The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader

No one knows more about Osama bin Laden than Peter Bergen. In 1997, well before the world suddenly became aware of the world's most sought-after terrorist, Bergen met with him and has followed his activities ever since. In Bergen's own experience, bin Laden 'presented himself as a soft-spoken cleric, rather than as the firebreathing leader of a global terrorist organization.' Today, years after President Bush swore to get him dead or alive and despite haunting the popular imagination since September 11, 2001, bin Laden remains shrouded in mystery and obscured by a barrage of facts, details and myths. With numerous never-before-published interviews, "The Osama Bin Laden I Know" provides unprecedented insight into bin Laden's life and character drawing on the experiences of his most intimate acquaintances. What is it about bin Laden that draws hundreds of thousands of followers to him, and makes men willing to fly airplanes into buildings at his command? This timely and important work - the only book of its kind - gives readers their first true, enduring look at the man who has declared the West his greatest enemy.