LATEST BOOK
The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden
The world’s leading expert on Osama bin Laden delivers for the first time the definitive biography of a man who set the course of American foreign policy for the 21st century, and whose ideological heirs we continue to battle today.
In The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden, Peter Bergen provides the first reevaluation of the man responsible for precipitating America’s long wars with al-Qaeda and its descendants, capturing bin Laden in all the dimensions of his life: as a family man, as a zealot, as a battlefield commander, as a terrorist leader, and as a fugitive. The book sheds light on his many contradictions: he was the son of a billionaire, yet insisted his family live like paupers. He adored his wives and children, depending on two of his wives, both of whom had PhDs, to make important strategic decisions. Yet he also brought ruin to his family. He was fanatically religious, yet willing to kill thousands of civilians in the name of Islam. He inspired deep loyalty yet, in the end, his bodyguards turned against him. And while he inflicted the most lethal act of mass murder in United States history, he failed to achieve any of his strategic goals.
The lasting image we have of bin Laden in his final years is of an aging man with a graying beard watching old footage of himself, just another dad flipping through the channels with his remote. In the end, bin Laden died in a squalid suburban compound, far from the front lines of his holy war. And yet despite that unheroic denouement, his ideology lives on. Thanks to exclusive interviews with family members and associates, and documents unearthed only recently, Bergen’s portrait of Osama will reveal for the first time who he really was and why he continues to inspire a new generation of jihadists.
LATEST BOOK
The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden
The world’s leading expert on Osama bin Laden delivers for the first time the definitive biography of a man who set the course of American foreign policy for the 21st century, and whose ideological heirs we continue to battle today.
In The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden, Peter Bergen provides the first reevaluation of the man responsible for precipitating America’s long wars with al-Qaeda and its descendants, capturing bin Laden in all the dimensions of his life: as a family man, as a zealot, as a battlefield commander, as a terrorist leader, and as a fugitive. The book sheds light on his many contradictions: he was the son of a billionaire, yet insisted his family live like paupers. He adored his wives and children, depending on two of his wives, both of whom had PhDs, to make important strategic decisions. Yet he also brought ruin to his family. He was fanatically religious, yet willing to kill thousands of civilians in the name of Islam. He inspired deep loyalty yet, in the end, his bodyguards turned against him. And while he inflicted the most lethal act of mass murder in United States history, he failed to achieve any of his strategic goals.
The lasting image we have of bin Laden in his final years is of an aging man with a graying beard watching old footage of himself, just another dad flipping through the channels with his remote. In the end, bin Laden died in a squalid suburban compound, far from the front lines of his holy war. And yet despite that unheroic denouement, his ideology lives on. Thanks to exclusive interviews with family members and associates, and documents unearthed only recently, Bergen’s portrait of Osama will reveal for the first time who he really was and why he continues to inspire a new generation of jihadists.
ABOUT PETER Bergen
ABOUT PETER Bergen
Peter Bergen is a journalist, author, documentary producer and Vice President for Global Studies and Fellows at New America; a professor of practice at Arizona State University; a fellow at Fordham University’s Center on National Security and CNN’s national security analyst. He has held teaching positions at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
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BOOKS
Trump and His Generals
The Cost of Chaos
From one of America’s preeminent national security journalists, an explosive, news-breaking account of Donald Trump’s collision with the American national security establishment, and with the world
“A respected national security analyst at New America and CNN, Bergen provides a deeply informed study, written with clarity and flair. Reflecting fresh research and nearly 100 interviews with some key players, his retelling of Trump’s foreign policy skillfully synthesizes what’s already known and adds gossipy tidbits… it is the best single account of Trump’s foreign policy to date.” —DEREK CHOLLET, WASHINGTON POST
United States Of Jihad
Investigating America's Homegrown Terrorists
A riveting, panoramic look at “homegrown” Islamist terrorism, from 9/11 to the present
“Mr. Bergen writes with authority and range… His profiles of jihadists… leave the reader with a harrowing appreciation of the banality of evil and an unnerving sense of missteps made by the authorities… Mr. Bergen’s detailed accounts of terror plots (both executed, foiled or failed) make for chilling reading.”
—MICHIKO KAKUTANI, NEW YORK TIMES
“Excellent… Bergen’s book is the best one-volume treatment available on the current state of jihad in America.”
—JANET NAPOLITANO, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
The Longest War
The Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda
“For years, I tried to read every new novel about how 9/11 affected our lives. Some were very thoughtful, but I always came away unsatisfied, feeling that the authors had worked hard but had somehow fallen short. As I read the stunning first section of Peter L. Bergen’s new book on the war between the United States and Al Qaeda, I realized I had been looking in the wrong genre. None of the novels were as effective or moving as “The Longest War,” which is a history of our time. … “The Longest War” is one of the most important accounts on the subject to appear in years. But be warned: You will read it and weep.”
—THOMAS E. RICKS, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
RECENT ARTICLES
UPCOMING EVENTS
Congressional Testimony/Reports
September, 2020Terrorism in America 19 Years After 9/11
Tuesday, September 10, 2019US House Committee on Homeland Security, Global Threats to the Homeland
SEE ALL REPORTS
RECENT FILM AND TV SERIES
BIN LADEN'S HARD DRIVE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
THE LONGEST WAR, SHOWTIME
THE ROAD TO 9/11, HISTORY
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