The Exile: The Stunning Inside Story of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda in Flight

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About The Exile: The Stunning Inside Story Of Osama Bin

Product Description Startling and scandalous, this is an intimate insider's story of Osama bin Laden's retinue in the ten years after 9/11, a family in flight and at war.From September 11, 2001 to May 2, 2011, Osama Bin Laden evaded intelligence services and special forces units, drones and hunter killer squads. The Exile tells the extraordinary inside story of that decade through the eyes of those who witnessed it: bin Laden's four wives and many children, his deputies and military strategists, his spiritual advisor, the CIA, Pakistan's ISI, and many others who have never before told their stories.Investigative journalists Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy gained unique access to Osama bin Laden's inner circle, and they recount the flight of Al Qaeda's forces and bin Laden's innocent family members, the gradual formation of ISIS by bin Laden's lieutenants, and bin Laden's rising paranoia and eroding control over his organization. They also reveal that the Bush White House knew the whereabouts of bin Laden's family and Al Qaeda's military and religious leaders, but rejected opportunities to capture them, pursuing war in the Persian Gulf instead, and offer insights into how Al Qaeda will attempt to regenerate itself in the coming years.While we think we know what happened in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011, we know little about the wilderness years that led to that shocking event. As authoritative in its scope and detail as it is propulsively readable, The Exile is a landmark work of investigation and reporting. Review “[Scott-Clark and Levy] set out to do what few had done before in the West: to see the September 2001 terror attacks and their aftermath from the other side. They traveled widely in the region, listened intently, interviewed aggressively, read newly released accounts and government documents deeply (and wrote lengthily). The result is a breathtaking tale.” ―Boston Globe“Remarkable . . . They have produced the best account yet of what happened to al-Qaida after 9/11: it is an astonishingly good piece of work.” ―Guardian“This book is a tour de force and the first detailed account told by al-Qaeda members themselves, making good use of the diaries of Abu Zubaydah, the captured al-Qaeda facilitator, as well as extensive interviews with one of its religious thinkers . . . It tells us lots of things we knew, but in far more detail.” ―Sunday Times“[Scott-Clark and Levy's] latest, The Exile: The Flight of Osama bin Laden, is perhaps their best yet . . . The book fills in many important gaps in our knowledge of al-Qaida . . . a gripping inside account.” ―Observer“Remarkable . . . The book's fascinating perspective exposes layers of human complexity in individuals who are often shrouded by intrigue, and brings nuance to the general Western understanding of jihadi groups. This extensively researched, eminently readable work greatly enhances public knowledge of these dramatic years and will be welcomed by specialists and general readers alike.” ―Starred Review, Publishers Weekly“A tour de force of investigative research.” ―Kirkus Reviews“[A] piece of outstanding journalistic bravery . . . the book has an impact and immediacy far stronger than much of the other literature on the subject.” ―Literary Review“What struck me more than anything else about The Exile is the phenomenal degree of intimacy that the co-authors Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy have achieved with bin Laden himself . . . By tracking down the myriad bin Laden family members, associates and al-Qaeda members that inhabit this huge tour-de-force of a read, the authors have brought the personality of bin Laden into a sharper focus than could ever have been imagined. The detail mustered is little short of incredible, and evidently the result of forensic research only the best of investigative journalists could dig out . . . It's this feel of being there that makes The Exile such an exceptional account of those lost years when bin Laden and his family went to gro