Would I call the book exciting? Not exactly. Exasperating? Often, due to a combination of many CIA imposed redactions in the later chapters of the book, and partly due to being reminded of how poorly the "war on terror" was handled in its early phases. But if you asked if the book was informative, interesting, and well worth the read, the answer is absolutely!

The author, Ali Soufan, is a native Arabic speaker who spent eight years as an FBI special agent, from the time just before 9/11 and through the period of the most significant battles against Al Qaeda. Soufan seemed to be something of a legend within the FBI because of his interrogation skills and insights into Arab culture, and now that he's left the FBI, can tell his stories from this most important timeframe.

Soufan's account has been called the most detailed to date by an insider concerning the American investigations of Al Qaeda and the major attacks that the group carried out, including bombings of American Embassies in East Africa, the U.S. Navy destroyer U.S.S. Cole, as well as the Sept. 11 attacks. It's unfortunate that the Central Intelligence Agency required significant redactions to several chapters in the book, especially since many of the redacted passaged are currently in the pubic record. Yet the redactions are not exactly surprising since the Agency leadership and lack of cooperation with the CIA is a frequent target of Mr. Soufan in this book.

Initially, I had my doubts that I'd be able to keep the seemingly endless list of incomprehensible names, places, and descriptions straight in my mind, but that was a needless concern. Soufan ably presents clear and impressive descriptions of the FBI's investigative efforts in identifying those responsible for the terrorist attacks against our country. One can't help but feel proud of the skill and dedication of the Agents performing these important tasks.

On the other hand, once can't help being angry to hear about how rules put in place by bureaucrats in the intelligence agencies prevented cooperation between the FBI and CIA, and hearing how had those barriers not been in place, several of those successful attacks against our country may have been prevented. Also infuriating was hearing of how senior members of the Administration pressured the FBI to draw conclusions to support ideological positions despite facts to the contrary. Equally disturbing was hearing Soufan's very believable descriptions of how senior administration officials and certain CIA officials distorted and inflated the effectiveness of "enhanced interrogation techniques". Soufan's first-person account of his successful interrogations of Al Qaeda and terrorist suspects using professional and skillful techniques vs. "enhanced techniques" is very believable. Many have claimed that waterboarding and enhanced techniques just don't work, and Mr. Soufan makes the case that the FBI tried and true techniques produce results without undermining our principles or breaking our laws.

I had considered myself fairly well informed about the fight against Al Qaeda and terrorism over the past ten years, but found there was much I didn't know once I started reading this book. Despite the interruptions to the flow of the narrative caused by the redactions, I found this a book well worth reading. ( )

One of the best books about Al-Qaeda and the FBI's investigation of them post-9/11 and onward that I've ever read. Ali H. Soufan's story is an essential one for anyone who wants to understand how we could have prevented such a tragedy in 2001; it is also a startling portrait of multi-level incompetence in the U.S. intelligence agency. You'll also read about John O'Neill, Soufan's mentor and best friend, who saw Al-Qaeda's attack on U.S. coming but whose warnings were dutifully ignored by his superiors and who was unfortunately one of the many American victims of 9/11 in the Twin Towers. I can only hope that the redactions in the text will be overturned by the courts as Soufan fights the censorship of his book by the U.S. government; this information is so essential to the public. ( )

This is a great book! Written by one of, if not the main, FBI interrogator of the al-Qaeda operatives, it tells the story of the FBI's following of the al-Qaeda network from the 1990's until present day. The author was born in Lebanon but moved with his family to the US when he was a child. By chance he ended up joining the FBI. Being fluent in Arabic and with an interest in the history of the Middle East and the Muslim faith, he made a hobby of following the events in that part of the world, specifically al-Qaeda. In the FBI this became his focus, first with the investigation of the USS Cole bombing in Yemen. He describes the details of the investigations and how he was able to get captured operatives to cooperate through his knowledge of them individually as well as al-Qaeda and the Muslim faith. He discusses the information that was ignored by the CIA that could have prevented 9/11. He also discusses the use of EITs by the CIA and who directed their use as well as the opposition by the FBI and many in the CIA to the use of these techniques.
I would also recommend viewing the interview with the author by Charlie Rose on PBS as well as the Frontline show "The Investigator". ( )

Ali Soufran worked for the FBI. This is his account of how they questioned suspects after 9/11 and how they were doing a better job of getting credible information until the CIA intervened and started using harsh tactics and got poor information. Biased towards FBI I guess but an interesting read and made me think about it long after. ( )