[.ca] In the Name of Osama Bin Laden (ISBN 0822329913)

Waaaaaaay too Short!!:
I looked over this book but decided fairly quickly not to buy it. The reason? When you subtract all the lengthy appendices, you have a book that is around 160 pages in length. Given the complexity of Bin Ladin and his organization, I can't help but think that so short a text is going to be a very shallow treatment of an extremely important topic. I would urge my fellow readers to bypass "In the Name of Osama Bin Ladin" in favor of Peter Bergen's "Holy War, Inc." Although Bergen's book is not long (about 220 pages if memory serves), I think it is the best book about the topic that is currently available.

Maybe the best book on the subject:
This is not you typical USA-centric CNN analysis of UBL and al-Qaeda. Jacquard's book carries the insight of a foreign intelligence organization which is arguably the most adept in the world at counterterrorism. Unlike Bodansky's UBL bio, which though informative was dry and repetitive, this is written in a journalistic style which makes it exceptionally readable. I learned more about al-Qaeda from this book then any other single text. Very highly recommended.

Full of insight:
In the Name of Osama bin Laden is a close as we're likely to get to an insider's view of al-Qaeda and the interworkings of those closest to bin Laden. The author has incredible access to internal documents--including terrorist training manuals, translations of communiques from bin Laden to his brotherhood, and intelligence papers--that reveal much about the relationship between political/religious groups and the passions of the bin Laden brotherhood. Some will consider them important to coming to an intellectual understanding of the bin Laden network and the mindset of the terrorist while others might see them as evidence--in either case they definitely reward reading. Roland Jacquard's access to players in the drama distinguishes this book. His April 2001 interview with bin Laden is included. This and the other supporting documents (some in English for the first time) that appear toward the end of the book provide important documentation for Jacquard's analysis and descriptions. They are a crucial part of understanding that the bin Laden Brotherhood is active around the globe and there are large issues that must be dealt with. Chilling, but important.

Competent though not Terrific Book:
Jacquard provides a competent if somewhat truncated book that covers much of the same ground covered by other Bin Laden authors. At something like 167 pages, the book is also a little on the short side. Nonetheless the book does provide some interesting tidbits not found in other books. For example, there are a few pages on Bin Laden's links to Iraq, interesting stuff. Overall this book provides a decent overview of Bin Laden and his objectives, there are better out there though. For the price of a paperback, however, this book gets the job done.