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Writer's picturePrayukth K V

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



Book by Lawrence Wright


Pulitzer Prize Winner


Year of Publishing: 2006


Ten reasons why you should read The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

  1. There are many authoritative accounts of the 9/11 terror attacks but this one rules them all. The sheer volume of research that comes out in this book through the events connected by the author could be overwhelming.

  2. When you are writing a book about an event that is etched in people’s collective memory and about which hundreds of books and conspiracy articles have been written, you need to get not just exclusive facts but also present them through a narrative and tone that sounds more like storytelling. Lawrence Wright does exactly that in Looming Tower. It is hard to believe that he conducted so much research in just half a decade.

  3. Lawrence Wright knows that he has a long story to narrate so he gets to work without wasting a single para. The book is a page-turner from page one.

  4. John P O’Neill’s story is one that has just been covered in bits in other books on 9/11. He is in fact mentioned very often by many conspiracy theorists while talking about alternative 9/11 explanations. In this book, his story has been meticulously presented by Lawrence. Many details that lead to O’Neill’s warnings being ignored are explained in detail here. I can’t miss talking about the last reference to O’Neill which comes after the planes have impacted the towers and the wreckage is still smoldering. One can’t help but feel sorry for O’Neill. This is one of the highlights of this book.

  5. Did you know that the events that led to the 9/11 attacks began in the 60s? In fact, the author brings out a specific instance in Chapter one.

  6. Every instance of how close the US came to eliminating Osama Bin Laden is explained in detail.

  7. Connecting so many events and people with 9/11 is a job that Lawrence does effortlessly. Good research deserves a good voice. Both are amply present in this book.

  8. If you are not attentive, you might miss some very small details in this book. Some of these details led to some extraordinary events that contributed to 9/11.

  9. One of the aspects this book focuses on is how governments and counter-terrorism work can get easily distracted.

  10. Finally, every missed warning (systems flashing red included) is explained in much detail here.


 

What to watch out for


· That one religious degree that changes the course of history

· How the Millennium attacks were foiled

· The breezy and gripping narrative. You can easily visualize the narration in your mind


 

To Conclude


MyBookWorks Rating

4.5/5


Page turner?

More than that. If you are someone who wishes to pick up reading, then this is the book we recommend you start with.


Recommended by MyBookWorks

Yes

 

Book Review by Prayukth K V, Co-Founder MyBookWorks

A published author and speaker, Prayukth is passionate about books and their potential to transform minds.


He is a niche tech marketer by profession and lives to read and travel among other things.


Connect with Prayukth on LinkedIn and Twitter



 

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