Book summary

In THE OSAMA BIN LADEN I KNOW, Peter Bergen presents oral history by over 50 people who actually knew Osama bin Laden, including Osama's English teacher and his relatives. Long before September 11, 2001, Bergen was on the trail of terrorist #1, having published his trenchant study, HOLY WAR, INC., prior to the attacks on America. He has remained on the case, and this many-faceted portrait answers several questions about bin Laden's formative years, including how he established the al Qaeda terrorist network and why he targeted America. Bergen also provides his professional assessment of the true state of the al Qaeda network, explaining how bin Laden escaped Tora Bora and evaluating the prospects for the future.

Media reviews

"Bergen, a former CNN producer, conducted more than fifty of the interviews, and his story unfolds with the ease and vividness of a TV documentary. After several pages, the book's myriad accounts...begin to form a composite portrait that is among the most honest we have."