Investigate journalist John Lawrence wrote the Pulitzer-winning narrative history The Looming Tower in 2006, detailing the formation of Al-Qaeda and road to September 11. The book ends shortly after the towers fall.

With the popularity of the film Zero Dark Thirty portraying the SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad compound, a narrative was fixed in the public mind, though it's been questioned since then by key players. The decade-long manhunt for the Al-Qaeda leader was the biggest of our time. We know bits and pieces of the rest of the history, what came after - the additional waves of terrorism and attacks, both thwarted and carried out, the rise of what would become Islamic State, the ripple effects of the Arab Spring - but a comprehensive narrative, linking up all the dots and providing anecdotal background for context, has so far been lacking.

Despite being wholly unconnected to Looming Tower, I couldn't help but be reminded of that book while reading this one. It feels like the perfect pick up where the other left off. Journalists Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy author this collaborative work that combines clearly meticulous research with journalistic storytelling. It reads like a series of long-form investigative pieces come together.

I remember occasions when complaints would arise in the U.S. about what was transpiring with the hunt for bin Laden and the lacking transparency often perceived there. His apprehension became a political talking point and was bent and used by whichever side needed it. At some point, his capture or killing became more symbolic than anything else, especially as Al-Qaeda began floundering, with many attacks intercepted and prevented, like the so-called "shoe bomber" Richard Reid and the attempted car bomb in Times Square in 2010. Splinter groups began to pop up, and as has always been the case, the face of terrorism underwent changes in response to technology and advancements on both sides of the fight.

And it's jarring to be reminded how much the presidential administration affects the face of modern terrorism. Consider:

"When George W. Bush was elected U.S. president in November 2000, Mokhtar [name used by Khalid Shaikh Mohammmad, self-professed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks] and Osama were delighted. 'My father was so happy,' recalled son Omar, who was still with him at that time. 'This is the kind of a president he needs - one who will attack and spend money and break the country.'"

Or the openmouthed response from American ambassadors abroad when Bush tossed out his now-infamous catchphrase for the lumping together of Middle Eastern countries he would target in the wake of 9/11:

"All the delicate diplomacy of recent times - the meetings in Geneva, the intelligence and maps locating Taliban and Al Qaeda positions, the haggling at the Bonn conference that had elevated Hamid Karzai into power in Afghanistan - had been swept away by three ill-judged words: 'axis of evil.'"

More than following the footsteps of both the U.S. government and CIA as they track bin Laden and of the Al-Qaeda characters as they continually shift locations and funnel money and plots through the increasing chaos of various Middle Eastern nations, the book does a lot of explaining of the origins and evolutions of modern terror.

This includes actions on the American side. I learned, to my shock, that children are not uncommonly tapped for use in counterterrorism actions; maybe in the best scenarios as "dummy witnesses" for building fake court cases, and in the worst cases, well, it gets much worse. And that's not even touching on the exploration of torture methods used here and heartily approved by the Bush administration. The book's passages detailing torture methods and conditions at Guantanamo Bay and secret locations run by the government in Poland and Thailand are appalling, not to mention clearly in violation of international protocol and not successful in providing the intel they sought.

And yet so is the description of the murder of captured journalist Daniel Pearl. When his killer's children are targeted by the U.S. as part of the efforts to get to him, I'm torn. I don't agree that children should ever be involved, but every side of the story is presented here, and it's hard to read this material and still be surprised that certain decisions were made. It's been dirty fighting all around. With this tome, which focuses on hard facts and transparency and shies as much as possible from political opinion (aside from what's obvious in hindsight) it's important to consider what's presented and form opinions independently. An informational and transparent account of this history was long overdue.

It's a complicated subject, and with so many twists and turns and involved players, it's difficult to follow and understand every nuance. A cast list is very helpful in keeping track of those involved, but sometimes the book does venture into dense territory, particularly when so many names, dates, places, and convoluted scenarios are involved. In general, it's a well-crafted narrative spilling over with information, and some particularly engrossing passages that give a very human glimpse at the lives of those close to bin Laden and their day to day existence, from September 11 up until the compound raid and its aftermath. This is the kind of thing I've always been curious about, and it was fascinating material.

Wow.

This was not an easy book to read. But at the end of it, I felt like I actually understood at least some of what happened during the last 15 years between the Muslim terrorist organizations and the West. I didn’t like some of what I read, but it was certainly worth the effort to be exposed to it.


=== The Good Stuff ===

* Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy took on a monumental task. They attempt to explain the history behind Al Quaeda, the Taliban, and numerous other groups throughout the Muslim world. The book is very complete, well-referenced, and is a remarkable story of the struggles, both from the point of view of the US and its allies as well as the terrorist groups.

* Parts of the book were very tough to read. Some of the actions of the US were, at the very least, disturbing. I won’t get into whether they were justified, or appropriate, but it is somewhat disturbing to read of what was done in the pursuit of these terrorist groups. The authors don’t sensationalize this, but they do cover it in explicit detail. Equally disturbing are the actions of the terrorist groups in question, and again, these are presented in explicit detail. Some of this material is not for the faint-of-heart.

* The book was excellent for giving some feel for the interwoven and complex relationships that are part of the story. Most of the organizations involved, whether they were state intelligence agencies, religious leaders, political figures or military leaders all seemed to have multiple, and often conflicting agendas. In short, a cut-throat game with absolutely no rules and even fewer morals.

* At the end of the book, I had a better feeling for what has happened in the world. While I don’t in any way condone the actions of the terrorist groups, I did get a feel for the futility of their lives which caused some of their actions. And even more importantly, I now understand why there are no simple answers to any of these problems…indeed even the questions are difficult to get a handle on.

=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===

* While the book appears to be impeccably referenced and footnoted, it is hard to believe the detail of some of the material. And while most of the sensational material is referenced, I have no idea how to evaluate some of the reference. Is a “Wikileaks” reference really a reliable source? I can appreciate that this might be the only source of some of this material, I just do not know how to evaluate its robustness.

* The authors definitely have a viewpoint, and it sometimes intrudes into the narrative. For example, they believe that the “enhanced interrogation” techniques used by the CIA and its allies were totally ineffective and even counterproductive. They include specific examples to support their case, but I have no way of knowing if this is a complete representation of the success or just isolated examples.

* The biggest problem I had was that the book is presented in chronological order. This requires the reader to keep a large number of “open threads” going simultaneously. When you add in a large number of named characters, all with very similar and foreign names, keeping track of what is going on can be quite a challenge. The authors include a “who’s who” at the beginning, and I ended up printing that out and keeping it with me as I read. Still, it took quite a bit of work to keep the characters straight.

* There could have been a little more analysis to help us novice historians. For example, many of the actions of the Iranians just did not make much sense to me-they accepted a large number of Al Quaeda militants, jailed/housed them, and then seemed to not know what to do with them. I still don’t understand the logic behind their actions-especially as the authors hint that Iran helped the US in some of its pursuits.

=== Summary ===

This was a hard book to read. The writing style is fine, and it is not written in the stuffy, academic style, nor is it a government report. But the subject matter is very complex, many of the characters have similar names, and the motivations and goals of the players are obscure and difficult to decode.

That being said, I ended up enjoying the book, and finding it well worth the time to read slowly and carefully. It took me about a week to read this book, a long time for me, and I will probably re-read it to see if any more of the material gels.

If you are not that interested in the subject matter, or are unwilling to spend some time digesting the material, you will end up giving up on the book. But if you put in the time, it is a worthwhile investment


=== Disclaimer ===

I was able to read an advance copy of the book through the courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.