The Killing of Osama Bin Laden, Seymour M. Hersh
The Killing of Osama Bin Laden, Seymour M. Hersh
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The Killing of Osama Bin Laden

Author: Seymour M. Hersh

Narrator: Eric Jason Martin

Unabridged: 3 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/12/2016


Synopsis

An electrifying investigation of the White House’ lies about the assassination of Osama bin Laden—from a Pulitzer Prize winner hailed as “the greatest investigative journalist of his era” (New Yorker).

“An explosive account.” —Los Angeles Times

In 2011, an elite group of US Navy SEALS stormed an enclosure in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden, the man the United States had begun chasing before the devastating attacks of 9/11. The news did much to boost President Obama’s first term and played a major part in his reelection victory of the following year. But much of the story of that night, as presented to the world, was incomplete, or a lie. The evidence of what actually went on remains hidden.

At the same time, the full story of the United States’ involvement in the Syrian civil war has been kept behind a diplomatic curtain, concealed by doublespeak. It is a policy of obfuscation that has compelled the White House to turn a blind eye to Turkey’s involvement in supporting ISIS and its predecessors in Syria.

This investigation, which began as a series of essays in the London Review of Books, has ignited a firestorm of controversy in the world media. In his introduction, Hersh asks what will be the legacy of Obama’s time in office. Was it an era of “change we can believe in” or a season of lies and compromises that continued George W. Bush’s misconceived War on Terror? How did he lose the confidence of the general in charge of America’s forces who acted in direct contradiction to the White House? What else do we not know?

About The Author

Seymour Hersh has written for the New Yorker and the London Review of Books, as well as serving as a Washington correspondent for the New York Times. He established himself at the forefront of investigative journalism more than four decades ago with an exposé of the massacre in My Lai, Vietnam, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. Since then he has uncovered stories such as Kissinger’s role in extending the Vietnam War as well as the military torture regime at Abu Ghraib prison. He has won the George Polk prize five times, the National Magazine Award for Public Interest twice, the LA Times Book Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tariq on May 01, 2016

The plot is simple enough. The government will release its in-corroborative version of events, most main stream media will dutifully sex up the story for the general consumption, and both will stick to this story as now their credibility depends on it. Years down the line, after much hours of painst......more

Goodreads review by Alex on April 06, 2016

Seymour Hersh’s “The Killing of Osama bin Laden” goes beyond talking about bin Laden, digging further into the war against ISIS, Benghazi and concerns with Iraq, Turkey, Russia, China, and Syria. For readers of the London Review of Books, much of this small book is from Hersh’s articles spanning May......more

Goodreads review by James on April 23, 2016

Seymour Hersh is an outstanding reporter, probably one of America’s preeminent journalists of the late 20th/early 21st century. This is the man who broke the story of the Mai Lai massacre in Vietnam, did much to break the story of Israel’s nascent nuclear weapons programme in the 1980’s, and then st......more

Goodreads review by Emmet on January 02, 2024

Only about 25% of this is actually about the event the title references. That portion is told in a way that will give you whiplash, but is spooky if true. The credence you give Hersh’s narrative will depend entirely upon how much you are willing to trust anonymous “high-level” sources. The other 75%......more

Goodreads review by Philip on March 22, 2017

Hersh has been exposing the lies and misrepresentations made by those in power for decades. This book demonstrates that he continues to be one the best, if not the best, investigative journalist working today. Those unacquainted with Hersh's recent work and the revelations contained in this short vol......more


Quotes

"I’ve long admired the skill and independence with which Hersh has brought important and concealed information to light.”
—Ahmed Rashid, New York Review of Books

“It is the demands of state secrecy, their distressing effects on US foreign policy—and ultimately their subversion of the democratic process—that unify the four essays in Seymour Hersh’s The Killing of Osama Bin Laden … An explosive account.”
Los Angeles Times

“Vintage Hersh. It takes issue with every part and participle of the story about Osama bin Laden’s death.”
Times Literary Supplement

“Hersh’s account is more plausible than the official version and more thought-provoking than the movie Zero Dark Thirty, which dramatised the hunt for Bin Laden … my bet is that he’s got closer to the truth about Bin Laden’s death than anyone else has yet.”
Independent

“Seymour Hersh’s theories surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden and recent events in Syria are forceful.”
Guardian

The Killing of Osama bin Laden is the clearest articulation of how US policy on the Middle East has shifted, with often damaging consequences … Required reading for those seeking firm answers from US presidential candidates before they take office.”
—Joseph Dana, LA Review of Books

“Seymour Hersh is without a doubt the most important journalist in the United States … [The Killing of Osama bin Laden] is a masterpiece of investigation.”
—Jonathan Sturgeon, Flavorpill

“Riveting, provocative … a critical book for anyone concerned with the importance of truth in democratic governance.”
—Hans Rollman, PopMatters

“A devastating critique.”
—Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“One of America’s greatest investigative reporters.”
New York Times Magazine

“The last great American reporter.”
Financial Times

“Quite simply, the greatest investigative journalist of his era.”
—David Remnick, Editor-in-Chief, New Yorker

“The Pulitzer Prize winner builds on his reputation as an iconic investigative journalist, skewering the conventional wisdom about the death of Osama bin Laden.”
Kirkus

“Few aspects of the official version of Seal Team Six’s killing of bin Laden in May 2011 survive Hersh’s scrutiny.”
Publishers Weekly