The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright Summary
Overview of The Looming Tower
Pulitzer-winning masterpiece unveiling the hidden path to 9/11. Five years of global interviews expose intelligence failures that changed history. Adapted by Hulu and hailed as "indispensable" reading, Wright's investigation asks: Could America's greatest tragedy have been prevented?
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The Roots of Catastrophe: How a Literary Critic's American Journey Sparked a Movement
Think of a middle-aged Egyptian man standing on a New York dock in 1949, clutching his suitcase as a "half-naked" woman knocks on his cabin door. He flees in panic, thanking God for helping him resist temptation. This wasn't just culture shock-it was the beginning of a worldview that would ultimately reshape global politics and cost thousands of lives. Sayyid Qutb arrived in America expecting moral bankruptcy, and he found exactly what he was looking for. While Americans celebrated postwar prosperity, Qutb wandered festive streets feeling profoundly alone, craving "a real conversation on the issues of man, philosophy, and soul" instead of talk about "dollars, movie stars, brands of cars." Even in Greeley, Colorado-a temperance colony that should have appealed to his conservative sensibilities-he saw only spiritual emptiness beneath the flowering gardens and church steeples. What radicalized Qutb wasn't just cultural difference but racial humiliation. He watched a Black man beaten by a white mob. He experienced discrimination firsthand. America made him "sharply aware of himself as a man of color," and he returned to Egypt in 1950 declaring "the white man in Europe or America is our number-one enemy," advocating teaching children "hatred, disgust, and revenge." During a decade of imprisonment and torture under Nasser's regime, Qutb smuggled out his manifesto "Milestones," dividing the world into two camps: Islam and jahiliyya (ignorance)-a category that encompassed all modern life. When offered mercy in exchange for recanting, he refused: "My words will be stronger if they kill me." Hanged in 1966, Qutb became the martyr whose ideas would inspire a young Egyptian doctor named Ayman al-Zawahiri and countless others seeking to reverse the course of history.
The Making of a Monster: How Privilege and Humiliation Forged Al-Qaeda's Brain
The Unlikely Terrorist: From Bonanza-Watching Playboy to Holy Warrior
The Crucible: How Afghanistan Forged a Terrorist Army
The Breaking Point: When America Became the Enemy
The Gathering Storm: Intelligence Failures and Missed Warnings
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"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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