Manhunt

The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden - from 9-11 to Abbottabad

By: Peter L. Bergen

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

From the author of the New York Times best-selling Holy War, Inc., this is the definitive account of the decade-long manhunt for the world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden.

Al Qaeda expert and CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen paints a multidimensional picture of the hunt for bin Laden over the past decade, including the operation that killed him. Other key elements of the book include:

• A careful account of President Obama’s decision-making process as the raid was planned
• The fascinating story of a group of CIA analysts—largely women—who never gave up assembling the tiniest clues about OBL’s whereabouts
• The untold and action-packed history of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and the SEALs
• An analysis of what the death of OBL means for al Qaeda, and for Obama’s legacy.

Just as Too Big to Fail captured, in riveting detail, the anatomy of this decade’s financial disaster, so too is Manhunt one of the key stories of this decade: the authoritative, immersive account of the operation that killed the man who organized the largest mass murder in American history.

©2012 Peter L. Bergen (P)2012 Random House

Critic reviews

"In Manhunt, Peter Bergen has produced a page-turner rich with new information and insight into the search for Bin Laden and his killing. Only Bergen, America's foremost counterterrorism writer, could have produced a book of such energy and authority - a triumph." (Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001)
"Ten years of grit, intelligent hard work, and daring led to Operation Neptune Spear, and Bergen captures it all in a story that is both a riveting page turner and a definitive history. Revealing details of bin Laden's last years in self-imposed prison, the debates of the CIA analysts who tracked him, and the training of the SEALs who killed him, Manhunt is essential reading for anyone who wants to know the real story of how the world's most wanted terrorist was finally brought to justice." (Eric Greitens, author of The Heart and The Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL)
"With masterly reporting, Peter Bergen takes us where we've never been: behind the high walls of Osama bin Laden's last hideout and behind the scenes of the heroic and painstaking hunt for the Al Qaeda mastermind. Manhunt is a thrilling read." (Anderson Cooper, CNN anchor)

Exciting And comprehensive

Any additional comments?

Liked the narration very much EXCEPT for the accents Deakins tried to adopt when quoting someone, they are comical, sometimes painful to listen to.

A Real Live Thriller

Would you listen to Manhunt again? Why?

Yes because there is lots of information that needs to be absorbed and because it is a story about a significant subject that has consequences now and in our country''s and the world's future.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Manhunt?

The detail about the planning that went into the raid and killing of Bin Laden

Which character – as performed by Mark Deakins – was your favorite?

I had no favorite character -- the story itself was fabulously interesting.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No - I liked prolonging the read so that I could absorb the content - I will probably will reread it. Next time I made actually read it and not listen to it.

Any additional comments?

I loved this book and I loved the detail with which the story unfolded. One criticism I did not like the reader imitating women's voices and the dialect of people who were Muslim or Arabic. That felt condescending.. I would have preferd the reader just using his own voice without changes in his voice.

I never get tired of this story...

This book is finely crafted and expertly narrated. I've listened to it well over a dozen times and it never gets old.

Bergen is a definitely one of the experts on Bin Laden and Al Queda. His story closely follows the Bin Laden narrative assumed by most, albeit filled with details. The book starts from the beginning of Al Queda, then leads up to the raid.

I highly recommend this book if you're interested in Al Queda, the Bin Laden raid, or the war on terror. The story is as exciting as any fiction book and Mark Deakins does an excellent job narrating it.

Great Audio Book

Very interesting and entertaining, we only know what our government wants us to know. If this is really what happen to Bin Laden it was a good non fiction book.

DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!

Do not miss this one! I followed George W. Bush’s war on terror and the new policies of Barack Obama through news reports and through many of the books published over the years. The books ranged from excellent to slanted political rants. Peter Bergen’s thoughtful, well written and well sourced book is one of the best. It is outstanding!

He takes the listener along from the beginning to end of Operation Neptune Spear after ten long years of searching for clues as to the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden. Familiar names of politicians and political appointees turn up in new roles and positions to make decisions about whether new information is accurate enough to risk deadly action. How much risk, diplomatically, internationally, and politically are we willing to take to remove the head of the organization that inflicted 9/11 us.

I gained a greater understanding of and sympathy for people in the planning process at the highest level of government when decisions have life and death consequences. As the planning progressed and what seemed like an infinite number of “what if” scenarios were raised and analyzed trying to reduce the odds of failure one more point, I found myself wanting to scream “Just do it. You cannot get to zero risk when people are involved.” Maybe if the people are Navy SEALS there is a better chance to reach zero risk than we know. There is suspense. There is action. There are scenes in the White House and in Bin Laden’s bedroom. I am neither in the military nor in politics, but I can highly recommend “MANHUNT.” The narration and the writing are excellent.

It is a great listen.

Interesting / Puff Piece

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes. The facts and inside perpective is compeling. The only problem is making the President look like Alexander the Great and Attila The Hun.
There is definitely a propaganda agenda here for the President by making President Bush look inept and the demeaning of Donald Trump.
These facts spoiled an otherwise interesting story and should have been left out.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The specifics of the killing of UBL.
The President's incredible acumen for decision making, please!

Which scene was your favorite?

The Situation Room.

Do you think Manhunt needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No.

Any additional comments?

None

Excellent book with narration flaws

The story itself is very compelling; along with Mark Bowden’s The Finish which complements this book well. The narration is a mixed bag. The most glaring error is the continual mispronunciation of Abbottabad. It l has four syllables, not three! Also the affectation of accents and voices is annoying at best and borders on racism and sexism at worst. Just read. The narrator’s voice is pleasant otherwise, but the mispronunciation of the major place in the book and the voices which almost seem like SNL caricatures need to go.

Fantastic.

Great history lesson, including the last 10 years.
An uncommon peak into our defense department and how it works.

Compelling Narrative

The saga of capturing Bin Laden is long and drawn out and contains many characters. The narrative in Manhunt made this easy to understand and interesting.

Fascinating! Don't miss this one.

This is great storytelling, with just the right amount of detail and well told. I hadn't really realized how interesting each part of it would be, peeking behind the scenes at every stage of the process. I found the coverage balanced, not favouring any particular outlook or presidency. It IS a great success of the Obama presidency and, even though I don't support him overall, we all can celebrate successes by any president, hopefully. After all, we're all Americans! (I'm actually Canadian, but you know what I mean).

Women especially, haven't you wondered how his wives fit into all of this, what kind of people they were, how they lived? In this book, you find out.

In the epilogue of the book, he relates the other threats of militant Islam besides Al Qaida, which by this point in time, after he wrote the book, have proved to be very troubling indeed. Bergen doesn't see the whole movement as a threat overall to the West, comparable to Communism or Nazism, and I hope he's right. Time only will tell. I think it's better to take it seriously though and I think the real story is NOT that Bush screwed up in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that there aren't easy answers to this threat and no president would likely have been able to 'fix' it. I think it should be clear it's a long struggle, dating perhaps from 1979, and obviously still with us.

But this book is a riveting account of every stage of this particular mission and for anyone even slightly interested, a very enjoyable book!