Join today and start reading your favorite books for Free!
Rate this book!
Write a review?
Morgan Spurlock delves into his search for Osama with gusto, traveling across a vast swath of the Arab world after a brief stopover in Europe. What I liked about this book, and what I like about Spurlock's work in general, is that rather than simply seeking validation of his own opinions, he thirsts for knowledge and answers to his many questions.I haven't read his other book, but I really enjoyed Super Size Me and have found his series 30 Days quite eye-opening, so I decided to give the book a
I didn't realize how little I knew about the Middle East until I read this book. wow. It's really eye opening. I was 13 on 9/11, so I had no idea that the event was connected to the Israel/Palestine conflict. I didn't know that anti-semitism was running so rampant among the fundamentalist world of Islam. Reading this book, years later, I learned so much. Tons of information presented in an interesting way. I really like how Spurlock presents all sides of the issues and humanizes things. He gets
This book was so eye-opening. I am constantly confused by what is going on in the Middle East and what exactly our government's foreign policies entail. Spurlock was just the person to enlighten me. He is humorous yet serious on the same page, and provided a wealth of background information before exploring the current situation in countries like Egypt (suddenly I do not ever want to travel there), Jordan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia. Spurlock interviews many locals - rich, poor, middle class - a...
Spurlock's quest to understand the Muslim world11 May 2012 The first this that I noticed when looking a some of the reviews of this book was that Morgan Spurlock is considere a 'poor man's Michael Moore'. I am going to have to disagree with that statement. Michael Moore has become little more than an entertainer, and while Spurlock is much the same, I afind Spurlock to be somewhat more intelligent and enlightened than Michael Moore ever was. Okay, that is an opinion and it appears that there is
A surprisingly weighty read.With the tongue-in-cheek goal of tracking down Osama bin Laden, award-winning filmmaker (SUPERSIZE ME, 30 DAYS) and expectant dad Morgan Spurlock travels through the Middle East in search of the FBI’s most wanted terrorist, in this book based on a film of the same name. Far from serious, the “Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?” angle serves as the vehicle through which Spurlock examines some pretty weighty issues. Naturally, Spurlock begins with a biography of bin...
It may seem strange to read this book when we now know exactly where Bin Laden is and was. Admittedly, when I bought it we were still yet to discover his whereabouts: I bought it as one of a number of books for future reading. By the time I came to read it the action against Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan had taken place and so even I was wondering if it was worth the effort. It was.Despite the title, Spurlock's "search" for Bin Laden is really only a vehicle for his real search: to discover h...
Didn't tell me anything I didn't already know about bin Laden (thanks to the gigantic Coll book I read earlier this year), but I enjoyed it. Morgan gave the information a personal spin and was heartfelt and honest in his attempts to understand the Muslim culture and bridge the gap between America and the Middle East. I liked the companion movie too.
While the cover seems humorous and of course now dated since bin Laden is dead, and there are humorous moments throughout the book, it is quite informative and asks serious questions. Very thoughtful and intelligent.
A young American documentary film-maker decides to find out what all the fuss is about global terrorism and religious fanaticism. Who better to ask than Mr. bin Laden himself ? So, he decides to go look for him. He doesn't find him, but in the end, he is much sadder, but also definitely much wiser. He travels from the U.K. to France, from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, from Afghanistan to Pakistan, speaks to hundreds of people from all walks of life, who represent scores of cultures and a multitude of r...
The cover and title of this book really turned me off, but I had to read it for book club. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoyed it. Morgan Spurlock has a great voice/writing style for this kind of story. He goes to various Muslim countries and interviews people of all ages and stations in life. From very high up government officials, average middle class families, to US military personnel, to the poorest refugees, he gets their take on the *War on Terror* and what it means to...
Good read, I think some people think of Spurlock as a poor mans michael moore, but I think that this comparison is not fitting. Spurlock spends most of his time trying to understand the citizens of the islamic countries and talking with some governement officials of these respective nations. One important thing that someone said in the book was that democracy is putting power in the hands of the people, some muslims reject this because they believe that power is held by God alone....This is a be...
What I lvoe about Mrogan Spurlock is he tries to make people think and see beyond the simple media bites. In this book, he does around the Middle East trying to understand the war on terror and its roots and effects. Getting beyond the sound bties and talking to real people about American foreign policy, social issues, religions and how we need to come together to improve things. Its a great, easy to understand and often funny way for people to try to gleam some understanding of what is going on...
Morgan Spurlock embarks on a journey to understand the history, cultures and events leading up to 9/11 and how Bin Laden was able to accomplish the terrorist acts. He visits Europe, the Middle East and Southwest Asia interviewing religious leaders, government officials, as well as the refugees and citizens living in the chaos and turmoil. His style of writing makes what could be a drab and confusing topic easily understood.
I really like Spurlock's documentary style, his sense of bold journalism, and crazy approach to finding answers to interesting questions. This book just isn't doing it for me. Emma gave it to me for my birthday, and because of this I've tried and tried to get in to it. She and I have a penchant for watching his program "30 Days" and it was a very fabulous gift idea. It just wasn't a very fabulous book.
Well, I hate to ruin the surprise, but Morgan doesn't find Osama bin Laden. His search, though, is pretty informative and entertaining (in Spurlock's inimitable style). The average American will probably get something out of reading it - if only a little entertainment - but I didn't find anything earth-shattering in this book.
Although I found Spurlock's sense of humor over the top at first, by the end his approach really grew on me. I still don't know what biases Spurlock brought to the table that may have affected the telling of the story or its message, but I found the book entertaining and I learned something by reading it. I would and actually have recommended it.
First off, I was disappointed that this was not read by Morgan Spurlock but what's his face did well. There were a few things in the book that probably should have been in the movie but for whatever reasons were left out (perhaps can be viewed in the deleted scenes). Otherwise, I think the movie covered the best of the book.
Basically, Morgan Spurlock travels all over the world but mostly to Muslim countries to find out why we (Muslims), supposedly, hate them (non-Muslims). Don't get fooled by the cover and the title. It's not a humourous book but it is not a dry academically written book either. I especially recommend this book to all non-Muslims.
This book was just too boring to get into. I liked the movie by Morgan Spurlock on "Supersize Me", but I just could not get into this book. It probably was more interesting as a documentary movie than a book.
A good primer about the man behind the myth. Had some funny moments considering the serious subject matter. I didn't learn a whole lot of new things but still worth the read for sure. Entertaining. And good concluding remarks on global unity, friendship, hope, etc.
Candy, really. If you don't know anything about Muslims and the ideals that provide the foundation for the Islamic religion, this is an easy, informative read. A basic tale of "can't we all just get along?"
I actually used an excerpt in contemporary world classroom. This book is very easy to read and overall, very well done. Although, with Osama bin Laden's death it would seem far less relevant, it is almost even better to read in hindsight.
This was a pretty good read. I enjoyd the book. I do reccomend his othr book - Eat this book. It was very good
Why this guy hates us.
This book is frightening,enlightening,hysterical and somewhat sad all at once, I def. recommend it!
I'm glad he quit searching when he did. This guy has a common sense approach and we don't want to lose him to some fiery eyed religious fanatic.
Took me a while but it was worth it, funny but informative, should have been a lighter read than I made it.
So it's a bit out of date now, but still thought provoking. Well worth reading for a greater understanding of Middle Eastern conflict, particularly surrounding Israel and Palestine.
Adventure and humor interspersed.
Another in the Brian Moore style. Where in the World? Does anyone really care anymore?