Dina Temple-Raston, superb chronicler of the real life of America, examines Lackawanna, New York, home of the first al-Qaeda terrorist cell in America. Or was it?
The "Lackawanna Six" were young men, born of Yemeni families long-settled in upstate New York, who journeyed to Pakistan where they spent time in an al-Qaeda training camp long before the specter of 9/11, before the existence of the Homeland Security Act, before most people had heard of Osama Bin Laden.
This is a story of pre-emptive imprisonment for an act of terrorism never committed, a terrorist cell that may not even have been a cell, and a mysterious contact with an al-Qaeda operative who was supposedly killed but whose remains were never found.
The timely story tells of six Islamic youths from an immigrant Yemeni community in Lackawanna, New York, who attend an Al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan and meet Bin Laden himself. When they realize all the "killing and suicide stuff" isn't their cup of tea and return to the U.S., their lives change forever. Marguerite Gavin's brisk pace suits the audiobook's flavor as it maintains the flow of an action-adventure. She handles the abundant Arabic names and places with ease, creating a smooth and artistic presentation. Gavin does a few gruff male voices but doesn't make a distracting drama with the characters. She has the coveted ability to disappear as a narrator, letting the story take the limelight it deserves. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews...
An elegant examination of how the rules of justice have changed since 9/11.
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