Kirkus Review
Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Soufan is the Lebanese-born Arab American FBI agent who successfully interrogated dozens of al-Qaeda terrorist operatives involved with the U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa, the bombing of the USS Cole, and 9/11 and other attacks. Fluent in Arabic and highly regarded as empathetic yet incredibly keen, he was in many ways the perfect agent to infiltrate the Muslim terrorist cell network. Soufan describes how he derived useful and actionable information from detainees without once using torture, threats of violence, or enhanced interrogation techniques, such as water boarding, stress positions, and humiliation. He did this by treating the subjects humanely, befriending them and getting them to trust him, and then using psychology to outwit them. Soufan challenges the hard-line ideas about interrogation and torture promoted by some members of the CIA and government officials in the Bush administration. He says that enhanced interrogation techniques are anti-American, simply don't work, and only create faulty intelligence that cannot be used in a court of law. Soufan's most damning claim is that while he worked for the FBI, the CIA refused to share evidence with him that could have prevented 9/11. Keeping the numerous Arabic names straight may be nearly impossible for many; not only do they seem foreign and unpronounceable, but most of the al-Qaeda operatives use pseudonyms. Over time, however, the main players do begin to emerge. Soufan delivers the real inside scoop on how the leaders of al-Qaeda planned and executed the now-infamous deadly terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. As much as he wants to avenge the lost lives of the Americans and others killed in these attacks, he is not totally unsympathetic to his captives. By putting a human face on the al-Qaeda operatives, he helps us to understand their motives and various and sometimes clashing personalities. Parts of the book were redacted out by the CIA despite Soufan's objections, but the message is clear. There is much to get through in the detailed background story of bin Laden and al-Qaeda, but the revelations uncovered are worth it; this is a story that had to be told.--Siegfried, David Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
This book stands out among the numerous books published on al-Qaeda because it provides information not found in other volumes; many have relied on Soufan's information, at times anonymously, but none has offered all that is here. Soufan was the FBI's most knowledgeable special agent dealing with al-Qaeda's activities and became the source of the most useful actionable intelligence on this terrorist organization. As an interrogator with unique skills, Soufan gained firsthand, reliable information about many al-Qaeda operatives. What has been remarkable about the valuable information provided by Soufan to the FBI is that he obtained all of his data without resorting to torture and objected to the prevalent use of the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques that were devised during the George W. Bush administration. This absorbing book details accounts of Soufan's treasure trove of data that he provided to the U.S. government well before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, some of which were ignored. VERDICT The best and most original book published in the West on al-Qaeda, this is highly recommended. (Although Soufan never worked for the CIA, the FBI submitted a draft of this book to the CIA, which redacted several sections. The CIA did not sign off on the index, which is why there is none.) [See Prepub Alert, 3/21/11.]-Nader Entessar, Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
