Table of Contents

Intro: Life After Death
1: The Rise of al-Qaeda
2: The Growing Rift
3: A Success and a Miscalculation
4: Decline and Fall
5: Legacies and Aftershocks
Conclusion: Down to Size

PROLOGUE THE POLITICS OF TERRORISM; CHAPTER 1: THE RISE OF AL-QA'IDA; CHAPTER 2: THE GROWING RIFT: NEAR VERSUS FAR ENEMY; CHAPTER 3: A GREAT SUCCESS AND A MONSTROUS MISCALCULATION (SEPTEMBER 11); CHAPTER 4: DECLINE AND FALL; CHAPTER 5: SHADOWS AND LEGACIES

About the Author

Fawaz A. Gerges, the Director of the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics, is Professor of Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations. His books include Journey of the Jihadist and The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global.

Reviews

"A masterly and trenchant account of the origins of al Qaeda and its decline after 9/11." --Foreign Affairs
"An equally important, but little-noted, angle to the [September 11 attacks] that Western readers would do well to ponder." - Bookforum
"Worth reading" - The Economist
"A cogent examination of al-Qaeda's historical trajectory that integrates major recent developments into its comprehensive analysis." -Library Journal
"Gerges provides an important alternative to that narrative that should be read by policy makers and the general public alike."--John Voll, Georgetown University