Home | Lawrence Wright

Author of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and named one of Time’s Top 100 Books of all time.
Staff writer for The New Yorker and winner of the 2012 National Magazine Award for his profile of Paul Haggis, the basis of new book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief.
“There is no more careful reporter in the world than [Wright], and no one who is as thorough and as indefatigable.”
—Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic

The Terror Years: From Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State

With the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright became generally acknowledged as one of our major journalists writing on terrorism in the Middle East.

Here, in ten powerful pieces first published in The New Yorker, he recalls the path that terror in the Middle East has taken, from the rise of al-Qaeda in the 1990s to the recent beheadings of reporters and aid workers by ISIS.

On the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11, The Terror Years is at once a unifying recollection of the roots of contemporary Middle Eastern terrorism, a study of how it has grown and metastasized, and, in the scary and moving epilogue, a cautionary tale of where terrorism might take us yet.

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“Vivid firsthand reportage…He writes with empathy for every side while clearly registering the moral catastrophes that darken this pitiless struggle.”
—Publisher’s Weekly

“A brilliant volume that is a must-read.”
—Carl Hays, Booklist

“Wright displays his top-notch reporting…Yet more great work from a dedicated journalist.”
—Kirkus Reviews

THIRTEEN DAYS IN SEPTEMBER: THE DRAMATIC STORY OF THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE

One of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year

In September 1978, three world leaders—Menachem Begin of Israel, Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and U.S. president Jimmy Carter—met at Camp David to broker a peace agreement between the two Middle East nations. During the thirteen-day conference, Begin and Sadat got into screaming matches and had to be physically separated; both attempted to walk away multiple times. Yet, by the end, a treaty had been forged—one that has quietly stood for more than three decades, proving that peace in the Middle East is possible.

Wright reveals an extraordinary moment of lifelong enemies working together—and the profound difficulties inherent in the process. Thirteen Days in September is a timely revisiting of this diplomatic triumph and an inside look at how peace is made.

“Masterly… Magnificent… Wright reminds us that Carter’s Camp David was an act of surpassing political courage.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“A unique moment in history superbly captured. Yet another triumph for Wright.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Spellbinding…A cliffhanger…A page-turner.”
—Chicago Tribune

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief

Scientology presents itself as a scientific approach to spiritual enlightenment, but its practices have long been shrouded in mystery. Now Lawrence Wright — armed with his investigative talents, years of archival research, and more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists — uncovers the inner workings of the church.

We meet founder L. Ron Hubbard, the highly imaginative but mentally troubled science-fiction writer, and his tough, driven successor, David Miscavige. We see the church court celebrities such as Tom Cruise while consigning its clergy to hard labor under billion-year contracts.

Brilliantly researched, compellingly written, Going Clear pulls back the curtain on one of the most secretive organizations at work today.

Read an excerpt of Going Clear →

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“Powerful... essential reading.”
—Cover of The New York Times Book Review

“An utterly necessary story.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“Wright brings a clear-eyed, investigative fearlessness to Scientology and the result is a rollicking, if deeply creepy, narrative ride, evidence that truth can be stranger even than science fiction.”
—Washington Post

“The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11”

A gripping narrative that spans five decades, The Looming Tower explains in unprecedented detail the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, the rise of al-Qaeda, and the intelligence failures that culminated in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Lawrence Wright re-creates firsthand the transformation of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri from incompetent and idealistic soldiers in Afghanistan to leaders of the most successful terrorist group in history. He follows FBI counterterrorism chief John O’Neill as he uncovers the emerging danger from al-Qaeda in the 1990s and struggles to track this new threat. Packed with new information and a deep historical perspective, The Looming Tower is the definitive history of the long road to September 11. More about The Looming Tower →

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“A searing view of the tragic events of September 11, 2001... a narrative history that possesses all the immediacy and emotional power of a novel.”
—Michiko Kakatuni, The New York Times

“Comprehensive and compelling… Wright has written what must be considered a definitive work on the antecedents to 9/11.”
—Starred Kirkus review