Pulitzer Prize General Non Fiction Winner
The Looming Tower
by Lawrence Wright
Summary
A narrative history of the rise of Al-Qaeda and the long chain of intelligence failures that culminated in the September 11 attacks. Wright structures the book around four central figures—including Osama bin Laden and FBI counterterrorism chief John O'Neill—using hundreds of interviews across the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Its novelistic pacing and psychological depth made it a defining account of the era.
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Historical Context & Significance
Wright interviewed hundreds of sources across the Middle East; the book is prized for its "novelistic" pacing and deep psychological profiles.