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HarperCollins
May 2005
352 pages
ISBN: 0060584696
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
The attacks of September 11, 2001, were a calamity on a
scale few had imagined possible. In their aftermath, we
often exaggerated the men who perpetrated them, shaping
hasty and often mistaken reporting into caricatures we
could comprehend -- monsters and master criminals equal to
the enormity of their crimes. In reality, the 9/11
hijackers and their cohorts were unexceptional men, not
much different from countless others. It is this enemy, not
the caricature, that we must understand if we are to have a
legitimate hope of defeating terrorism. The intent of this book is to uncover a better
understanding of who the hijackers were and, thereby, why
they did what they did. Perfect Soldiers traces these men's
lives and the evolution of their beliefs, putting a human
face on heinous acts. Most of the hijackers were from
apolitical and only mildly religious backgrounds. As they
came of age, though, they were shaped by historical tides
and their own circumstances, evolving into devout, pious
Muslims. In fundamentalist Islam, religion and politics are
inseparable; they saw themselves as pilgrims, soldiers of
God. In the end, this is a story about the power of belief
to remake ordinary men. Matching unrivaled research, undertaken in twenty countries
on four continents, with a voice that is engaging,
authoritative, and thought-provoking, Los Angeles Times
correspondent Terry McDermott provides detailed portraits
of the main players of the 9/11 plot, including by far the
most comprehensive study yet produced of Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed, the plan's mysterious engineer. With brilliant
reporting and thoughtful analysis, McDermott brings us a
clearer, more nuanced, and in some ways more frightening
understanding of the landmark event of our time.
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