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.