The Siege of Mecca

On November 20, 1979, worldwide attention was focused on Tehran, where the Iranian hostage crisis was entering its third week. The same morning, hundreds of gunmen stunned the world by seizing Islam's holiest shrine, the Grand Mosque in Mecca. These men came from more than a dozen countries, launching the first operation of global jihad in modern times. With nearly 100,000 worshippers trapped inside the holy compound, Mecca's bloody siege lasted two weeks, causing hundreds of deaths. Despite U.S. assistance, the Saudi royal family proved haplessly incapable of dislodging the occupier. In Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini blamed the Great Satan -- the United States -- for defiling the shrine, prompting mobs to storm and torch American embassies in Pakistan and Libya. The desperate Saudis finally enlisted the help of French commandos, who prepared the final assault and supplied poison gas that knocked out the insurgents. This immensely consequential story was barely covered in the press, as Saudi Arabia imposed an information blackout and kept foreign correspondents away. Yaroslav Trofimov now penetrates this veil of silence. Written with the pacing, detail, and suspense of a real-life thriller, The Siege of Mecca reveals how the Saudi reaction to the uprising in Mecca set free the forces that produced the attacks of 9/11 and the harrowing circumstances that surround us today. Yaroslav Trofimov, a staff foreign correspondent of the Wall Street Journal since 1999, has reported extensively from Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. He is the author of Faith at War: A Journey on the Frontlines of Islam, from Baghdad to Timbuktu. Todd McLaren has been heard on more than 5,000 TV and radio commercials, as well as narrations for documentaries and films, including Who Framed Roger Rabbit? His audiobooks include Billy the Kid by Michael Wallis and The Immortalists by David M. Friedman.