The Siege of Mecca

Yaroslav Trofimov joined<i> The Wall Street Journal</i> in 1999 and in 2001 became a roving foreign correspondent in the Middle East Africa Central Asia and the Balkans. He is also the author of <i>Faith at War: A Journey on the Frontlines of Islam from Baghdad to Timbuktu</i>. <p>20 November 1979: as morning prayers began hundreds of hardline Islamist gunmen armed with rifles smuggled in coffins stormed the Grand Mosque in Mecca. With thousands of terrified worshippers trapped inside the result was a bloody siege that lasted two weeks caused hundreds of deaths prompted an international diplomatic crisis and unleashed forces that would eventually lead to the rise of al Qaeda.<br><br>Journalist Yaroslav Trofimov takes us day-by-day through one of the most momentous – and heavily censored – events in recent history interviewing many direct participants in the siege and drawing on secret documents to reveal the truth about the first operation of modern global jihad.</p> Riveting A thriller-like account of an event largely hushed up A gripping highly informed narrative The first detailed account of the event … brilliantly researched and eye-opening … this is undoubtedly a book of international significance A gripping and revealing account of this brutal uprising … <i>The Siege of Mecca</i> is a marvel of investigative journalism … Trofimov's viciously gory account unfolds with a sharp eye for detail and accuracy Trofimov tells this tale with considerable verve and authority. He has interviewed many of the surviving witnesses and participants in a country suffused with fear and paranoia and sets the siege within a wider historical context A thriller-like account of an event largely hushed up <p>20 November 1979: as morning prayers began hundreds of hardline Islamist gunmen armed with rifles smuggled in coffins stormed the Grand Mosque in Mecca. With thousands of terrified worshippers trapped inside the result was a bloody siege that lasted two weeks caused hundreds of deaths prompted an international diplomatic crisis and unleashed forces that would eventually lead to the rise of al Qaeda.<br><br>Journalist Yaroslav Trofimov takes us day-by-day through one of the most momentous – and heavily censored – events in recent history interviewing many direct participants in the siege and drawing on secret documents to reveal the truth about the first operation of modern global jihad.</p>