who survived the nightmare. It also addresses the lack of emotional connection between people before the tragedy and how the human heart both fears and needs closeness with others. Simply a masterpiece. Delillo is one of our greatest living novelists.

Average customer rating:

I couldn't put it down!!!
greatness again....
one of my favorite books ever!
Modern day prodigal son story
Perfect title and theme. Perfect novel...

Return (Redemption Series, Book 3)
Karen Kingsbury , and Gary Smalley
Manufacturer: Tyndale House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0842382895

Book Description

The Redemption series won Christian Retailing's 2005 Retailer's Choice Award for Best Series!

This touching novel reunites readers with the Baxter family and focuses on the only Baxter son, Luke. He is determined to leave his faith and his past behind and embrace a new, free-thinking future. But what he doesn't realize is that his past holds a secret even he doesn't know. When Luke finds out, his comfortable new life is turned upside down, and he must turn back to his roots.

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Customer Reviews:

I couldn't put it down!!!.......2007-07-09

This is my 4th Karen Kingsbury book and I cannot get enough. This book was so good I was done reading it in 2 days and I probably would have finished it sooner if not for my kids. Super read, can't wait to get the next one!!!

greatness again...........2007-01-10

Loved it....lives up to what I have come to expect of Karen Kingsbury.

one of my favorite books ever!.......2006-10-24

Return is the 3rd book in Karen Kingsbury's Redemtion series. This book is mainly focused on Luke, the Baxter's only son, straying from God after some traumatic events, including 9/11. He rejected his Faith, his family, and the girl he loved. Instead he turned to a life leading to destruction, and he messed with a false religion--freethinking. "Freethinking meant he could avoid his family if he wanted to. According to freethinking, whatever thought he went with was the right one." "Luke's life was strange and dark and empty and alone." This book is a heart-wrenching story of a family's love and devotion to one another through thick and thin. It makes you feel like you are living life right alongside the Baxter family. Karen Kingsbury does an amazing job of getting the reader involved in the book--you won't be able to set it down!

Modern day prodigal son story.......2006-01-28

Return is the 3rd in the Redemption Series, following Redemption and Remember. Return focuses on the Baxters' son Luke. He becomes "disenchanted" with God and turns 180 degrees from the values of his family. As always, the interactions between the Baxter family members not only make an engaging story, but also teach the reader the importance of trusing God. This is my favorite series of all time, and I do read constantly! It evokes strong emotions in the reader, because there is bound to be someone's behavior or some life situation that really hits home. It is a book you'll never forget! Buy the entire Redemtion Series at once so that you won't have to pause between books. Here they are in order: Redemption, Remember, Return, Rejoice, and Reunion. And even after that there is a spinoff series that promises to be just as rewarding: the Firstborn Series, also involving the Baxter family but with some new characters and situations--outstanding!

Perfect title and theme. Perfect novel..........2005-09-09

I can't believe how true to life the issues are that the author's characters' deal with in her novels. No pain is sidestepped. No pat answers are offered. True healing and forgiveness are experienced. Consequences of sin are suffered. This is real life with a whole lot of hope. The resolutions made sense and weren't easy fixes. I got choked up nearly as often with this book as I did Remember. Also, I read the entire novel in two days (around working my full time job.) Wonderful read. I especially loved the contrast between liberal thinking and true faith. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Amazing Record of an Important Part of Our History
Amazing collection of photographs by a very gifted photographer
A True Memorial
Excellent Documentary
Incredible 9-11 Photos!!

Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive
Joel Meyerowitz
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0714846554

Book Description

For 9 months, during the day and night, Meyerowitz photographed "the pile," as the World Trade Center came to be known, and the over 800 people a day that were working in it. Influenced by Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange's work for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression, he knew that if he didn't make a photographic record of the unprecedented recovery efforts, "there would be no history."

Sept. 23. Assembled panorama of the site from the World Financial Center, looking east. (All images copyright Joel Meyerowitz from Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive (Phaidon).

Sept. 25. The south wall of the South Tower.
Oct. 11. An FDNY rescue team resting on Liberty Street.

Nov. 8. Spotters in the South Tower.
May 1. Ralph and Paul Geidel waiting for a fresh raking field.

Marking the 5th anniversary of September 11th, Phaidon Press has published this extraordinary new book AFTERMATH: THE WORLD TRADE CENTER ARCHIVE with photographs and text by Joel Meyerowitz, which will feature, for the first time, the vast collection of Meyerowitz's previously unpublished photos from Ground Zero along with the engaging account of his experience in his own words. This historic publication is the only existing photographic record of the monumental recovery efforts post-9/11.

From portraits of the people he met to the accidental beauty of the ruins at dusk, AFTERMATH features 400 breathtaking color photographs, many taken with a large format camera. Bronx-born Meyerowitz brings his trademark sensitivity, intelligence and eye for beauty to these poignant images that will hold an important place in American history.

AFTERMATH brings to life the tireless determination of the scores of individuals who assisted in the clean-up process, including construction workers, police officers, firefighters, welders or "burners," engineers, crane operators and volunteers. Presented on a monumental scale, and interspersed with fascinating stories, the book documents the transformation of the site chronologically from piles of devastation to an empty pit six stories below ground. This landmark book offers current and future generations the opportunity to finally travel inside a forbidden city where thousands were brought together by a common cause.

"I was taking pictures for everyone who didn't have access to the site," says Meyerowitz in AFTERMATH, "so I decided to work with a large-format wooden view camera. This camera was impossible to hide, but it enabled me to make images of the fullest description, with a sense of deep space. I wanted to communicate what it felt like to be in there as well as what it looked like: to show the pile's incredible intricacy and visceral power.... I could provide a window for everyone else who wanted to be there, too--to help, or to grieve, or simply to try to understand what had happened to our city."

The World Trade Center Archive, consisting of thousands of Meyerowitz's images, is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of the City of New York where it is available for research, exhibition and publication. For the past few years, a small selection of these photographs was featured in an exhibition, "After September 11: Images from Ground Zero," which traveled to more than 200 cities in 60 countries, reaching over 3.5 million people.

Book Description

After September 11th, 2001, the Ground Zero site in New York City was classified as a crime scene and only those directly involved in the recovery efforts were allowed inside. The press was also prohibited from the site, but with the help of the Museum of the City of New York and sympathetic city officials, award-winning photographer Joel Meyerowitz managed to obtain unlimited access. By ingenuity and sheer determination, he was the only photographer granted unimpeded right of entry into Ground Zero.For 9 months, during the day and night, Meyerowitz photographed "the pile," as the World Trade Center came to be known, and the over 800 people a day that were working in it. Influenced by Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange's work for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression, he knew that if he didn't make a photographic record of the unprecedented recovery efforts, "there would be no history."Sept. 23. Assembled panorama of the site from the World Financial Center, looking east. (All images copyright Joel Meyerowitz from Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive (Phaidon).Sept. 25. The south wall of the South Tower. Oct. 11. An FDNY rescue team resting on Liberty Street.Nov. 8. Spotters in the South Tower. May 1. Ralph and Paul Geidel waiting for a fresh raking field. Marking the 5th anniversary of September 11th, Phaidon Press has published this extraordinary new book AFTERMATH: THE WORLD TRADE CENTER ARCHIVE with photographs and text by Joel Meyerowitz, which will feature, for the first time, the vast collection of Meyerowitz's previously unpublished photos from Ground Zero along with the engaging account of his experience in his own words. This historic publication is the only existing photographic record of the monumental recovery efforts post-9/11.From portraits of the people he met to the accidental beauty of the ruins at dusk, AFTERMATH features 400 breathtaking color photographs, many taken with a large format camera. Bronx-born Meyerowitz brings his trademark sensitivity, intelligence and eye for beauty to these poignant images that will hold an important place in American history.AFTERMATH brings to life the tireless determination of the scores of individuals who assisted in the clean-up process, including construction workers, police officers, firefighters, welders or "burners," engineers, crane operators and volunteers. Presented on a monumental scale, and interspersed with fascinating stories, the book documents the transformation of the site chronologically from piles of devastation to an empty pit six stories below ground. This landmark book offers current and future generations the opportunity to finally travel inside a forbidden city where thousands were brought together by a common cause."I was taking pictures for everyone who didn't have access to the site," says Meyerowitz in AFTERMATH, "so I decided to work with a large-format wooden view camera. This camera was impossible to hide, but it enabled me to make images of the fullest description, with a sense of deep space. I wanted to communicate what it felt like to be in there as well as what it looked like: to show the pile's incredible intricacy and visceral power.... I could provide a window for everyone else who wanted to be there, too--to help, or to grieve, or simply to try to understand what had happened to our city."The World Trade Center Archive, consisting of thousands of Meyerowitz's images, is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of the City of New York where it is available for research, exhibition and publication. For the past few years, a small selection of these photographs was featured in an exhibition, "After September 11: Images from Ground Zero," which traveled to more than 200 cities in 60 countries, reaching over 3.5 million people.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing Record of an Important Part of Our History.......2007-10-08

Meyerowitz his taken a step out of his usual repetoire in making these remarkable photographs. He has provided us with a devastating and incredibly imporant record of all that transpired in the Aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy. We have been staurated with images of the event itself; what we see here is the heroic and painstaking recovery work that followed.

Amazing collection of photographs by a very gifted photographer.......2007-07-14

I first saw photographs from this collection at the Museum of Modern Art in Salzburg, Austria. Anyone who entered the gallery was immediately struck by a panorama of ground zero on one wall, each emitting an audible gasp, then standing before it for several minutes in silence. Meyerowitz is an extremely gifted photgrapher, and I recommend other of his collections for viewing. Cape Light: Color Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz, Tuscany: Inside the Light: Inside the Light (Photography). The "Aftermath" collection is the only archive of the activities following 9/11 at ground zero, and it is quite moving. Meyerowitz had access to many vantage points to capture for posterity the many facets of ground zero and this tragic event in our history. Viewing these photos takes time and thought, as Meyerowitz has also included brief descriptions and stories about each photograph. You will be struck by many emotions, sadness, anger, shock, and awe. But, there is an eeriness and a beauty, as well as hope in these photographs, inspired by the photographer's exquisite eye for detail, composition, lines, faces, and light. Photographers, professional and amateur alike, will deeply appreciate and learn from these aspects. Anyone to whom I have shown this book has been as immensely moved as I, from the UPS driver who delivered the package, to my father, a refugee of WWII, who still cannot speak easily of the events of 9/11. This book is highly recommended as an addition for one's library.

A True Memorial.......2007-04-13

Aftermath represents the efforts of Joel Meyerowitz to document the destruction and cleanup of the World Trade Center following 9/11. This is a beefy coffee table book that is large enough to give his photos some real impact. Unlike most photo essays, however, you won't find hundreds of beautiful images. After a couple of pages show what New York's skyline once looked like, you are confronted by image after image of the horrific destruction of these huge landmarks. There are also many instances where we see the people who worked the cleanup site. Many of these are the most moving images as you can imagine the emotions that sometimes overcame these men and women who were there every day for months on end.

In addition to the photos, Mr. Meyerowitz also shares some anecdotes about what he went through to get these photos. He also talks about some of the people he met. I found these stories at least as powerful as his words. Most Americans were obviously distraught by the events of that day, but most of us were also able to start moving on with our lives and slowly put it behind us. But these people were there on the ground confronting the effects for months. Recovering bodies and personal objects, as well as being asked by survivors to put mementos on the pile of rubble as little memorials to their lost loved ones.

This is not the happiest book you can buy. It doesn't have the prettiest photos or the most elegant prose. But it may be the most worthwhile book I've ever purchased. I would urge everyone to buy a copy and read it cover to cover.

Excellent Documentary.......2007-03-28

I have other books on the 9/11 disaster but this is by far the most comprehensive. The photographs are excellent. The price was reasonable for the quality.

Incredible 9-11 Photos!!.......2007-03-04

Of all the books on the aftermath of 9-11, this is absolutely the best ever!! These photographs are stunning and capture all of the remaining structures at Ground Zero. This is the most comprehensive book I have seen to date. I highly recommend it.

All American: Why I Believe in Football, God, and the War in Iraq

Average customer rating:

a moron for the ages
Autobiography and Apologetic
RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "YOU AND I ARE THE "ALL-AMERICAN'S" THAT CAPTAIN McGOVERN IS TALKING ABOUT!"
Extraordinary
I wanted to like this book, but...

All American: Why I Believe in Football, God, and the War in Iraq
Robert Mcgovern
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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On Call In Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story
A General Speaks Out: The Truth About the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
Don't Tread on Me: A 400-Year History of America at War, from Indian Fighting to Terrorist Hunting
The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World
The Enemy At Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11

ASIN: 0061227854
Release Date: 2007-02-20

Book Description

First and foremost, this is virtually an exclusive story that few media outlets or the American public know about. Hard to believe when you read the below summary, but lucky for us:

In addition to being the vehicle for the author to become a major media force in the national debate on the war, this remarkable memoir will introduce the public to Captain Robert McGovern's inspirational rise as a boy who was one of nine children who rose to become a New Jersey high school football phenom and then a major NFL star as a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the New England Patriots. Following this success, McGovern chose to leave football and receive his law degree from Fordham University in order to work in the New York City district attorney's office in the late 90s. Subsequently, he was a witness of the WTC attack on New York, which led to his decision to leave public life and join the U.S. Army as a prosecuting attorney for the military, resulting last year in his conviction (and death penalty sentencing) of the Middle Eastern but American–born Army Sergeant Hasan Akbar, who threw live grenades into the commissary tent of his fellow soldiers fighting the war in Kuwait.

Customer Reviews:

a moron for the ages.......2007-09-23

This simpleton of a jerk-off & his ilk are EXACTLY what is wrong with my country. I cannot f+cking wait to leave this country & never return. Enjoy your fascism.

Autobiography and Apologetic.......2007-09-20

Several reviews I have read have come down hard on the author for his stand on the war in Iraq. But this is his autobiography, the story of his life, and his opinion of the war is just one part of it. It is a well-written account of his childhood, his family, his education and his aspirations, and continues into his adulthood to the present time. He lets us know how he was trained by his parents to be unselfish and give back to the community some form of service, and this was undoubtedly the motivation for joining the Army Reserve, and eventually finding himself on active duty in Iraq.

A good part of his story comes before that. He was competing with his older brothers in athletics, trying to be as good as they had been in high school football, and then in college football. He received an athletic scholarship from Holy Cross, an enormous accomplishment in his eyes, and he was grateful for the opportunity. And then came pro football, four years of it on three different teams. He was pretty good at it, but not outstanding. He simply was not big enough (hefty, bulky) to be a great linebacker. He was thankful for this chance to make the big league, but took the advice of one of his coaches to give it up. From there he decided to study law and with his law degree took a job as an Assistant DA in New York City. Then came 9/11, to which he was an eyewitness. In his role as a US Army Reserve officer he volunteered to help. Immediately following, he applied for active duty, leaving his job as assistant DA, and became a prosecutor for the Judge Advocate General Corps, and then deployed to Afghanistan and later to Iraq. His experiences there were extraordinary because he was involved in the trial of Hasan Akbar, the US Army Sergeant who killed two Army officers and wounded a number of others when he threw hand grenades into the tents of the soldiers.

This is a well-written account of the life of a man who became a soldier in the US Army. Why would anyone find it strange that he has strong opinions in favor of the war in Iraq ? It is his contention that we are there as part of the war on terrorism. The patriotic feeling that he had on 9/11 was something that almost all of us shared at that time. For him it continued; for many of us it disappeared.

Should we still be in Iraq? That is a matter for debate, which has been ongoing for some time now. Captain McGovern feels that we are making a difference, and that is why we are still there.

This book is certainly worth reading, if only to gain some insight from a different perspective.

RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "YOU AND I ARE THE "ALL-AMERICAN'S" THAT CAPTAIN McGOVERN IS TALKING ABOUT!".......2007-07-25

The life story of Captain Robert McGovern, is almost "Forrest Gump" like. Rob is one of nine Irish Catholic children, born to Howard and Terry McGovern in New Jersey. Though born in New Jersey, if I were to describe his morals, character, and upbringing, I would describe it in the highest of terms, that most Americans would consider as "mid-western". One of the many, emotionally uplifting themes in this book, is the absolute, enduring, love, and respect, that Rob, constantly proclaims for his parents. He was raised from the beginning, to have high goals, and his older brothers got football scholarships to Holy Cross, as Rob also did later on, but with less fanfare. Just as importantly, he and his siblings were raised to "service" the community. To give something back, and Rob continued this process in college at Holy Cross and while in the National Football League, with outreach programs. When Rob graduated college, no one gave him a chance of making it in the NFL. But he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs, as an undersized, underdog, linebacker, and special team's player. He lasted a few years with numerous teams, making the most of his non-star ability. The way he accomplished this, is with dogged, determination and dedication. To quote Rob: "Being the best at what you do has to be more important to you than partying or chasing girls or hanging out with your buddies. It has to be worth sacrificing the comforts and pleasures of an undirected life and replacing them with long hours of sweat and tears. In football, it also helps to be one tough character." At the end of Rob's short NFL career, he attended law school, and upon graduation, became an assistant D.A. in Manhattan. In keeping with his personal goal, of giving service to his community/country, he also joined the Army Reserves.

Then, on the forever-fateful day, of September 11, 2001, Rob was on the way to work in Manhattan, when he saw the smoke, and the planes, at the World Trade Center. He couldn't get to work, so he went home and put on the TV, and heard an announcement, that military men were needed at "ground-zero" to help look for bodies. Even though he was in the reserves, he donned his uniform, and went to "ground-zero", and helped recover the remains of victims for days. Rob, happened to be there, when President Bush arrived, and shook the Commander In Chief's hand, and was so moved, he decided he wanted to go on active duty and help America fight back. Because Rob was 38 years old, they wouldn't let him go on active duty. He persisted in every way possible, and was finally accepted as a Judge Advocate General. (JAG) He proceeded to go to Afghanistan and Iraq and assisted in "Rules Of Engagement" (ROE) enforcement. From there, he went in to criminal prosecution. He wound up on the successful prosecution team, that convicted Sergeant Hasan Akbar, probably the worst, United States Military criminal, in the last 30-40 years. To refresh your memory, Akbar, was the traitor, who the night before, we were going to launch Operation Iraqi Freedom, attacked his comrades, with grenades and small-arms fire. He wounded more than a dozen troops. Two were dead.

There is much more, to the life story, of a man who loves his country, loves his family, loves God, and has dedicated his life to enforcing freedom throughout the world, but let me conclude my review, by having Rob tell you why he named his book "All American". "You might wonder about the use of "All-American" in the title. First of all, let me say off the bat that I'm not talking about myself here. What is an "All-American" anyway? I've met some real "All-Americans- quiet, unassuming, heroic people who inspire students, protect us from crime, and defend our values. They are "All-American" in every sense of the phrase. I chose this title in part to pay tribute to these "All-American", I've been lucky enough to meet and work with through the years. I also chose it to pay special tribute to the men and women of our armed forces, especially those in the 82nd Airborne Division. That famous unit happens to be called the All-American Division."

Extraordinary.......2007-06-08

An extraordinary account of one good man standing tall for the best of American values.

I wanted to like this book, but..........2007-04-29

I am also a Captain in the Army, so I was excited to come across a written account of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan written by one of my peers. I thought this book would be interesting and relevant to my own experiences in Iraq. However, I was very quickly disappointed by the book's one-sidedness and lack of insight.

One of McGovern's main themes is that the positive stories from Iraq and Afghanistan are seldom reported, while violence and strife always make the nightly news. While there is truth to this, McGovern takes the opposite approach to the extreme. He cites children waving at soldiers and Iraqis voting as proof that US policies in Iraq are working and progress is being made, but he completely ignores any and all evidence to the contrary (worsening violence, Iraqi political ineffectiveness, millions of refugees fleeing the country, a steady decline of electricity and other services, children throwing rocks, etc).

By far, the biggest flaw in this book is that McGovern never addresses or acknowledges the negative impact of having an occupying army living and operating for years within a civilian population. In the effort to catch the terrorists, soldiers kick in doors, round up detainees, seize and destroy private property, create collateral damage and civilian deaths, etc. These are the unavoidable side effects of fighting a war. Add to that the unscrupulous actions of the soldiers at Abu Ghraib and Haditha, and you'll find that the longer we stay, the less popular we become, and the more support the insurgency receives from the local population. A recent poll indicated that over half of Iraqis now support attacks against American soldiers. By ignoring half of the issue, McGovern abandons a reasoned, balanced appraisal in favor of blind ideology and wishful thinking.

I haven't mentioned McGovern's career in the NFL or as an attorney, because the autobiographical aspect of this book is actually rather secondary to his promotion of US policy in executing the War on Terror. In this regard, none of his points are new, original, or insightful. Conservative ideology is haphazardly sprinkled throughout the book whether or not it is relevant to the ongoing story. For example, here is a quote from the NFL portion: "Of course, the hate [Vince] Lombardi was talking about was the football kind, not the hate that drives people to fly airplanes into buildings." By the time you reach the end of the book, it starts to sound like a White House press release from 2003. If you are primarily looking for a good inside account of the NFL, life in Iraq/Afghanistan, or the DA's office, this isn't the right book for you. If you're hells bells behind the war in Iraq and want to read something you're sure to agree with, then you might want to pick this up.

Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil

Average customer rating:

A must read!
Good, yet I'm not totally convinced
Wake up - be alert - question
Excellent analysis of the evidence available
There should be a million more books like this on the shelves.

Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil
Michael C. Ruppert
Manufacturer: New Society Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Reference | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

September 11 | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11
9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA, Fourth Edition
The Party's Over: Oil, War And The Fate Of Industrial Societies
The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions And Distortions
PowerDown: Options And Actions For A Post-Carbon World

ASIN: 0865715408

Book Description

The attacks of September 11, 2001 were accomplished through an amazing orchestration of logistics and personnel. Crossing the Rubicon discovers and identifies key suspects - finding some of them in the highest echelons of American government - by showing how they acted in concert to guarantee that the attacks produced the desired result.

Crossing the Rubicon is unique not only for its case-breaking examination of 9/11, but for the breadth and depth of its world picture - an interdisciplinary analysis of petroleum, geopolitics, narco-traffic, intelligence and militarism - without which 9/11 cannot be understood.

The US manufacturing sector has been mostly replaced by speculation on financial data whose underlying economic reality is a dark secret. Hundreds of billions of dollars in laundered drug money flow through Wall Street each year from opium and coca fields maintained by CIA-sponsored warlords and US-backed covert paramilitary violence. America's global dominance depends on a continually turning mill of guns, drugs, oil and money. Oil and natural gas - the fuels that make economic growth possible - are subsidized by American military force and foreign lending.

In reality, 9/11 and the resulting "War on Terror" are parts of a massive authoritarian response to an emerging economic crisis of unprecedented scale. Peak Oil - the beginning of the end for our industrial civilization - is driving the elites of American power to implement unthinkably draconian measures of repression, warfare and population control. Crossing the Rubicon is more than a story. It is a map of the perilous terrain through which, together and alone, we are all now making our way.

Customer Reviews:

A must read!.......2007-08-05

A timely revelation of facts and events that the lamestream media has conveniently omitted. Much of what we hear in the news makes no sense in the backdrop of what we see from the misleading perpectives of the "right " or left" , but this book explains the process behind much of what is going on. Being aware of the government's role in 9/11as described by Ruppert and watching the constant consolidation of power by the administration enables one to predict with some certainty the future: decreasing oil supplies not meeting population demands, resource wars (the imminent Iranian attack) to maintain our lifestyle, massive population declines as oil-based food production drops dramatically, and the imposition of martial law over an increasingly pacified Congress and "terror-conditioned" population.

Good, yet I'm not totally convinced.......2007-06-28

There is an overwhelming amount of more than just circumstantial evidence here that our goverment aided the 9-11 attacks. As for peak oil being the prime motive, I don't know, if that were the case, wouldn't the world have unraveled even more by now? In any case, it was also entertaining, not your father's conspiracy theory. If Thomas Malthus, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, and Oliver Stone got together to write a book, this would be the result.

Wake up - be alert - question.......2007-06-19

Riveting, provoking and disturbing are the three adjectives for Crossing the Rubicon. It is a page turner, filled with fascinating details about 9/11, the CIA and our government. Surely, for the truth seeker, this book is captivating.

Be alert, sober and a critical thinker. Be willing to question all that you learned...for things are not as they appear...or what we have been indoctrinated to believe.

Read the book.

Also, take a look at Catherine Austin Fitts' website solari dot com

Excellent analysis of the evidence available .......2007-06-12

This is a well done researched book that taps into the Official 9/11 Commission Report myth. Who was behind 9/11, what prompted it, and what was the purpose and consequences for the US political process. The books delineates in detail the CIA's involvement with the drug trade and arming foreign guerillas to meet their own needs and their involvement with events leading up to 9/11 along with the FBI, Military Industrial Complex, and Wall St. This detective journalism at its best. If you ever wanted to know what and who was REALLY behind 9/11, I highly recommend this book. It is quite extensive with lots of hard factual information. If you are looking for stats like the guy below, this is not for you. Instead, the book acts like a "connect the dots puzzle" that flows consistently throughout the book. I think this will seriously change how you view the US political and governmental system.

There should be a million more books like this on the shelves........2007-06-12

This books absolutely blew me away. I don't even know what else to say.

Ruppert argues his case in the book as if presenting to jury. The only defense to the book's logical conclusion is that Cheney and Co. weren't cross examined; but since the Administration refused at all cost the 9/11 Commission's establishment and their own sworn testimony before it, that's about all the proof we need of their treason.

READ THE BOOK. Read the 9/11 commission report, and then Whiteout (by Cockburn and St. Clair) and every other expose of CIA drug dealing and covert terrorism in alliance with Nazis and neo-Nazis...I mean, neo-conservatives. You'll be convinced, if you can handle it that is.

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001

Average customer rating:

a fine place to start at understanding 9/11
issues to be informed about......
Unbeliveable history of Afghanistan
Ghost Wars
Long telling

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
Steve Coll
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Afghanistan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

Central Asia | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

Russia | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Conspiracy Theories | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism
Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude
Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times
Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror
Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander

ASIN: 0143034669

Amazon.com

Steve Coll's Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 offers revealing details of the CIA's involvement in the evolution of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the years before the September 11 attacks. From the beginning, Coll shows how the CIA's on-again, off-again engagement with Afghanistan after the end of the Soviet war left officials at Langley with inadequate resources and intelligence to appreciate the emerging power of the Taliban. He also demonstrates how Afghanistan became a deadly playing field for international politics where Soviet, Pakistani, and U.S. agents armed and trained a succession of warring factions. At the same time, the book, though opinionated, is not solely a critique of the agency. Coll balances accounts of CIA failures with the success stories, like the capture of Mir Amal Kasi. Coll, managing editor for the Washington Post, covered Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992. He demonstrates unprecedented access to records of White House meetings and to formerly classified material, and his command of Saudi, Pakistani, and Afghani politics is impressive. He also provides a seeming insider's perspective on personalities like George Tenet, William Casey, and anti-terrorism czar, Richard Clarke ("who seemed to wield enormous power precisely because hardly anyone knew who he was or what exactly he did for a living"). Coll manages to weave his research into a narrative that sometimes has the feel of a Tom Clancy novel yet never crosses into excess. While comprehensive, Coll's book may be hard going for those looking for a direct account of the events leading to the 9-11 attacks. The CIA's 1998 engagement with bin Laden as a target for capture begins a full two-thirds of the way into Ghost Wars, only after a lengthy march through developments during the Carter, Reagan, and early Clinton Presidencies. But this is not a critique of Coll's efforts; just a warning that some stamina is required to keep up. Ghost Wars is a complex study of intelligence operations and an invaluable resource for those seeking a nuanced understanding of how a small band of extremists rose to inflict incalculable damage on American soil. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

To what extent did America's best intelligence analysts grasp the rising threat of Islamist radicalism? Who tried to stop bin Laden and why did they fail? Comprehensively and for the first time, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll recounts the history of the covert wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and sowed the seeds of the September 11 attacks. Based on scrupulous research and firsthand accounts by key government, intelligence, and military personnel both foreign and American, Coll details the secret history of the CIA's role in Afghanistan, the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of bin Laden, and the failed efforts by U.S. forces to find and assassinate bin Laden in Afghanistan.

Customer Reviews:

a fine place to start at understanding 9/11.......2007-09-30

on 9/12/2001 i figured that i should take a stab at getting a better picture in my head of the political turbulence that storms through the middle east. but i'm a lazy person. and such an undertaking seemed a chore. i have enough chores in my life, so i procrastinated. i bought a small stack of books on the topic over the years, but they only served to make me feel bad, because i really didn't want to read any of them. but this month, about 6 years later than it should have been, i took the plunge. I picked up steve coll's "Ghost Wars," and started reading the thing. well, lo and behold it was not a chore at all. the first 475 pages flew by with ease, pulling me along eagerly. mr coll builds a narrative momentum here, while threading complex strands of people, countries and events into a coherent whole, that is superlative. his portrait of the saudi, afganistan, and pakistani governments, and their interactions with the united states government was particularly well done and fascinating. my only complaint (and the reason i give this book 4 stars instead of 5) is that after the bombing of our warship in yemen by bin laden's group, the narrative suddenly grinds to a halt and becomes bogged down in about a hundred pages of overly detailed description relating to unsuccessful plots to get bin laden himself. since we all know that bin laden was not caught, this long stretch of failed planning simply takes up too much space at the end of the book, and is not all that interesting. that said, by all means read this book for the excitement and enlightenment cast in the first 475 pages or so. i believe this book to be about as good a place to start as any for someone looking to better understand the road that led us to 9/11.

issues to be informed about.............2007-09-23

Interesting. A must read. I hope Mr. Coll writes the next segment of Afghanistan's history from September 11, 2001 onward.

The book covers a lot of ground and is lengthy, but is well written and reads quickly. Coll outlines the people and policies (or, the lack thereof) from the Soviet chapter in Afghanistan until the day before September 11, 2001. Throughout the historical narrative, the book covers and addresses scary amounts of money flowing in and out of Afghanistan, the conflicts between the CIA, the State Dept. and other U.S. agencies/policymakers in addressing issues related to Afghanistan, the Taleban, Al Q, and Bin Laden, and who understood what and when related to Al Q, Bin Laden, et al. Coll also critically addresses the roles of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in U.S. policy considerations, and those countries policies toward Afghanistan/knowledge of Al Q and Bin Laden.

Beyond the headlines, I was not very well informed on the history of Afghanistan. This book will bring the reader up to speed very quickly.

Unbeliveable history of Afghanistan.......2007-08-17

Don't be scared away by the 600+ pages. It flows freely and is really a riviting historical read. It provides quite a narrative on the history of this area and the difficult political and military situations that the US, Pakistan, Soviet Union and other influcencal Middle East countries had in this area of the world..

Ghost Wars.......2007-07-14

Ghost Wars is an account of U.S. assistance to the mujahedin during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and U.S. attempts to curtail Osama bin Laden's influence. Ghost Wars focuses on the CIA but author Steve Coll, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who covered Afghanistan for the Washington Post between 1989 and 1992, also covers the interagency policy making process in Washington.

The U.S. policy of helping the mujahedin in Afghanistan harass and ultimately defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan was, of course, a success. U.S. officials realized that the contending forces in Afghanistan were unlikely to form a unified national government after the Soviet's departure, but the United States was in Afghanistan to hurt the Soviet Union, not to build a new nation in Afghanistan. U.S. assistance efforts in Afghanistan were advanced by two allies, in particular, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Coll argues that, while the allies' interests coincided in containing Soviet expansion, U.S. interests were hurt by the efforts of Pakistan's intelligence service (the ISI) to strengthen radical Islamists after the Soviet collapse in Afghanistan and by Saudi Arabia's unwillingness to confront radical Islamists at home and in Afghanistan.

Coll criticizes U.S. policy in Afghanistan on several grounds. First, the United States relied heavily on the ISI to deliver assistance to the mujahedin, despite the ISI's preference for radical jihadists. Second, the United States' reliance on Saudi oil made it too hard for the United States to confront its ally over terrorism policies. Third, the United States missed opportunities to engage India as a democratic ally in South Asia. Fourth, the United States failed to develop "a strategy for engagement, democratization, secular education, and economic development among the peaceful but demoralized populations of the Islamic world."

U.S. policy toward bin Laden, in particular, could also be criticized for a lack of coherence. Coll's narrative describes a reluctance to give unambiguous instructions to kill bin Laden, even though capturing him alive would have been nearly impossible. Numerous opportunities arose to attack bin Laden but policymakers always demurred because they were reluctant to offend other governments or risk civilian deaths. At one point, referring to bin Laden, CIA director George Tenet announces that "We are at war," but the resources and single-minded determination that this announcement implies never materialized.

Long telling.......2007-06-14

This book is very long in reading. It does not follow any folw to be seen but jumps around. It is informative on a historical view however, to get to the few usfull items the reader has to read one mans musing.

9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA, Fourth Edition

Average customer rating:

Tour De Force !
Think for yourself, and QUESTION!
The search for Truth is one step at a time
Comprehensive Review of 9/11
One of, if not THE finest minds in the fight for freedom

9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA, Fourth Edition
Webster Griffin Tarpley
Manufacturer: Progressive Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

September 11 | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Controversial Knowledge | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions And Distortions
Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory

ASIN: 0930852370

Product Description

The thesis of Webster Tarpley's 911 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA has been enthusiastically received with its working model of the 9/11 plot: a covert network of moles, patsies, and a commando cell in the privatized intelligence services, backed by corrupt political and corporate media elites. Buttressed by historical examples like the Baader-Meinhof Gang and the Gunpowder Plot, this model makes it clear how such a monstrous false-flag or self-terror exploit is possible even under a largely benign government. That paradox is the incredibility gap that has made most Americans reject the evidence about 9/11 as paranoid fantasy. Tarpley brings decades of expertise to the 9/11 issue. In 1978 he exposed the terrorist Red Brigades as patsies of Italy's fascist P2 shadow government, and 9/11 is on the same pattern. The forthright subtitle, Made in USA, is backed up by an analysis of key figures who behave like moles working for the insidious network. 9/11 Synthetic Terror highlights the salient points of sheer physical impossibility of the official 9/11 conspiracy theory. It makes clear that figures like Osama bin Laden are patsies, dupes or double agents, selected for their ethnic coloring as the basis for launching a "Clash of Civilizations," and how absurd it is to imagine that such tools of US intelligence agencies could turn around and infiltrate or overwhelm US defenses unaided. Tarpley shows that the wars on the Islamic world, the Soviet-Afghan, Kosovo and Chechen conflicts, as well as US-UK-NATO synthetic terror incidents like 9/11, Beslan or 3/11 in Madrid, have been contrived to continue the Cold War, in pursuit of the centuries-long campaign for Anglo hegemony over Eurasia and the world. The preface to the second edition explains the significance and superiority of "MIHOP" vs "LIHOP," and the many drills on 9/11 and on 7/7, which were cover and conduit for those false-flag operations. The third edition preface makes clear that 9/11 is the only issue that can stop a new world war and the descent into a police state. It shows up the cowardice of the "left gatekeepers" on this score. The analysis of Moussaoui on trial as a classic weak-minded patsy -- part double agent, part fanatic -- again shows the unique power of Tarpley's mole-patsy model to debunk the lies put out by the war party. For a principled refutation of the 9/11 propaganda myth in all its parts, Tarpley'A bombshell, brilliant book - I strongly recommend 911 Synthetic Terror. Should be required reading for all honest truth seekers, s work is indispensable.

Customer Reviews:

Tour De Force !.......2007-08-05

This book is packed with information which probably means that if you are a beginning truth seeker, you would want to start out with something such as David Ray Griffins books as they are a little easier to read.

Think for yourself, and QUESTION!.......2007-07-09

I heard this guy speak. He gives a moderately entertaining romp through a lot of true information, and more. 95% of what he says is plausible (if questionable). Perhaps 50% of what I heard, I know to be true. But plenty of his stuff is a shotgun blast of information which only SEEMS convincing by its voluminousness, but in fact has no evidence. Take his (and Tex Marrs') claim about "angel is next". This refers to a threat supposedly delivered to Bush by moles in his staff, entailing a threat on air force 1, and nuclear war by compromised launch codes on 9/11. He gives a whole rapt story, with twists and turns and lots of insider details. It's not totally impossible, and could make fine fiction, but has no evidence whatsoever.

There's too much crucial, true, and verifiable information out there to waste your time on this in-depth far-out fantasy garbage. I wouldn't trust this man to give me a weather report.

The search for Truth is one step at a time.......2007-07-09

I love to devour books. I leave my local library with no less than two or three volumes after each visit. Sometimes I wonder if I ever race through literature too quickly. Occasionally a book crops up that can be sifted through within a few hours, depending on its type, although I always try to keep pages of notes on hand if I misplace or forget key facts or points. Webster Tarpley's "9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA" is not one of those books. Quite the contrary, I recommend this book to be studied ponderously, pored over hours at a time, critically dissected and examined, not to mention cross-referenced by numerous other sources, whether they be unauthorized or obscure. Supposedly, we live in the "Information Age", yet the most unverifiable of claims and propositions confuse and sway more efficiently than ever before, and the populace hardly diligently deciphers what is true. Partisan politics, not to mention rigid principles ("liberal" and "conservative") can dampen even the freshest and inquisitive of minds. That kind of reader will not enjoy Tarpley's book.

I personally do not subscribe to any one conspiracy theory, precisely because there are so many, and thus hundreds that follow sweeping conclusions based on the stretching of facts, outright absurdness, and lack of relevant evidence. I, however, cannot outright dismiss the conspiratorial views regarding the tragic day of September 11 because I so often come across pertinent points. The groups propagating such theories ask the correct questions most of the time, whether or not they embrace the correct conclusion. Rather, I believe piecing together the facts from a variety of authors and sources into a sound theoretical framework appears to be the only way to acquire the truth behind the 9/11 attacks that is free from dogma or ideology (although many of these authors and sources do just that).

What the book's author does is exactly this: combing the external facts, the puzzling discrepancies, historical evidences, public testimony, important documents, etc. and constructing each part into a plausible theoretical framework. From what I conducted during other research, I think Tarpley's essential thesis is correct. It is that the U.S. government secretly holds an elite oligarchy, or a "network or faction of like-minded plotters which cuts across the institutions transversally" (pg. 104). They hold influential positions as a hidden government inside the elected one. The group may not populate just the intelligence agencies, the Pentagon, or the White House, but also the privatized public sector, which acts as its center of gravity. The oligarchy deploys a select amount of "moles", which may not be everywhere, but are nonetheless strategically placed to carry out core objectives. The corporate media participates also, complicit with the magicians directing the show. These core objectives numerously appear throughout the course of history, especially the twentieth century, such as the many attempts to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle and Operation Northwoods, in which planned attacks on key U.S. targets would justify an invasion of Castro's Cuba.

How does this relate to 9/11? Tarpley himself dismisses the official media story as the ultimate conspiracy theory of them all, and unveils these facts:

+ Six of alleged 11 hijackers receive training at U.S. military bases (pg.179)

+ Mohammed Atta: Not a radical Islamist, but a promiscuous playboy and frequent cocaine user hooking up at topless bars and drinking vodka for three hours (pg. 178)

+ Could hijackers fly the planes? Atta and Marwan Al Shehhi had to receive supplemental lessons due to sub-par performance, according to an instructor associated with the Jones Aviation Flying Service (pg. 183)

+ Instructors at Maryland Freeway Airport acknowledged that, despite 600 log hours, Pentagon hijacker Hani Hanjour was incapable of finishing his flight training (pg. 183)

+ The hijackers, instead of choosing direct ways to their targets, flew long detours (pg. 188)

+ Training needed to pilot 757s or 767s required special precision and "super training" not offered at Huffman Aviation, where the Flight 11 and Flight 175 hijackers received lessons (pg. 191)

Although I do not recall whether Tarpley mentioned it in the book or not, but on September 10, 2001, then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced that $2.3 TRILLION could not be accounted for in the Pentagon budget. Obviously, the story vanished the next day. Tarpley also discloses lesser-known factoids of equal importance, including the fact that live fly, NORAD exercises were conducted on 9/11, some that even resembled hijacked airliners (pg. 207). On page 213, Tarpley writes how blips and dummy hijacks occurred, thus confusing loyal air controllers on 9/11. Why, exactly? So government moles could carry out their ordered operations.

There is so much more to this work than I let on in this review. Suffice to say, whatever your political background, this is one of the most important books regarding current events that I ever read. A lot of the information, I admit, made my head swirl, even when I gasped and cringed throughout what I read. At the end of the book, I felt depressed and sorrowful. I expressed pity at the American people, of whom most this book will never find, and how so quickly we abandoned our Founding Fathers' dream of a constitutional republic of a well-informed and hardworking independent people. President Reagan, leaving all conceptions of this book behind about various government officials aside, said, "Trust but verify." We forgot. Will we be forgiven again?

Comprehensive Review of 9/11.......2007-07-08

Tarpley provides a thorough analysis of the 9/11 and how the tragedies could have happened. This book is a must read for those interested in the 9/11 truth issues.

The book goes into great detail about logistics of the attacks. Tarpley shows his experience as a historian and the amount of time he used to research into the issues.

One of, if not THE finest minds in the fight for freedom.......2007-05-26

If you've recently become aware of the 911-truth movement and were lucky enough to stumble upon Webster Griffin Tarpley's book "Synthetic Terror", then let me say that there is no finer book or video on the subject. Mr. Tarpley is virtually uniquely insightful in matters of transgressions against the body politic by the Oligarchy(s) and to say his research is exhaustive is an understatement. I only wish that he had more works available and was more visible in the media. To those who thirst for more Webster Tarpley like myself, you must read his essays on the history of the Venetian Oligarchy and it's post Cambrai war transplantation to Great Britain and the Netherlands. I would love to hear him address the connection of this group to the creation of the stock corporation, which along with private banks and intelligence agencies have become the chief tool of control and oppression of the ruling class in modern times.

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