House of Bush House of Saud or The Pentagons New Map

House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties

Author: Craig Unger

Newsbreaking and controversial -- an award-winninginvestigative journalist uncovers the thirty-year relationshipbetween the Bush family and the House of Saud andexplains its impact on American foreign policy, business,and national security.

House of Bush, House of Saud begins with a politicallyexplosive question: How is it that two days after 9/11,when U.S. air traffic was tightly restricted, 140 Saudis,many immediate kin to Osama Bin Laden, were permitted toleave the country without being questioned by U.S. intelligence?

The answer lies in a hidden relationship that began in the1970s, when the oil-rich House of Saud began courtingAmerican politicians in a bid for military protection, influence,and investment opportunity. With the Bush family, the Saudishit a gusher -- direct access to presidents Reagan, George H.W.Bush, and George W. Bush. To trace the amazing weave of Saud-Bush connections, Unger interviewed three former directors ofthe CIA, top Saudi and Israeli intelligence officials, and morethan one hundred other sources. His access to major players isunparalleled and often exclusive -- including executives at theCarlyle Group, the giant investment firm where the House ofBush and the House of Saud each has a major stake.

Like Bob Woodward's The Veil, Unger's House of Bush, Houseof Saud features unprecedented reportage; like Michael Moore'sDude, Where's My Country? Unger's book offers a politicalcounter-narrative to official explanations; this deeply sourcedaccount has already been cited by Senators Hillary RodhamClinton and Charles Schumer, and sets 9/11, the two Gulf Wars,and the ongoing Middle East crisis in a new context:Whatreally happened when America's most powerful political familybecame seduced by its Saudi counterparts?

The New York Times

Unger's best pages tell how, in the days of panic and recrimination after Sept. 11, Prince Bandar managed to spirit prominent members of the Saud and bin Laden families out of the United States on chartered aircraft. Beginning on Sept. 13, when private aviation was still restricted, some 140 Saudis, including about two dozen of the bin Ladens, were flown to Europe. "Didn't it make sense," asks Unger rhetorically, "to at least interview Osama bin Laden 's relatives?" — James Buchan

Book review: Body Bar or Guide to the Human Body

The Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century

Author: Thomas P M Barnett

Building upon the works of Thomas Friedman, Samuel Huntington, and Francis Fukuyama, The Pentagon's New Map describes recent U.S. military history and strategy, discusses where America's forces will likely be heading in the near future, outlines the crucial role the nation needs to play in establishing international stability, and provides much needed hope at one of the most difficult times in American history.