Product Description

The late 1990s saw a number of attacks against American military and government offices, most notably the US Embassy bombings in Africa in 1998. On 11 September 2001, however, the scale of this conflict changed dramatically. The kidnapping of four commercial airliners led to the deaths of some 3,000 people. As in 1998, the terrorist group responsible for this devastating campaign was Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, or "The Base", a loose network of extremists, many of whom are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their cause. Jane Corbin has studied Bin Laden's organization for four years and has followed in his footsteps through the Middle East, Africa, Europe and America. She has conducted hundreds of interviews with key eyewitnesses, investigators and intelligence officers around the world. Tracing al-Qaeda's roots back to the jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan, Corbin picks up the complicated trail that led to the collapse of the Twin Towers and beyond. And as President Bush's "war on terror" in Afghanistan poses more questions than it answers, Corbin examine's the West's response to the threat of al-Qaeda and declares it a failure. "The Base" should be essential reading for anyone interested in the history and likely further operation of arguably the biggest threat to democracy since the Cold War.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #773481 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
The 1990s saw a number of attacks against American targets. The perpetrators were presumed to be Islamic fundamentalists, protesting against the presence of the US in Saudi Arabia. On 11 September 2001, however, the scale of this conflict changed dramatically. The only terrorist group that could credibly have mounted such a devastating campaign was al-Qaeda, many of whose members are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the annihilation of America or the promotion of Islam. Osama Bin Laden has now effectively admitted his leadership of al-Qaeda and its involvement in the US atrocities. Who is he? Corbin's masterly study of not just the 11 September attacks and the response to them but, crucially, the build-up of pressure before, answers these and many other questions in its chilling portrayal of the world's most hunted man.

About the Author
Jane Corbin is a senior foreign correspondent for the BBC's flagship current-affairs programme, PANORAMA. She had been researching Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network since the US Embassy attacks in 1998, and wrote and produced the first profile of Bin Laden to be shown on British television in the aftermath of the September 11 atrocities. She lives in London and Chipping Norton.

Customer Reviews

Very readable,meticulously researched, but short on analysis
Right from the start Jane Corbin grips the reader with the results of her detailed research, through vivid, but crisp language. She describes the vast intricate web al-Qaeda (Arabic for the base) has spun around the world, bringing the potentially dry facts to life. The book is well structured into three parts: first, the early years of al-Quaeda's formation ; the middle, and longest, most detailed section of the book covers the two years leading up to the September 11 attacks; and finally she tells us of the efforts to capture or destroy the network, and to investigate and counter the threat from al-Quaeda, together with accounts of its activities since 2001.

Corbin shares with the reader her experience of interviewing a wide range of relevant people, from leaders of Gulf States, and intelligence officals to ordinary individuals caught up in attacks in East Africa or Indonesia, as well as many people whose paths have crossed those of the September 11 hijackers - those who went to school with them, took flying lessons with them or innocently rented them cars and flats. Fascinating detail and written with great storytelling skill, the book's pace matching the mounting intensity of terrorist activities during the summer of 2001.

BUT I was often left wanting more, left asking why, why, why? What made bin Laden who he is? - his first twenty years are dissapointingly thinly covered in just 10 pages. Corbin tells us she used his picture as her computer screen-saver for three years. I am surprised then that she did not get "inside his head", or if she did, we are not treated to this. By the end of the book I did not feel I knew, or understood bin Laden anymore than I had at the beginning.

And what of those who worked for him? What kept the lose, scattered bands of terrorists together and on their paths of destruction through all the months in the West, what did they talk about? Why did they keep going? Then, at the end of the book, there is no speculation about where bin Laden might be now. Even if no one knows, there must be some parameters, some feel for the types of environment he would look for.

Perhaps it is too much to expect from a professional journalist, highly skilled at reporting what is, not what might be. But the book does describe itself as an analysis, and Corbin herself in her Preface promises us al-Qaeda's philosophy, aims and an exploration of its causes. So I was left wanting, hoping for more.

Highly readable but definitive account of Al Qaeda
This book is a wonderful read, like a thriller, as well as being a very clear explanation of Bin Laden's organisation and how it operates. If you want to know who these people are, why they think as they do, how September 11 was planned and executed and what progress is being made in the War on Terrorism, this is the book to tell you. Jane Corbin really knows her stuff and has clearly been following this story for some years. Her unravelling of the events of 9/11 is masterly. This is a must read for anyone interested in current events, but is also a book for the general reader who wants to understand the threat we face.

Must Buy
I found this book not so much a documentary tupe of book, but more of a thriller. It keeps you riveted and on the spot the whole way through, Jane Corbin, obviously knows more about Bin Laden's terror network than we give her credit for. The unique part of this book is that Jane has actually been to Afganistan, and spoken to soldiers, fighting the war on terror, and that she knew much about Bin Laden beore September the 11th, this just adds the finest little touch to the book. If you would like to know more about Bin Laden's ideas and the war on terror, aswell as the tragic events of September the 11th, then this is a must buy!