# The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden

The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden is a 2022 biography by American journalist Peter Bergen, chronicling the life of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Drawing on newly declassified documents from the 2011 Abbottabad raid, interviews with bin Laden's associates, and U.S. government officials, Bergen studies bin Laden’s radicalization and its origins, his leadership of al-Qaeda, the geopolitical consequences of his actions, and the legacy of his ideology. The book was published by Simon & Schuster and is part of its Bestselling Historical Nonfiction series.

## Author

Bergen is an American journalist, author, and national security analyst known for his work on terrorism and counterterrorism. A vice president at New America and a professor at Arizona State University, Bergen's books include Holy War, Inc., The Osama bin Laden I Know', The Longest War, and Manhunt, which have been translated into multiple languages and adapted into documentaries. He produced the first television interview with Osama bin Laden in 1997 and has since become an expert on al-Qaeda and global terrorism.

## Overview

Bergen frames bin Laden’s radicalization as rooted in social marginalization (his Yemeni heritage and low-status birth to an Alawite mother) and Cold War-era U.S.-Saudi efforts to mobilize Islamist fighters against the Soviet Union. The book debunks myths, including alleged CIA ties to bin Laden during the Soviet-Afghan War and Pakistan’s intentional sheltering of him in Abbottabad.
The book relies on 470,000 files seized during the Abbottabad raid, including bin Laden's journals, family records, and al-Qaeda correspondence. Bergen also cites interviews with former CIA officers, U.S. officials, and bin Laden’s family members. Key documents include a family journal detailing bin Laden’s parenting (e.g., endurance hikes for his sons) and his wives' roles in drafting speeches.
Bergen juxtaposes bin Laden's personal contradictions—such as enforcing strict gender segregation while relying on educated wives to craft his public image—with his strategic ruthlessness. The book details bin Laden's secluded life in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he micromanaged al-Qaeda operations, dyed his beard with Just for Men, and avoided satellite TV images of women. Newly released documents reveal his anxiety over his irrelevance during the Arab Spring and failed al-Qaeda plots in the West.
Bergen critiques strategic blunders by the U.S., including the 2001 failure to deploy sufficient troops at Tora Bora, allowing bin Laden’s escape, the 2003 Iraq War, which diverted resources from Afghanistan and "saved al-Qaeda from oblivion", and the reliance on coercive interrogation, which yielded unreliable intelligence.
The book credits CIA analysts Gina Bennett and Michael Scheuer for early warnings about bin Laden’s threat, while criticizing the Bush administration’s focus on Saddam Hussein.
Bergen argues bin Laden's ideology persists through al-Qaeda's alliance with the Taliban, evidenced by documents affirming ties to the Haqqani network. Despite his death, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 renewed perceptions of bin Laden as a "prophet" among jihadists.

## Critical reception

Author and journalist Jason Burke, in The Guardian, said the biography offered readers "an authoritative and convincing portrait of a man whose misdeeds changed all our lives in many ways, none for the better". Burke stressed how Bergen leveraged newly disclosed documents from the Abbottabad raid to present a nuanced portrayal of Osama bin Laden's private life. Burke said that such a detailed biography is of interest to readers because of bin Laden's life story, stating that "no one will be writing books like this about [ISIS leader] Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," for instance. The reviewer highlighted the analysis of 9/11's paradoxical consequences for al-Qaeda, as it initially weakened the group but later made it gain renewed momentum especially after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Burke lauded the author for contextualizing bin Laden's radicalization within his marginalized social status in Saudi Arabia and Cold War geopolitics. He also critiqued the Bush administration's reliance on unsubstantiated claims to justify military actions. Burke also acknowledged the book’s approach in humanizing bin Laden without diminishing his role in global terrorism.
In the New York Times, Oxford University’s vice chancellor, Louise Richardson, emphasized the author's debunking of persistent myths, such as purported ties between bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, and challenged assertions that torture provided actionable intelligence in locating him. Richardson lauded Bergen's critique of U.S. strategic decisions, particularly the 2003 Iraq War, which inadvertently revitalized al-Qaeda after its post-9/11 decline. She credited the book with illuminating bin Laden's contradictions, such as his austere parenting juxtaposed with reliance on educated wives to shape his public persona. The review also appreciated the analysis of bin Laden's self-mythologizing as a modern Islamic warrior, while questioning the long-term efficacy of counterterrorism strategies that amplified his ideological legacy.
In his review of the book in The Washington Post, Princeton professor Bernard Haykel underscored the biography’s exploration of bin Laden’s psychological motivations, including his resentment over social marginalization stemming from his Yemeni heritage and low-status birth to an Alawite mother. Haykel highlighted the author’s use of seized documents to reveal bin Laden’s meticulous self-fashioning as a prophetic Islamic leader, blending poetry and religious rhetoric to cultivate a heroic persona. Haykel emphasized the book’s critique of Cold War-era U.S. and Saudi policies that inadvertently fostered jihadism by weaponizing Islam against Soviet influence. He noted the analysis of strategic U.S. missteps, including the failure to capture bin Laden at Tora Bora and the Iraq War’s role in galvanizing anti-American sentiment. The review credited the work for contextualizing bin Laden’s rise within broader historical currents while dissecting his enduring ideological legacy.
Author Toby Harnden in The Cipher Brief, emphasized the biography’s focus on Osama bin Laden’s strategic miscalculations, particularly his belief that the 9/11 attacks would expedite U.S. withdrawal from the Middle East, a premise later undermined by the prolonged conflict. He pointed to the author’s use of Abbottabad documents to expose enduring operational ties between al-Qaeda and the Taliban, particularly through the Haqqani network. Harnden credited the work for dispelling myths about CIA collusion with bin Laden during the Soviet-Afghan War and Pakistan’s alleged awareness of his Abbottabad hideout. Harnden stressed the critique of U.S. counterterrorism decisions, including the failure to deploy sufficient forces at Tora Bora and the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, which inadvertently amplified bin Laden’s posthumous influence. He acknowledged the book’s accessible synthesis of complex events while underscoring its warnings about the resilience of jihadist ideologies.
Historian James Barr in The Times, emphasized Bergen’s detailed exploration of pivotal moments in bin Laden’s life such as the deaths of his father and brother, which removed moderating influences and facilitated his radicalization. Barr acknowledged the work's accessibility for general readers but observed that portions retraced themes covered in the author’s earlier writings. Barr also emphasized the book’s critique of U.S. strategic missteps, including the failure to deploy sufficient forces at Tora Bora and the diversion of resources to Iraq, which prolonged bin Laden’s evasion. He praised its revelations about bin Laden’s micromanagement of al-Qaeda and familial dynamics, drawn from seized records.