The Finish
The Killing of Osama bin Laden
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4.2 • 46 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
New York Times bestseller: The true behind-the-scenes story of the manhunt for the 9/11 mastermind is "a page-turner" (Minneapolis Star-Tribune).
From the author of Black Hawk Down and Hue 1968, this is a gripping account of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. With access to key sources, Mark Bowden takes us inside the rooms where decisions were made and on the ground where the action unfolded.
After masterminding the attacks of September 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden managed to vanish. Over the next ten years, as Bowden shows, America found that its war with al Qaeda—a scattered group of individuals who were almost impossible to track—demanded an innovative approach. Step by step, Bowden describes the development of a new tactical strategy to fight this war—the fusion of intel from various agencies and on-the-ground special ops.
After thousands of special forces missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the right weapon to go after bin Laden had finally evolved. By spring 2011, intelligence pointed to a compound in Abbottabad; it was estimated that there was a 50/50 chance that Osama was there. Bowden shows how three strategies were mooted: a drone strike, a precision bombing, or an assault by Navy SEALs. In the end, the president had to make the final decision. It was time for the finish.
"In-depth interviews with Obama and other insiders reveal a White House on edge, facing top-secret options, white-knuckle decisions, and unforeseen obstacles . . . Bowden weaves together accounts from Obama and top decision-makers for the full story behind the daring operation." —Vanity Fair
"The most accessible and satisfying book yet written on the climactic event in the United States' long war against al Qaeda." —San Francisco Chronicle
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestselling author Bowden (Black Hawk Down) follows the long and often cold trail from 9/11 to a compound in Abbottabad, Paki-stan, where a hand-picked... Dream Team of U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden, in this sketchy and surprisingly vapid account. Relying on interviews with President Barack Obama and many of the national security officials directly involved in the planning of the mission, Bowden shows how a sophisticated targeting engine that included supercomputers and surveillance drones tracked down the elusive terrorist mastermind beginning with a single name. Bowden did not interview any of the SEAL team members on the raid, and the action takes place mostly in comfortable government offices far from the tip of the spear. Despite silence from the SEALs, the omniscient author knows what was on their minds ( The one thing... always in their thoughts was danger... ) and in their hearts (they were veterans of many raids, hardened to violence and death ). The hero of Bowden s narrative seems to be Obama, who risked his presidency on the type of uncertain raid that had doomed Jimmy Carter. Readers expecting a detailed, dramatic account of the raid on the Abbottabad compound will be disappointed.
Customer Reviews
A Must Read
Mark Bowden’s The Finish: The Killing of Osama Bin Laden is an excellent and thoroughly researched account of the long pursuit of Osama bin Laden. Bowden provides important historical context from the years leading up to 9/11, examines the massive intelligence effort that followed the attacks, and ultimately takes the reader through the operation that ended with bin Laden’s death in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its look behind the scenes at the intelligence gathering, planning, and decision-making that went into locating bin Laden and approving the mission. Bowden provides insight into the many people and agencies involved, from President Barack Obama and senior national security officials to intelligence personnel and the military commanders responsible for carrying out the operation. It gives the reader a greater appreciation for just how complicated the search for bin Laden was and how many difficult decisions had to be made along the way.
Bowden’s description of the raid itself is generally consistent with the account presented by Matt Bissonnette, who wrote under the name Mark Owen, in No Easy Day. Bissonnette’s book became highly controversial after its publication and resulted in significant legal consequences for the former Navy SEAL. Readers familiar with the film Zero Dark Thirty will also recognize many similarities in the broader story of the intelligence effort and eventual raid.
One interesting aspect of The Finish is that Bowden does not focus on Rob O’Neill, who later publicly identified himself as the SEAL who fired the shots that killed bin Laden. Those interested in O’Neill’s version of events would need to read his memoir, The Operator, for his personal account.
Overall, The Finish is an informative, exciting, and extremely well-written account of one of the most significant counterterrorism operations in modern American history. Although the book has been available for more than a decade, I still learned a great deal from it despite having already read and watched a considerable amount about bin Laden, 9/11, and the raid in Abbottabad.
Mark Bowden is a gifted writer who has the ability to make complex historical and military events both understandable and compelling. I highly recommend The Finish to anyone interested in military history, intelligence operations, counterterrorism, or the events surrounding the hunt for Osama bin Laden. It is an engaging account of an operation that has become an important part of modern history.
Left leaning propaganda
Left leaning propaganda