The Siege of Mecca
The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's Holiest Shrine & the Birth of Al-Qaeda
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Narrated by:
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Todd McLaren
About this listen
Despite U.S. assistance, the Saudi royal family proved haplessly incapable of dislodging the occupier, whose ranks included American converts to Islam. In Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini blamed the "Great Satan", the United States, for defiling the shrine, prompting mobs to storm and torch American embassies in Pakistan and Libya.
The desperate Saudis finally enlisted the help of French commandos led by Captain Paul Barril, who prepared the final assault and supplied the poison gas that knocked out the insurgents. Though most captured gunmen were quickly beheaded, the Saudi royal family responded to this unprecedented challenge by compromising with the rebels' supporters among the kingdom's most senior clerics, helping them nurture and export Juhayman's violent brand of Islam around the world.
Written with the pacing, detail, and suspense of a real-life thriller, The Siege of Mecca reveals how Saudi reaction to the uprising in Mecca set free the forces that produced the attacks of 9/11 and the harrowing circumstances that surround us today.
©2007 Yaroslav Trofimov (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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The Talmud says: “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.” This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israel’s DNA. From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, protecting the nation from harm has been the responsibility of its intelligence community and armed services, and there is one weapon in their vast arsenal that they have relied upon to thwart the most serious threats: Targeted assassinations have been used countless times, on enemies large and small....
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Eye Opening
- By Ari Safari on 02-09-18
By: Ronen Bergman
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Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu
- And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts
- By: Joshua Hammer
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that had fallen into obscurity. The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu tells the incredible story of how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist and historian from the legendary city of Timbuktu, later became one of the world's greatest and most brazen smugglers.
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It seemed like a good idea at the time
- By Jennifer A Greenhalgh on 08-10-16
By: Joshua Hammer
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The Fall of Heaven
- The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran
- By: Andrew Scott Cooper
- Narrated by: Assaf Cohen
- Length: 22 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In this remarkably human portrait of one of the 20th century's most complicated personalities, author Andrew Scott Cooper traces Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's life from childhood through his ascension to the throne in 1941. He highlights the turbulence of the postwar era, during which the shah survived assassination attempts and coup plots to build a modern, pro-Western state and launch Iran onto the world stage as one of the world's top five powers.
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Excellent account of a pivotal and sad time
- By Guerin Shea on 09-05-16
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The Assassins' Gate
- America in Iraq
- By: George Packer
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 19 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The Assassins' Gate, so dubbed by American soldiers, is the entrance to the American zone in the city of Baghdad. In 2003, the United States blazed into Iraq to depose dictator Saddam Hussein. But after three years and unknown thousands killed, that country faces an escalating civil war and an uncertain fate. How did it get to this point?
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Highly Recommended
- By Drapeau on 02-01-07
By: George Packer
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Killing Jesus
- A History
- By: Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Bill O'Reilly
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Millions of people have thrilled to best-selling authors Bill O'Reilly and historian Martin Dugard's Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, works of nonfiction that have changed the way we view history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth. Nearly 2,000 years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God.
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The Jesus story in context
- By Kimberly on 10-01-13
By: Bill O'Reilly, and others
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Striking Back
- The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and Israel's Deadly Response
- By: Aaron J. Klein
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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1972. The Munich Olympics. Palestinian members of the Black September group murder 11 Israeli athletes. Nine hundred million people watch the crisis unfold on television, witnessing a tragedy that inaugurates the modern age of terror.
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Very, very good book. When researched.
- By Roadrunner At Large on 01-26-06
By: Aaron J. Klein
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Into the Hands of the Soldiers
- Freedom and Chaos in Egypt and the Middle East
- By: David D. Kirkpatrick
- Narrated by: David D. Kirkpatrick
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Egypt has long set the paradigm for Arab autocracy. It is the keeper of the peace with Israel and the cornerstone of the American-backed regional order. So when Egyptians rose up to demand democracy in 2011, their 30 months of freedom convulsed the whole region. Now a new strongman, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, is building a dictatorship so severe some call it totalitarian. The economy sputters, an insurgency simmers, Christians suffer, and the Israeli military has been forced to intervene. But some in Washington - including President Trump - applaud Sisi as a crucial ally.
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may get better, but presentation is off putting
- By Fruggs on 08-28-18
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Fractured Lands
- How the Arab World Came Apart
- By: Scott Anderson
- Narrated by: Scott Anderson
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2011 a series of antigovernment uprisings shook the Middle East and North Africa in what would become known as the Arab Spring. Few could predict that these convulsions, initially hailed in the West as a triumph of democracy, would give way to brutal civil war, the terrors of the Islamic State, and a global refugee crisis. But, as New York Times best-selling author Scott Anderson shows, the seeds of catastrophe had been sown long before. In this gripping account, Anderson examines the myriad complex causes of the region's profound unraveling.
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Timely and a must to listen to!
- By becky robbins on 05-05-17
By: Scott Anderson
What listeners say about The Siege of Mecca
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Jeanie Bond
- 11-06-09
Just Excellent
Complete and balanced. An essential read (Step NO. One in a process) for anyone really wanting to understand the relationship between the Saudi Arabia's leadership and U.S.A., between Al Qida and other Sunni Arabs; where America (and Russia) went wrong.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Richard
- 03-26-12
Must read - the origins of fanatical Islam
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I have spent 20 years in the Middle East and this book carefully researched captures the events that have led up to the modern shaping of politics in the Middle East and the rise of fanatical Islam. A must read. Written like a novel the truth however is stranger than fiction and the story is so compelling that you cannot put it down.
What did you like best about this story?
Yaroslav Trofimov interviewed and researched this book by getting behind the steel curtain of censorship that is so pervasive in Saudi Arabia.
What does Todd McLaren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Read with pace and vigor.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Definitely
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- Umar Lee
- 06-23-19
Find An Arabic Speaker
The narrator butchers even the most basic Arabic words. Publishers should've really tried to have found someone who is either an Arabic speaker or familiar with Islamic terminology. the story itself is interesting, but with a little non useful CT speak. I'd reccomend buying the print copy.
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- Sven J
- 02-17-16
Very Good Narration, Very Bad pronunciation
Would you consider the audio edition of The Siege of Mecca to be better than the print version?
About the same
What aspect of Todd McLaren’s performance would you have changed?
The Arabic word are constantly mispronounced.
Even something as simple as the Saudi ruling family's name is wrongly pronounced as al-saad as opposed to correct pronunciation aal-e-sa'ood.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Yassert Gonzalez
- 11-11-19
Roots of Wahhabism
This book describes in luxurious detail the key event that led the Saudi monarchy to embrace that virulent strain of religious extremism called "Wahhabism." It is required reading for all those interested in the roots of radical Islam. All modern terrorists groupsm can be traced back to Wahhabism.
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- Janypoo
- 07-03-10
Provides a better understanding
The events chronicled in this book helps one better understand the mind-set of radical Islam and how those thought processes influenced the relationships the US now has with various Middle Eastern countries. Having lived and worked in the Middle East for a year and a half, and getting some insight into the culture, I had the advantage of being able to read between the lines for even greater understanding. I believe the author was very objective in his analysis of the events leading up to the crisis, and those resulting from it. This is a good book for anyone who wants a clearer understanding of US/Middle Eastern politics.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Michael
- 04-30-16
Terror 101
Very well written, thoroughly researched. It's packed with information, but doesn't get bogged down in details. The author keeps it moving like a movie, with a main arc and subplots that enhance. The last chapter tells about the aftermath and presents an argument that the siege was, in a sense, a formative event leading up to the rise of Al Qaeda and ISIS. A must-read for anybody who wants to understand the historical forces behind the age of international terrorism that we now live in.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Erich
- 01-09-15
Accents
Just a performance note. If the audiobook is not dramatized by different narrators, no accents for the different characters please. Even if they're good they still distract too much.
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Overall
- Mitch Emswiller
- 05-31-08
"The Siege" - A Review
If you enjoy connecting the dots of past incidents in the Middle East and seeing their impact on today's world...A MUST "READ"! Fast paced, easily understood. Doesn't get into mundane minutia but flies at 30,000 feet. Fanatic zealots think their guy is the Machti (the prophet the returns to save the world and purge all infidels from the lands of Islam).
To prove their point they seize the grand temple in Mecca and kill hundreds of innocents. This causes the entangling of the House of Saud, the US, other Islamic countries, and France's elite anti-terrorism squadron.
CAUTION: you may miss work sitting in the parking lot, while waiting for the end!
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10 people found this helpful
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- S. Marshall Priddy
- 11-29-15
Delivers exactly what it promises.
Not a great deal to say here, in the "happy marriages are all alike" fashion. The book isn't incredibly long, it's focused on a particular incident (along with tying it in with things that preceded and followed), and the prose moved well while covering the material well. I found it fascinating and finished in a consecutive line of commutes in just a few days. Highly recommended to anyone interested enough to be reading this.
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1 person found this helpful