The bin Ladens: a family history

Coll shows us how young Osama, while in high school, grew enamored of the Muslim Brotherhood and their aim to "replace secular and nationalist Arab leaders with Islamic governments." In his 20s, Osama would become a major fundraiser on behalf of Islamic fighters battling Soviet occupiers in Afghanistan. Both the Saudi government and the bin Laden family supported Osama in these efforts.

In 1986, Osama bin Laden used his fundraising and organizational prowess, skills honed in the family business, to start his own brigade in Afghanistan and, later, to create Al Qaeda. As Coll explains: "Osama would make three indispensable contributions to Al Qaeda, all derived from his experiences as a Bin Laden: his emphasis on diversity and inclusion, his confidence about money and administration, and his attraction to the technology of global integration."

Osama's split with his family and Saudi Arabia can be traced to the first Gulf War. He vehemently opposed basing US troops in Saudi Arabia. Ironically, the bin Laden family business helped build US military facilities. As Osama spoke out against the evils of US bases, he became persona non grata in Saudi Arabia.

In Sudan, the exiled Osama met with several of his brothers who tried to convince him to rejoin the family business and stop his jihadist rants against the Saudi royal family. Under pressure from the Saudi government, the family eventually severed ties with Osama publicly and divested him from the family business.

Coll makes it clear that Osama bin Laden views America much the way he saw the Soviet occupiers in Afghanistan, as corrupt imperialists ripe for defeat. Coll explores the possibility that the bin Laden family continued to help Osama after they officially renounced him, but he finds no hard proof. Osama's personal wealth remains a mystery that Coll – despite his efforts – is never able to quantify.

Since 9/11, Osama's radicalism has placed the bin Laden family in a difficult situation, Coll explains: "To please American audiences, the bin Ladens would have to seek forgiveness and denounce Osama," while they need to be more nuanced about Osama "in the Arab world, where the family's financial interests" lie.

The bin Laden family construction business continues to thrive today, Coll tells us, and Osama's influence remains a powerful one in the world of radical Islam. Coll's exhaustively researched and elegantly written account shows the bin Ladens to be consummate survivors.

• Chuck Leddy is a freelance writer and member of the National Book Critics Circle.

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