"Among the ‘war on terrorism cognoscenti’ in and around Washington, D.C., mere word-of-mouth established [Through Our Enemies Eyes] as required reading for anyone seeking to understand bin Laden, the movement that he cofounded and led, and the profound threat that it posed (and continues to pose) to the United States and to international peace. Accordingly, the book’s reputation spread as a thoroughly reliable, trenchant, and commendably clear exegesis of al Qaeda’s ideology, goals, and alarming ambitions. . . . The key to success in warfare, the Chinese strategist Sun Tzu wrote, is to ‘know your enemy and you will know yourself.’ In Through Our Enemies Eyes , Scheuer answers the first part of that irrefutable formulation."
PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION:
"[Scheuer’s] examination of al Qaeda is a bracing corrective to much that has passed as analysis about the group."
"A highly informative analysis."
"A masterful job at . . . interpreting what bin Laden is trying to tell America but that has fallen on deaf ears."
"A sobering portrait of Osama bin Laden."
"This is a book that all professional soldiers should read since it represents, in significant detail, the views and motivation of one of our primary adversaries, while clearly defining the severity of the ongoing threat."
Here "a senior U.S. civil servant with two decades of experience in the U.S. intelligence community's work on Afghanistan and South Asia" argues that the U.S. was unprepared for September 11 because "our own naivet and insularity led us to underestimate the complexity and determination of our adversaries." Examining bin Laden's words and his leadership qualities, the author says that Al Qaeda remains largely intact and that its next attack will be more lethal than September 11. (Sept. 1) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
The credentials provided for the anonymous author of this in- depth history of Bin Laden and other radical Islamic groups state that he's a senior US intelligence official who's specialized in Afghanistan and South Asia, and that he's written on British imperial history. It seems the author's senior colleagues found the book gave too much strength of character to Bin Laden (without in any way agreeing with his tactics) and for this reason the author has published the work anonymously. The author explains carefully the context in which Bin Laden grew up, lived, and the issues that move him with stress throughout on his profound religious convictions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
