The Age of Sacred Terror

Radical Islam's War Against America

De: Daniel Benjamin, Steven Simons

Narrado por: Philip Bosco

Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon began working on this book shortly after leaving the National Security Council, where, as director and senior director for counterterrorism, they watched the rise of al-Qaeda and helped coordinate America’s fight against Usama bin Laden and his organization. They warned in articles and interviews about the appearance of a new breed of terrorists who were determined to kill on the grand scale. More than a year before September 11, 2001, they began writing The Age of Sacred Terror to sound the alarm for a nation that had not recognized the gravest threat of our time.

One of their book’s original goals has remained: to provide the insights to understand an enemy unlike any seen in living memory—one with an extraordinary ability to detect weakness and exploit it, one with a determination to inflict catastrophic damage, one that will not be deterred. But after September 11, a second, equally crucial goal was added: to understand how America let its defenses down, how warnings went unheeded, and how key parts of the government failed at vital tasks. The Age of Sacred Terror also describes the road ahead, where the terrorists will look to draw strength, and what the United States must do, at home and abroad, to stop them. For a year after the attacks that redefined terrorism and devastated the public’s sense of security, America has been searching for answers about those responsible for one of the darkest days in our history and explanations for the glaring gaps in our defenses. The Age of Sacred Terror provides both, with unique authority. It is the book that Americans must read to understand the foremost challenge we face.©2002 Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon; (P)2002 Random House Inc., Random House Audio, a Division of Random House Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A lucid, passionate, shocking account of Islamist terrorism. Anyone interested in how the enemies of the West operate will want to read this book. And even those who are not, should.”
-Ian Buruma

"The Age of Scared Terror provides a staggering account of the origins of al-Qaeda, its motives and its bloody history since the early 1990s. After reading this book no one should be in any doubt that a new and unprecedented form of terrorism dedicated to the mass destruction of human life now exists. The book is also the chilling story of how slow and reluctant the West has been to recognize and counter an enemy whose intentions are more deadly than any it has ever faced before. The events of September 11, 2001, changed the world: Ours has truly become the age of sacred terror. This book explains in great and compelling detail how those events were possible, how they might perhaps have been avoided, and how they could occur again. Everyone should read it - and be warned."
-Anthony Pagden

"Of the many books spawned by September 11, this one is in a class by itself. The authors range widely and authoritatively from history to current events; from fast-paced narrative to sharp, often original analysis; from deep behind enemy lines, where they get into the heads of the enemy, to the Situation Room in the basement of the White House where the American response is formulated (and where the authors logged so many hours themselves). In the phrase that has gained such currency since 9/11, here's a book that truly connects the dots. It does so in a spare, lucid style with flashes of real brilliance and with admirable fairness to all three administrations -- from Bush to Clinton to Bush -- that have grappled with a decade of steadily escalating terrorism."
-Strobe Talbott, former deputy Secretary of State and author of The Russia Hand: A Memoir of Presidential Diplomacy

Chilling & Informative

Everyone should read or listen to this book. It is about the reality of the terrorist war being waged and the warped "religious" extremist minds behind it. I found the book to be basically apolitical (although some would contend it is a slam on both the Bush administration and to a lesser degree on the Clinton administration). Politics aside, the stark reality is that no administration would have had the political power and backing of the populace without a cataclysmic event. It took Pearl Harbor to galvanize America for WWII. This war is different of course, but it is a tragedy that Clinton was tangled in his own zipper while terrorists were finalizing their plans to lay seige on America. The national distraction and the paralysis of the Clinton administration during the Lewinsky scandal ultimately may have cost many innocent lives and allowed terrorists a free reign in Afganistan and others harboring them. Why? because Clinton could not get himself, the US military, US Congress and US people to focus on hunting down and destroying the biggest threat national security. That is a collosal failure of leadership. Later, when the reins were turned over to the Bush administration, the Republican president kept two key Democrats on board: both focused on national security. If Richard Clark did not think the Bush administration was focused enough on the terrorist threats-- then why did he not resign and make a huge issue of it at the time? It is far too easy now to point fingers(and sell books during an election year to cash in). The most important point of this book (The Age of Sacred Terror) is not political. It is the chilling reality that we are dealing with cold-blooded fanatics who will stop at nothing in their twisted quest to destroy the West's infidels. In order to stop them, it is critical to understand their methods and thinking. And have leaders who recognize the new reality and then act decisively.

Stays on Track

The first few chapters of this book seem overwhelming detailed concerning the events of WTC Bombing and September 11th. This a fine inclusion to the overall message of the book it seems to drag on a bit, but when the book does pick up steam it does so quite well. The author takes the reader into the world of counter terror policies of the Clinton and Bush administrations then brings us back around to the issue of religiously motivated terror. The tag team reading bit wasn't distracting as it is in other books that try to accomplish that effect. Thought provoking for sure.

Good Perspective to Understand

Great read (listen). Great perspective to understand where terrorism has come from and where it is going. Authors clearly prefer Clinton foreign policy to Bush (current) foreign policy.