Holy War, Inc: Inside the Secret World of Osama Bin Laden - Peter L. Bergen

Advantages: A good read
Disadvantages: Not based on solid facts

...~ ~ The Bible contains a secret code (the ‘Bible Code’) which has accurately predicted many earth-changing events, among them the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler, the beginning of the last Gulf War, the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, and the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in 2001 by Osama bin Laden. And now it predicts that the world will face Armageddon at the start of the Hebrew year 5766. (2006 in the modern calendar) This will be precipitated by a nuclear attack on Jerusalem by terrorists, which will ultimately lead to the ultimate horror. A nuclear war that will bring about the end of mankind. Well, that is if you choose to give credence to the work of an American journalist called Michael Drosnin, who with the assistance of an Israeli scientist called Dr. Rips claims to have... Read review

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Advantages: Fascinating reading, You'll learn something new
Disadvantages: You might get hungry while you read it

..., it isn't. Little did I know when I started reading this book that I would soon be so captivated that if John Grisham or Stephen King had seen me, they would have turned green with envy. To say the least, this isn't your typical business book - it has action, comedy, suspense, drama, romance and thrills. You see, its all because of Ms. Brenner's writing style. Ms. Brenner brings even the very mundane into the world of extreme interest. She makes much out of the intrigue so that although its really economics, its still interesting. She works her way around marketing so that its suddenly as moving as a love scene. And as for business, by her hand it sounds downright bubbly. This talent is rare and should be treasured. Mind you, you aren't going to find out all the secrets behind these two companies. You probably won't find out any real... Read review

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Advantages: Detailed, informative, essential reading
Disadvantages: Long, heavy, Fisk can go on a bit at times

...to illustrate and answer the question of why - why would someone want to blow themselves up? What would make 19 Saudis, Jordanians, Egyptians and Lebanese get on four planes and kill thousands of people in New York City? Why are we too afraid to ask these questions? The book is not all darkness though, for Fisk slips in some jaw-dropping incidents that have happened to him over the course of his journalistic career. There are the three meetings with Osama Bin Laden, the last of which takes place in a cave somewhere in Afghanistan in the dead of night, where Bin Laden informs Fisk that one of their members had a dream that Fisk had become a Muslim (Fisk, aware of the risks of dishonoring Bin Laden's dream whilst in the midst of a group of men all armed with Kalashnikovs thinks fast). There is the daring nighttime rescue of sailors stranded... Read review

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