Osama Bin Laden : A Biography

About the Book :

This concise biography of the world?s most horrifying terrorist tells the fascinating story of the evolution of a wealthy businessman?s son to the 9/11 mastermind who declared war on America. To some, he is evil incarnate, to some others, the most hated and most hateful man in the world. To his followers, he is a hero, one who sacrificed a life of luxury and used his wealth to fight against the Westernization of the Arab world. Osama bin Laden: A Biography offers a concise, fact-based portrait of a man whose rise from obscurity to notoriety coincides with some of the most traumatic events of the 21st century. It follows Osama bin Laden?s story from his life in Saudi society in the 1960s and 1970s to his religious conversion, his emergence as a jihadi leader, his horrifying terrorist attacks, and his near-mythic status in parts of the Muslim world today. Founder of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden was a major target of the War on Terror, which has resulted in civilian deaths in the range of 80,000 to 1.2 million in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia between 2001 and 2007. On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden was shot and killed inside a secured private residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan by U.S. Navy Seals in a covert operation authorized by the U.S. President, Barak Obama. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Osama bin Laden finds the political and religious roots of a world view that combines devout faith with a belief in violence and terrorism. The book pays particular attention to the spread of radical Islam from Egypt to Saudi Arabia and beyond, as well as the development of Al-Qaeda and its current scope and capabilities.

About Author :

Thomas R. Mockaitis, PhD, is professor of history at DePaul University, Chicago, IL. He earned his BA in history from Allegheny College and his MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His published works include Praeger?s The ?New? Terrorism: Myths and Reality, Iraq and the Challenge of Counterinsurgency, and British Partnership, 1919-1960 in the Post-Imperial Era: War, Armed Forces, and Society, which won the Templer Medal for the best work on British Military History. He team- teaches counterterrorism courses around the world for the Center for Civil-Military Relations of the Naval Postgraduate School. Dr. Mockaitis is a frequent media commentator on terrorism.