The Exile

Absolutely spine-chilling, breathless, heart-rending, astonishing. So hard to put down * Sunday Times on The Siege *
Propulsive, intense, exceedingly well-reported . . . a tragedy and a thriller with concussive human and political resonance. I read it in what felt like three blinks * New York Times on The Siege *
Compulsive and brilliantly researched. Reads like a fast-paced thriller -- William Dalrymple on 'The Siege'
By tracking down the myriad bin Laden family members, associates and al-Qaeda members that inhabit this huge tour-de-force of a read, the authors have brought the personality of bin Laden into a sharper focus than could ever have been imagined. The detail mustered is little short of incredible, and evidently the result of forensic research only the best of investigative journalists could dig out ... Big it might be, but it is also a page-turner. There have been many books before on bin Laden and al-Qaeda, but this is one of the best -- David Pratt * Glasgow Herald *
This book is a tour de force and the first detailed account told by al-Qaeda members themselves, making good use of the diaries of Abu Zubaydah, the captured al-Qaeda facilitator, as well as extensive interviews with one of its religious thinkers ... It tells us lots of things we knew, but in far more detail -- Christina Lamb * Sunday Times *
Remarkable ... They have produced the best account yet of what happened to al-Qaida after 9/11: it is an astonishingly good piece of work -- Owen Bennett-Jones * Guardian *
The authors have tracked down and spoken with many of the participants, including senior al-Qaeda members and close relatives of Osama bin Laden, which in itself is a piece of outstanding journalistic bravery. As a result, the book has an impact and immediacy far stronger than much of the other literature on the subject. Scott-Clark and Levy deserve huge credit for this * Literary Review *
Detailed and meticulous, the book tackles the subject from all angles, providing a panoramic view of the subject and acting to enlighten and inform the reader ... at once fascinating and heady * TheBookbag.co.uk *