The other night I saw Steve Coll discuss his latest book, The Bin Ladens (Penguin Press; April 2008). The New York Times ran a great review of the book, saying:

“…by focusing on Mr. bin Laden’s conflicted relationship with his family and that family’s complicated relationship with the West, Mr. Coll, a staff writer for The New Yorker who also worked for many years at The Washington Post, has added fascinating new details to our understanding of how Mr. bin Laden evolved from a loyal family adjutant into an angry black sheep, intent on lashing out at the very people — the Saudi royal family and the United States of America — that his father and brothers had cultivated in their business dealings for years.”

Coll’s book, from what I have read so far and from what I heard Coll describe about his work, appears to be a light-hearted take on this dark character. It is not the usual book on politics and “the war on terror.” It is a book about the unlikely rise of a dangerous man from a not-so-dangerous family.

Coll was a wonderful storyteller, captivating and passionate. If the book is anything like the author, it will be near impossible to put down.