"The world's leading expert on Osama bin Laden delivers for the first time the definitive biography of a man who set the course of American foreign policy for the 21st century, and whose ideological heirs we continue to battle today"-- Bergen sheds light on bin Laden's many contradictions: he was the son of a billionaire, yet insisted his family live like paupers. He adored his wives and children, depending on two of his wives, both of whom had PhDs, to make important strategic decisions, yet he also brought ruin to his family. He was fanatically religious, yet willing to kill thousands of civilians in the name of Islam. He inspired deep loyalty yet, in the end, his bodyguards turned against him. In the end, bin Laden died in a squalid suburban compound, far from the front lines of his holy war. Despite that unheroic denouement, his ideology lives on. Bergen's portrait of Osama will reveal for the first time who he really was and why he continues to inspire a new generation of jihadists.-- Adapted from jacket. Provided by publisher.

Maps on lining papers.

Prologue: Hopes and dreams and fears -- Holy warrior. Sphinx without a riddle? ; Zealot ; Jihad ; Al-Qaeda -- War with the U.S. Radical ; "The head of the snake" ; A declaration of war ; The U.S. slowly grasps the threat ; The war begins ; The road to 9/11 -- On the run. Striking back ; The great escape ; Al-Qaeda revives ; The hunt ; A lion in winter ; Operation Neptune Spear ; After bin Laden.