The Al Qaeda Reader by Raymond Ibrahim New York: Doubleday, 2007. 352 pp. $15.95, paper. Reviewed by Steven Simon The Washington Post For the strong silent type, Osama bin Laden has actually talked a lot. One expects this from his tediously didactic counselor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, but somehow not from the abstemious Emir himself. Yet in dozens of statements disseminated … [Read more...]
Geoffrey Alderman, The Jewish Chronicle (London)
The Al Qaeda Reader by Raymond Ibrahim New York: Doubleday, 2007. 352 pp. $15.95, paper. Reviewed by Geoffrey Alderman The Jewish Chronicle (London) About a year ago, I discovered that I had acquired an entry in Wikipedia, the free online encyclopaedia.Wikipedia is a controversial project. It is used by billions of inquirers who want easy-to-get-at information on … [Read more...]
Brandace Simmons, Roll Call
The Al Qaeda Reader by Raymond Ibrahim New York: Doubleday, 2007. 352 pp. $15.95, paper. Reviewed by Brandace Simmons Roll Call A new book of never-before-translated documents and press statements by al-Qaida leaders offers new insight into the motives behind the group responsible for carrying out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Raymond Ibrahim, a technician … [Read more...]
James Buchan, The New York Observer
The Al Qaeda Reader by Raymond Ibrahim New York: Doubleday, 2007. 352 pp. $15.95, paper. Reviewed by James Buchan The New York Observer This volume, a collection of essays and broadcasts by Ayman Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden, does the Al Qaeda leaders no favors. Whatever their capacities as terrorists, Dr. Zawahiri tends toward the wordy and Mr. bin Laden is … [Read more...]
Bruce Thornton, Private Papers
The Al Qaeda Reader by Raymond Ibrahim New York: Doubleday, 2007. 352 pp. $15.95, paper. Reviewed by Bruce Thornton Private Papers Given that war, as both Sun Tzu and Mohammed preached, is deception, it behooves us to understand accurately the enemy's motivations and not be fooled by his deceiving propaganda. Yet in the current war against Islamic jihad, the West has … [Read more...]