Manhunt - From 9/11 to Abottabad – The Ten Year Search For Osama Bin Laden

Author: Peter Bergen
ISBN: 1446496473, 9781446496473
Publisher and copy courtesy: Random House India
Pages: 384
Genre: Non fiction


I finished reading Peter Bergen’s Manhunt: From 9/11 to Abottabad – The Ten Year Search For Osama Bin Laden a couple of days ago, and although the book said so much to me, I find there is not much I have to say about it. These current affairs/general knowledge-y books are quite wasted on a person like me who chooses to not read the news. But it was hard to resist a book about a man who changed the course of humanity, when it presented itself. And through the 240 pages of the book, I lost myself in the fascinating, almost novel-like story of America’s hunt for Bin Laden after he launched what was perhaps the most brutal terrorist attack in the history of modern civilization.

The book takes us through Bin Laden and the American law enforcement agencies’ long parallel paths from 2001 through 2011 until they finally converge in Pakistan. Bergen traces the beginnings and rise of Bin Laden and America’s, especially, the CIA’s consequent search of him. He tells how from Somalia to Saudi to Afghanistan to Pakistan, from the Clinton to the Bush to the Obama administration, the deft Osama gave the Americans the slip for nearly two decades. The author recounts how the Bush administration made one expensive error of letting Osama slip by in the mountains of Tora Bora in Afghanistan soon after the 9/11 attacks and how it cost them hundreds of thousands of man hours and money. He goes on the say how things changed once Obama took over and how despite his anti-war stance, he gave it his all to find America’s number one enemy.

Bergen sketches Osama’s life on the run too. Sourcing from the many documents and proofs collected by the intelligence agencies, he describes Osama’s near infallible security measures, his astute leadership skills while in hiding and even some idiosyncrasies. He offers glimpses of his family life, especially his relationship with his wives and children, and close associates as well. It is easy to imagine a Bin laden holed up in the caves or in an inconspicuous bungalow when Bergen writes about it.

While Bergen’s writing is good, he never tries to be anything else but the journalist that he is. His lines are fact-laden, purposeful with not one unnecessary word.  You may well be reading newspaper reports because Bergen’s words lack emotion. However, his pace more than makes up for it, and will serve well devourers of news. As for me, I’ve said so much already, but do you notice how I’ve not said anything (significant) at all? Well, the bottom line is 2 out of 5.

Rating: 2/5

The Best of Quest

ISBN – 978-93-80658-80-3

First printed – 2011

Pages – 660

Binding – Paperback

Genre – Anthology

Author(s) – Several

Editors – Laeeq Futehally, Achal Prabhala, Arshia Sattar

Synopsis – A treasure trove of essays, opinions, poems and short stories by some of the most influential journalists and writers of the India of the 70s. The Best of Quest offers a detailed and varied insight into the lives and times of a nation emerging from the shadows of colonialism and trying to find its identity.

UCV says – Bad books had been falling in my lot. But the universe finally conspired to bring me the Best of Quest and I haven’t stopped reveling in the 660 odd pages of sheer brilliance in the last 10 days. Perhaps these parallels are not apt, but when researching Quest, I was most strongly reminded of Tehelka and Open, the magazine – two extraordinary periodicals of our times.  It has everything, from articles on political reform, history, the arts, psychology and education to a most wonderful section of poetry to a fantastic collection of short stories. Not to forget the enigma attached to it because of a mysterious CIA connection!

Because the book is an anthology, I decided to be random with my reading. The introduction had one of the editors talking about the erstwhile editor of Quest, Dilip Chitre, who was also apparently the mysterious columnist, D. I was immediately drawn to the last sections, where Mr. Chitre himself makes the admission, and also talks about his life and times and contemporaries at Quest. I, then, scurried to gobble up a few pieces written by D. While most were amusing, witty and even incisive, my favourite was the very tongue-in-cheek ‘Marriage & Morals: Updating the Pavitra Prostitute’. True that Chitre had to hide behind a pseudonym (a lone acronym really) to mention the unmentionables in a not-so-grown-up nation, but his take on issues such as sex, religion and women are refreshingly real. Writing as Dilip Chitre, he is a little more serious, a little more guarded, albeit equally insightful. His piece ‘Aspects of Pornophobia’, for example, deals with a hush-hush matter in a matter-of-fact manner.

The introductions and endnotes also pointed me towards another one of the enigmatic editors of Quest, Nissim Ezekiel. The In Memoriam section, comprising letters of people reminiscing about Nissim, the person and the poet, is heartwarming. Some of his poems in the poetry section, ‘Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher’ being my favourite, show just why the man earned the place that he did in the line of Indian poets.

Then there are many more pieces of social, political and cultural commentary by several authors, but I will remember very distinctly the following pieces because they are as relevant today as they were in the 70s India:

1.  ‘The Persistence of the Caste System: Vested Interests in Backwardness’ by Subhash Chandra Mehta – We all know too well what the race to be backward is all about, and what its consequences are.

2. ‘Am I a Muslim? Islam and Bangladesh’ by Mahbubul Hok – A bold piece by any measure questioning the validity of Islamic states and practices.

3. ‘Autobiography of Violence’ by Mihir Sinha – Though set in Calcutta, this account of how violence has seeped into our collective minds and lives is true of all of India.

4. ‘The Married Woman and Our Sex Morality’ by Sudhir Chandra – A piece way ahead of its times (even so now), discussing the possibilities of polygamy/polyandry within marriage and its acceptance.

And finally,

5. ‘The Coffee-Brown Boy looks at the Black Boy’ by J.S. Saxena – An insightful article exploring the deep racial biases that pervade nearly all humanity.

Some other articles/essays also found favour with me, because I have personal inclinations towards the topics. Among them are the point and counterpoint essays by Jyotirmoy Datta and P. Lal respectively on Indian English writing, ‘Konarak’ by Marie Seton – a detailed analysis of the erotic art of Konarak, ‘Sadhus and Hippies’ by Roderick Neill – where he is mainly showing off his knowledge of the holy men in India but pretends to draw a comparison between those mentioned in the title, ‘ An Interview with V.S. Naipaul’ by Adrian Rowe-Evans – A wondrous journey into the career and mind of the writer that is Sir V.S. Naipaul and ‘The City as Antagonist: Three Recent Films’ by Saleem Peeradina – the most detailed and ruthless film reviews I ever saw.

And while I did cheat through the Essays and Opinions section, often skipping a paragraph or two when the gravity of it all got too much for my frivolous mind, I was most agog when it came to the poetry and fiction sections. I lapped up every last turn of phrase, every dainty word, down to the last comma. And while most pieces were indeed masterpieces, I’d easily hand over the ‘Most haunting piece’ awards to the poem, ‘3 Cups of Tea’ by Arun Kolatkar and the short stories ‘The Discovery of Telenapota’ by Premendra Mitra and ‘The Moon Had to be Mended’ by Kiran Nagarkar.  Other memorable works in this compilation are ‘The Accompanist’ by Anita Desai, ‘Sword and Abyss’ by Keki N. Daruwalla, ‘Tangents’ by Abraham Eraly, ‘Love’ by Adil Jussawala and ‘Madurai: Two Movements’ by A.K. Ramanujan.

There is so much more meat, so much covered ground and so many perspectives for those who will care to plunge themselves into The Best of Quest.

Rating – 4/5 A definite read!

Price – INR 695, Tranquebar