The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
Score Modern
What it's about
How did 9/11 happen? Lawrence Wright spent five years and hundreds of interviews answering that question through the lives of four men: Osama bin Laden; his Egyptian deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri; Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki; and John O'Neill, the obsessive FBI counterterrorism chief who warned about al-Qaeda for years and died in the World Trade Center. It traces the ideas, plots and intelligence failures from the 1950s to that September morning.
Why it's worth reading
It reads like a thriller, but it's careful, humane history that won the Pulitzer Prize. It's the clearest account there is of where al-Qaeda came from and how it was missed.
You'll love it if you liked
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
A Bright Shining Lie
The Making of the Atomic BombGood to know
You'll meet many names early on; they pay off. The last chapters about the attacks are hard to read.
By the numbers
- Readers94 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics96 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller20 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #9 of the 198 history books we rank
- #21 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #43 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
More by Lawrence Wright
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Quick answers
Is The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 worth reading?
Yes. It reads like a thriller, but it's careful, humane history that won the Pulitzer Prize. It ranks #43 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 89.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 about?
How did 9/11 happen? Lawrence Wright spent five years and hundreds of interviews answering that question through the lives of four men: Osama bin Laden; his Egyptian deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri; Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki; and John O'Neill, the obsessive FBI counterterrorism chief who warned about al-Qaeda for years and died in the World Trade Center. It traces the ideas, plots and intelligence failures from the 1950s to that September morning.
How long does it take to read The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11?
About 14 hours (578 pages), or about 4 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 won?
Pulitzer Prize (General Nonfiction) winner (2007).
What should I read after The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11?
If you liked it, try Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe, A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan or The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes.