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The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Audiobook
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(4.01) - 93 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The definitive account of the decade-long pursuit and capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the terrorist mastermind of 9/11.
Only minutes after United 175 plowed into the World Trade Center's South Tower, people in positions of power correctly suspected who was behind the assault: Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. But it would be 18 months after September 11 before investigators would capture the actual mastermind of the attacks, the man behind bin Laden himself.
That monster is the man who got his hands dirty while Osama fled; the man who was responsible for setting up Al Qaeda's global networks, who personally identified and trained its terrorists, and who personally flew bomb parts on commercial airlines to test their invisibility. That man withstood waterboarding and years of other intense interrogations, not only denying Osama's whereabouts but making a literal game of the proceedings, after leading his pursuers across the globe and back. That man is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and he is still, to this day, the most significant Al Qaeda terrorist in captivity.
In The Hunt for KSM, Terry McDermott and Josh Meyer go deep inside the US government's dogged but flawed pursuit of this elusive and dangerous man. One pair of agents chased him through countless false leads and narrow escapes for five years before 9/11. And now, drawing on a decade of investigative reporting and unprecedented access to hundreds of key sources, many of whom have never spoken publicly -- as well as jihadis and members of KSM's family and support network -- this is a heart-pounding trip inside the dangerous, classified world of counterterrorism and espionage.
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"Great book. Reads like a Tom Clancy novel. Interesting insight on the 9/11 attacks, and how they may have been prevented. Very intresting on how our government does and does not work. Based on the point of view of the FBI. I am guesing CIA team did not cooperate for the book as much as the FBI."
— Chris (4 out of 5 stars)
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“The prose…accurately reflects McDermott’s and Meyer’s top-notch journalistic skills, dedication to research, and laser-sharp attention to detail, and the authors impressively knit together a seemingly endless supply of narrative strands and character aliases…The Hunt for KSM is not only eye-opening investigative reporting, but also a concrete indictment of the continued bureaucratic boondoggle that is the War on Terror.”
— Boston Globe -
“McDermott and Meyer have released the ultimate primer for those following the September 11 trial. The Hunt for KSM was years in the making, and the book not only seeks to decode KSM just as he is about to return to center stage, but also introduces readers to three people in U.S. law enforcement who seemed to recognize the threat KSM presented before anyone else.”
— Washington Post -
“The Hunt for KSM is a flat-out thriller…It lays out aspects of our factual contemporary world that are far more ambiguous, internecine, and dangerous than anything Hollywood dare contemplate.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“The two authors of The Hunt for KSM have reconstructed an almost decade-long clandestine manhunt in exacting detail, an undeniably impressive feat of sleuthing. Narrative velocity is not a problem either; from beginning to end, The Hunt for KSM moves along at the brisk pace of a good crime novel.”
— New York Times -
“This masterful collaboration is a combined biography of KSM and a law enforcement procedural…A remarkable book.”
— Seattle Times -
“Drawing on unprecedented access to hundreds of sources, and investigative reporting across different continents, The Hunt for KSM provides a unique insight into the worlds of counter terrorism and espionage.”
— Huffington Post -
“Superlative storytelling and crackling reportage define a pulse-pounding narrative tracing the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed…A surprising, sobering look at one of the deadliest terror networks in history, and the American spy agencies charged with bringing it down.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“A fact-filled inside account, in the voices of those on the job, of the failed decade-long American effort to find KSM before he could strike again. But there is a most important underlying message in this book—that the American intelligence community remains caught up in bureaucratic warfare and remains today incapable of working together…of sharing insights and information…even when all involved share the same goal. This, ultimately, is an account of an American tragedy.”
— New Yorker -
“Two dogged reporters show a bumbling American intelligence community unable to work together in the at times incompetent hunt for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed.”
— Daily Beast -
“A dramatic account of how the decade-long persistence and hard work of FBI and CIA investigators eventually succeeded in tracking and bringing KSM and his associates to justice…An important book.”
— Washington Times
Awards
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A 2012 Washington Post Best Book for Nonfiction
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One of the 2012 Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books for Nonfiction
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A Kirkus Reviews “New and Notable Title” for Nonfiction, March 2012
The Hunt for KSM Listener Reviews
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" This is a solid four star read. The reason i gave it five, usually a rating i reserve for classics or outstanding books, is because it was written by my very first boyfriend (josh). Mushy, i know. "
— Laurie, 12/24/2013 -
" Knowledgeable and readable. "
— Debbie, 12/2/2013 -
" Ok narrative of what I consider the most significant arrest of the war on terror. Could stand to be a little better researched. "
— Tomdestefano, 10/13/2013 -
" Beginning is confusing with strange names of people and places but after a bit everything falls into place. I learned a huge amount and cannot believe the amount of undercover work and dangers josh put himself in. Definitely read "
— Lmdmom, 4/1/2013 -
" The author does an excellent job of following the twists and turns in the multiple investigations that finally led to the capture of KSM. He does an excellent job of getting into the minds of KSM's pursuers. "
— Vince, 3/28/2013 -
" Caveat: I know one of the authors, so am a little biased. However, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the inner workings of the intelligence world, or in geopolitics generally. It's meticulously researched, informative and well-paced. "
— Sewella, 12/31/2012 -
" Unbelievable journalism. best of all the terrorist take down books. "
— Quincy, 11/17/2012 -
" This was a very good book that I would recommend to anyone who would like the real story behind a REAL terrorist. I am passing it around to all of my non-fiction friends. Thank you so much for the give-away book "
— Becky, 9/14/2012 -
" Being considered for the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. "
— Jennifer, 5/25/2012 -
" Another chilling look at U.S. intelligence failures before and after 9/11. "
— Andrew, 4/8/2012
About the Authors
Terry McDermott’s work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Wilson Quarterly, the Columbia Journalism Review, the Los Angeles Times magazine, and Pacific magazine. The author of Perfect Soldiers and 101 Theory Drive, he has worked at eight newspapers for more than thirty years, most recently for ten years at the Los Angeles Times, where he was a national correspondent.
Josh Meyer is the former chief terrorism reporter for the Los Angeles Times and has reported on international terrorism for more than a decade. The Inside Al Qaeda series he worked on was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and he has twice been part of teams that have won the Pulitzer Prize for reporting. He is also a screenwriter and television producer who cocreated, wrote, and produced the network television crime drama Level 9. He is on the faculty of the Medill School of Journalism, where he is director of education and outreach for the school’s groundbreaking National Security Journalism Initiative based in Washington, DC.
About Peter Ganim
Peter Ganim, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is an American actor who has appeared on stage, on television, and in film. He has performed voice-over work since 1994.