The 9/11 Wars
Throughout the 1990s a vast conflict was brewing. The storm broke on September 11th 2001. Since then much of the world has seen invasions, bombings, battles and riots. Hundreds of thousands of people have died. Jason Burke, a first hand witness of many of the conflict's key moments, claims to have written the definitive account of its course. At once investigation, reportage and contemporary history, it is based on hundreds of interviews with participants including desperate refugees and senior intelligence officials, ministers and foot-soldiers, active militants and their victims. Burke reveals the true nature of contemporary Islamic militancy and the inside story of the fight against it.
4.2 out of 5 based on 8 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
History, Society, Politics & Philosophy |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
752 |
| RRP |
£30.00 |
| Date of Publication |
September 2011 |
| ISBN |
978-1846142741 |
| Publisher |
Allen Lane |
| |
Throughout the 1990s a vast conflict was brewing. The storm broke on September 11th 2001. Since then much of the world has seen invasions, bombings, battles and riots. Hundreds of thousands of people have died. Jason Burke, a first hand witness of many of the conflict's key moments, claims to have written the definitive account of its course. At once investigation, reportage and contemporary history, it is based on hundreds of interviews with participants including desperate refugees and senior intelligence officials, ministers and foot-soldiers, active militants and their victims. Burke reveals the true nature of contemporary Islamic militancy and the inside story of the fight against it.
Reviews
The Economist
The Economist
“His book is the best overview of the 9/11 decade so far in print. It is also the summation of the career of a fine journalist, a writer who, crucially for his subject, knows South Asia as well as he knows the Middle East.”
03/09/2011
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The Scotsman
Michael Pye
“Burke's taut, careful reporting puts back the facts that were clouded out. He talks to the right academics, the right spooks, but also to anyone willing to explain themselves, mullahs or pols or market traders, soldiers as well as generals, even suicide bombers who changed their minds at the last minute ... [A] remarkable book.”
03/09/2011
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The Sunday Telegraph
Colin Freeman
“Pacy, well-researched, and packed with telling anecdotes, this book’s strength is in its detailed, balanced overview, more than any grand new theories about what remains a complex, shifting picture. But at a time when there are more books out on terrorism than ever before — 11,000 according to Burke, compared to less than 1,000 pre-9/11 — this is likely to be among the best, be the reader an armchair commander in London or a real one in Lashkar Gah.”
04/09/2011
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The Evening Standard
Andrew Roberts
“If journalism is the rough first draft of history, this remarkably balanced, well-sourced and very well-written book is an excellent second draft, which will be turned to in the future even by those who do not agree with all of its conclusions.”
01/09/2011
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The Financial Times
David Gardner
“… densely documented and diligently reported … A long-term Delhi resident with an intimate knowledge of south Asia, Burke is especially compelling on the political texture and social detail of the conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and especially the tribal areas between them. The chapter on this lawless region, so little known and so often romanticised by outsiders, is arguably the best in the book.”
09/09/2011
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The Observer
Ian Birrell
“… sweeping and compelling … The strength of the book lies partly in fine reportage with telling anecdotes and instructive human stories.”
11/09/2011
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The Sunday Times
Sherard Cowper-Coles
“Burke excels in describing the experiences of ordinary Muslims. Such insights make this book essential for understanding the past decade. But description is not enough: deep diagnosis is necessary, too, and for that we have to look elsewhere.”
11/09/2011
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The Daily Telegraph
Peter Oborne
“Burke only gives the most cursory attention to the two big winners of the 9/11 wars. The first of these is China ... Burke’s most significant oversight, however, is Iran, which was converted overnight into a regional superpower by George W Bush’s incomparably stupid decision to invade neighbouring Iraq ... The absence of any serious discussion of this overarching strategic reality is a weakness in Burke’s well-written and knowledgeable book.”
09/09/2011
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