The Finish: The killing of Osama bin Laden - Couverture souple

'There wasn't a meeting when someone didn't mention Black Hawk Down .' - A senior Obama administration official, as quoted in The New York Times, 02/05/2011 F

rom Mark Bowden, internationally bestselling and acclaimed author of Black Hawk Down and the preeminent chronicler of the actions of the US military and special forces writing today, comes an intensely gripping account of the hunt for and elimination of Osama bin Laden.

With unprecedented access to key sources and his great gift for storytelling, Bowden takes us inside the rooms where decisions were made and where the action unfolded.

The story focuses on bin Laden, who maintained a steady stream of despairing correspondence in hiding in the year before his death, and on President Obama, perceived by many as an anti-war candidate because of his opposition to the Iraq War, whose evolving views and enormous responsibilities have turned him into one of the most determined warriors to ever inhabit the White House.

It details the rapid evolution of war-fighting methods over the last decade, as American special forces and intelligence agencies have adapted to fight non-state enemies like Al-Qaeda, and how they came together seamlessly in May 2011 to kill the world's most notorious terrorist.

Tracing the operation in blow-by-blow detail, Bowden's book is an unrivaled account of the most high-profile special forces operation ever to have been undertaken, and a page-turning narrative of how the man behind 9/11 was finally brought to justice.

Praise for Mark Bowden:

"Amazing . . . One of the most intense, visceral reading experiences imaginable. . . . The individual stories are woven together in such a compelling and expert fashion, the narrative flows so seamlessly, that it's hard to imagine that this is not fiction."--"The Philadelphia Inquirer" on "Black Hawk Down"

"The reader can visualize the action, smell the dust and sweat and the reek of explosives, and even enter into the exultation, fear, rage, pain, confusion, and exhaustion of the combatants. . . . Because he was able to interview survivors on both sides relatively soon after the action, Bowden's story has a vitality and freshness usually lacking in accounts of combat."--"The New York Review of Books" on "Black Hawk Down"

"One of the most gripping and authoritative accounts of combat ever written."--"USA Today" on "Black Hawk Down"

"A compelling, almost Shakespearean tale."--"Los Angeles Times" on "Killing Pablo"

"Heart-stopping, and heart-breaking." --"New York Times Book Review" on "Guests of the Ayatollah"