Reviews

The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda by Fawaz A. Gerges

reddish_moose's review against another edition

3.0

A very interesting book but the analysis can be very reptitive.

strickvl's review

4.0

It would be easy to criticise this book given everything that has happened since publication (i.e. the much-vaunted "failure" of the Arab Spring) but there's a lot in this book that makes sense. In some ways, it's a nice partner to the book I wrote with my colleague, [a:Felix Kuehn|3158875|Felix Kuehn|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], on the relationship between the Taliban and al-Qaida: [b:An Enemy We Created: The Myth of the Taliban-Al Qaeda Merger in Afghanistan, 1970-2010|13374633|An Enemy We Created The Myth of the Taliban-Al Qaeda Merger in Afghanistan, 1970-2010|Alex Strick van Linschoten|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356487003s/13374633.jpg|18604250]. Specifically, Gerges is more interested in the debates and discussions within US/European policy circles whereas we looked at what was happening on the ground in Afghanistan. It's a quick read. Specialists or those who have been following these things for years will find little that is new, however, so this book is probably not recommended for them.