Jeremiah Yuda Umam

Killing the Killers: The Secret War Against Terrorists (Bill O'Reilly's Killing Series)

Book by Bill O'Reilly

DETAILS

Publisher : St. Martin's Press; First Edition, 3rd printing (May 3, 2022) Language : English Hardcover : 288 pages ISBN-10 : 1250279259 ISBN-13 : 978-1250279255 Item Weight : 10.6 ounces Dimensions : 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches Best Sellers Rank: #1,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in Iraq War History (Books) #1 in Afghan War Military History #1 in Terrorism (Books) , Instant #1 New York Times bestseller! In the eleventh book in the multimillion-selling Killing series, Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard reveal the startling, dramatic story of the global war against terrorists. In Killing The Killers , #1 bestselling authors Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard take readers deep inside the global war on terror, which began more than twenty years ago on September 11, 2001. As the World Trade Center buildings collapsed, the Pentagon burned, and a small group of passengers fought desperately to stop a third plane from completing its deadly flight plan, America went on war footing. Killing The Killers narrates America's intense global war against extremists who planned and executed not only the 9/11 attacks, but hundreds of others in America and around the world, and who eventually destroyed entire nations in their relentless quest for power. Killing The Killers moves from Afghanistan to Iraq, Iran to Yemen, Syria, and Libya, and elsewhere, as the United States fought Al Qaeda, ISIS, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, as well as individually targeting the most notorious leaders of these groups. With fresh detail and deeply-sourced information, O'Reilly and Dugard create an unstoppable account of the most important war of our era. Killing The Killers is the most thrilling and suspenseful book in the #1 bestselling series of popular history books (over 18 million sold) in the world. Read more

REVIEW

This book is easy to read and not burdened with so much talk of politics that you can’t understand the story. It’s a clear concise look at what all goes on behind the scenes as one terrorist after another is hunted down and killed. It begins with these words, “The man with thirty minutes to live sleeps in his beige pajama (speaking of Osama bin laden) …death is coming in the darkness” . Chapter 3 begins, “The woman with 157 days to live hides her panic. Sadistic Isis thugs have just shown Kayla Mueller video of Steven Sotloffs beheading.” Chapter 5 begins “The daughter of the infamous journalist Geraldo Rivera is in danger. But she does not know it.” Chapter 11 begins “Bizarre things are happening in Gotham. Pounding drums and drag queens. Paper machete skeletons 40ft tall. Families dressed like Teletubbies. Marching bands. Stilts. Zombies, unicorns, handmaidens, Wonder Woman. It is Halloween in the Big Apple. Chapter 14 Ismael Al-Ethawi does not know he is being watched. The terrorist walks through the crowded bazaar wearing a checkered head covering and three day facial stubble. Chapter 17 begins “Isis fires first. This is a mistake.” Chapter 20 begins “The image of Qasem Soleimani is being spit upon. Baghdad is ablaze.” Chapter 21 begins “Death strikes without warning. Rockets are In the air. It’s evening here at Camp K-1, just after dinner.” The chapter ends with this, “The time is shortly after ten on the night of January 2. The man with two hours to live is walking into a trap!” Chapter 22 mid chapter “The general has had a long day; it Is well past his preferred early bedtime of 9 o’clock. The strategy discussion is a good use of his time. Sleep will come soon enough.” Later in Chapter 22 “ The only sound in the SUV is that of Qasem Soleimani and the Engineer having a conversation. Until it is not.” Chapter 23 begins “ The Long knives are out. Rachel Maddow of the MSNBC Cable News Network wears all black as she looks into the camera. Her guest [is] wearing a lavender suit…” Chapter 26 “ The Beast of the East rides a Harley.” O’ Reilly’s use of insignificant details makes this book read almost like a novel. Ex. Checkered jacket. The time of day. What the people were eating. The blazing dessert sun. The Black Hawks slow rising. It all adds interest to the average reader. The short staccato sentences lend a huge impact to the story. O’ Reilly uses parataxis to his advantage all throughout this incredible book. The urgency, the excitement and the build up are truly an art form used very effectively by this master of sentence weaving. He structurally controls the rate of the plot of each terrorist’s story. This book appeals to a large audience due to its easy to read, yet suspenseful and on the edge of your seat plots. I was not prepared for the often gruesome explanations of torture. But even that kept me turning the page! One last thing. The narrator in this story gives us the omniscient view of what is happening. It reminds me of the narrator, Death, in The Book Thief. Examples: “Tourists walk in clusters…all feel relatively safe. They are not.” “In just a few hours President Biden will feel the percussions of his decision to abandon Bagram in the middle of the night.” “Almost seven thousand miles away, Kayla cannot hear the Presidents words.” “…indeed the measured caution in the White House will eventually doom Kayla Mueller, James Foley, Stephen Sotloff, and Peter Kassig.” “ Al Baghdadi sees himself as an Islamic Savior. One who is about to strike again.” “In Washington DC, that December, it is 12:13 pm when the Committee on Foreign Affairs adjourns.” “Thousands of mikes away both Al-Baghdadi and his enemy, Qasem Soleimani, will be highly pleased.” In my opinion, this method of switching to time and place is much more effective than the much over used flashback that authors today are so fond of. There’s almost nothing I hate worse than a book that continually switches from the year that it opens to another year way in the past or the future. I want to just shake the authors and offer some ADHD meds to them! Just tell the story in a linear fashion! Quit jerking us back and forth! I’m getting whiplash! Bill O’ Reilly will not give you a dizzying headache as he moves back and forth through his story. This is due in part to his use of that omniscient narrator helping the reader understand what is happening. I highly recommend this book! It’s definitely among my top books of all time.

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