Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Killing of Osama Bin Laden  By  cover art

The Killing of Osama Bin Laden

By: Seymour M. Hersh
Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $9.00

Buy for $9.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

An electrifying investigation of the White House’ lies about the assassination of Osama bin Laden—from a Pulitzer Prize winner hailed as “the greatest investigative journalist of his era” (New Yorker).

“An explosive account.” —Los Angeles Times

In 2011, an elite group of US Navy SEALS stormed an enclosure in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden, the man the United States had begun chasing before the devastating attacks of 9/11. The news did much to boost President Obama’s first term and played a major part in his reelection victory of the following year. But much of the story of that night, as presented to the world, was incomplete, or a lie. The evidence of what actually went on remains hidden.

At the same time, the full story of the United States’ involvement in the Syrian civil war has been kept behind a diplomatic curtain, concealed by doublespeak. It is a policy of obfuscation that has compelled the White House to turn a blind eye to Turkey’s involvement in supporting ISIS and its predecessors in Syria.

This investigation, which began as a series of essays in the London Review of Books, has ignited a firestorm of controversy in the world media. In his introduction, Hersh asks what will be the legacy of Obama’s time in office. Was it an era of “change we can believe in” or a season of lies and compromises that continued George W. Bush’s misconceived War on Terror? How did he lose the confidence of the general in charge of America’s forces who acted in direct contradiction to the White House? What else do we not know?

©2016 Seymour M. Hersh (P)2016 Random House Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"One of America's greatest investigative reporters." ( New York Times Magazine)
"The most feared investigative reporter in Washington." ( Guardian)
"Hersh's exposés of gross abuses by members of the US military in Vietnam and Iraq have earned him worldwide fame and high journalistic honors." ( Foreign Policy)

What listeners say about The Killing of Osama Bin Laden

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    82
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    68
  • 4 Stars
    28
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    66
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Ridiculous

It appears this book was written based mostly off of one source. It contradicts the seals who have spoken about this story and calls them and many of those in senior government and military positions liars. The conspiracy he speaks of ranks right below men never walking on the moon and the JKF assassination. I am a conservative and not a fan of Obama, but I find this book only as a far fetched attack on Obama and the brave men and women in the CIA and armed forces. Don't waste your time, I am kicking myself for the purchase.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • BG
  • 07-06-16

Red Pill for Syria

I can't recommend this enough to anyone reading this. If you found your way to this page, then you have the requisite intellectual curiosity and skepticism toward official narratives to appreciate this fantastic, old school investigative journalism. Unlike the official narratives parroted in all mainstream media from NYT to FNC to CNN, these articles do not make wild, nonsensical claims (e.g. "we found bin Laden and threw him in the ocean immediately") citing anonymous "intelligence officials". Rather, Hersh makes entirely plausible claims that, with a few exceptions, cite NAMED, credible sources who stand by their statements. It is very telling that Hersh is completely ridiculed, dismissed as a nut, called a traitor, etc. by all mainstream media and all but a handful of politicians. Ad hominem attacks on the messenger, as opposed to evidence disproving the message, are generally a sign that the message is true. The louder the attack, the more important the message.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A must-read

An excellent compilation of some of Hersch's most important pieces of investigative journalism. Everyone who cares about the truth should read this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed the book

Great journalism,telling it as it’s,no p propaganda or truth twisted,touch of wide problems with facts

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lies and Deceit Exposed

Absolutely eye-opening but not surprising how we’ve been lied to by the past five administrations. Before Trump.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Detailed and enlightening

Detailed and enlightening. Would like to hear more from this author and narrator very soon.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not the truth, but interesting

The evidence overwhelmingly contradicts this alternative story (like the publicly accessible treasure trove of documentation found at OBL's hideout proving he was active and not under "house arrest" by the Paks. There might be slivers of truth in his account but it does not represent the whole. Read with a grain of salt.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!