For the September Nonfiction Book Discussion, we will be reading The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright, a compellingly written narrative history of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, the rise of al-Qaeda, and the American intelligence mistakes that led to the bombing of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. His narrative provides the broad perspective of five decades of history along with portraits of major figures such as Osama bin Laden and FBI counterterrorism chief John O'Neill. On more than twenty-five Best Books of the Year lists and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and many other awards, The Looming Tower, according to the Christian Science Monitor, "Should be required reading for every American; yes it is that good. It is hard to imagine a better portrait of 9/11 and its causes emerging anytime soon." We hope you will join us for our discussion Tuesday, September 4, at 7:00 p.m. in Meeting Room B of the Main Library in downtown Charleston or here on our blog!
Greetings.
ReplyDeleteThis was my first formal book discussion group, that did not involve a grade or required reading, with that said I really enjoyed the discussion held this past Tuesday on the Looming Tower.
The background information on the author, how the book was researched, and comments from others on magazine articles written by Lawrence Wright helped me better understand Islam, Whabism, Modernity and Islamic Fundamentalism Conflicts, SP? Butcha in Jihad with a chronological order.
I am especially thankful for the stories that were told that related to the book, content I did not grasp well until the discussion got underway helped reinforce the magnitude and sometimes seridipity of how some terrorist organizations work.
The folks who attended offered a variety of opinions and insights into jihad, although I may not always agree with some of the broad political statements, I probably would not have discovered this book on my own.
Having gotten only to Chap 13, as I did not start the book until a few days before the discussion, I would have like to have had a better grasp on the remaining portion of the book. So many parts of the book I was unable to comment on having not read it entirely... I will finish the book soon.
I'm also going to follow the suggestions offered as to other good books on the topic of the war on terror & jihad in the ~ 1% Doctrine and Ghost ~Warriors.
Bottom Line, The Looming Tower was a wonderful book to read and without the impetus of the book discussion group I probably would not have picked up/read this pulitzer prize winning title. I look forward to possibly attending other book discussion in future led by Kate when my schedule allows.
Steven S.