I just finished this book last night. It was pretty interesting, it confirmed what I consider to be true, that our freedoms have been eroded away since 9/11.
The author had some problems with good writing that were hard for me to overlook - even when I glanced at the bibliography, I realized she had put in incorrect words - probably relied a bit to much on spell check. Funny how poor writing makes you wonder about the author's credentials. But her credentials are good, she just does not have someone read her work for its readability. Or if she does, they are not good at the job or do not feel they should correct her. It would be interesting to see how she would fare in some of my classes - she sure would not get an A if the prof was grading on all aspects of the paper. That does not mean that I am perfect, just that she isn't either. Not even close.
The Lackawanna Six, Yemeni American friends living in straitened circumstances outside Buffalo, New York, accepted Kamel Derwish as their mentor in the hope of becoming better Muslims, unaware of his involvement in the attack on the USS Cole and his role as an al-Qaeda recruiter. Temple-Raston, National Public Radio's FBI correspondent and a superbly gifted author, describes with a journalist's urgency and a novelist's sensibility Lackawanna's close-knit Yemeni community; the fateful journey of the six friends to Yemen, Pakistan, and Afghanistan; their frightening experiences at an al-Qaeda training camp; and the political frenzy surrounding their high-profile prosecution. As she sensitively portrays each of the five men currently behind bars, she reveals their dire naïveté and profound regrets, which stand in stark contrast to her revelations regarding the Bush administration's use of the Lackawanna case to bolster the Patriot Act and to justify the assassination of Derwish, an American citizen. Compelling and clarifying, Temple-Raston's invaluable exposé will stand as one illuminated chapter in a dark saga of governmental crimes and cover-ups. Seaman, Donna
Kirkus, August 1, 2007
"[A] well-wrought investigative report about six young Arab-Americans from western New York who stumbled into terrorism. NPR correspondent Temple-Raston... delves deeply into the lives of these residents of Lackawanna... An elegant examination of how the rules of justice have changed since 9/11."
Book Description
The acclaimed author of A Death In Texas tells the riveting, morally complex story of a group of young Yemeni-American men from an upstate New York steel town who may, or may not, have been America's first "sleeper cell."
They called themselves the Arabian Knights. They were six Yemeni-American friends, a gang of high-school soccer stars, a band of brothers on the grim side streets of Lackawanna's First Ward, just a stone's throw from Buffalo.
Later, people would argue about why they left western New York in the spring of 2001 to attend an al-Qaeda camp. Some said they traveled to Afghanistan to become America's first sleeper cell--terrorists slumbering while they awaited orders from on high. Others said that their ill-fated trip was a lark, an adventurous extension of their youthful wrestling with what it meant to be Muslim in America.
Dina Temple-Raston returns to Lackawanna to tell the story of a group of young men--born and brought up in small town America--who left otherwise unremarkable lives to attend an al-Qaeda camp. Though they sought to quietly slip back into their roles as middle class Americans, the 9/11 attacks made that impossible.
The Jihad Next Door is the story of pre-emptive justice in the age of terror. It follows a handful of ordinary men through an extraordinary time when Muslims in America are often instantly suspect, their actions often viewed through the most sinister lens.
About the Author
Dina Temple-Raston is the FBI correspondent for National Public Radio and the award-winning author of several books, including A Death in Texas, Justice in the Grass and In Defense of Our America. She lives in New York City.
