A zealous freedom-fighter who has galvanised Islamic fundamentalists worldwide into a fighting force capable of toppling evil western civilisation. A simple man, pious, upstanding and principled; the moral leader of the faithful. This is the image that Osama bin Laden wishes to project to the world. Now, for the first time, Bin Laden: Behind the Mask of the Terrorist blows the lid off the inside story. The first real insight into the life of the renegade phophet of the apocalypse reveals a past laced with prostitutes, hedonism, and lengthy periods of alcohol abuse. Beneath the self-styled propaganda is a hypocrite whose personal mission is nothing less than the destruction of the United States and her allies in the name of Islam. This is the man who deftly manipulates the institutions he claims to despise in order to further his own ends; who condemns depravity while keeping a hand in the opium and heroin trade. With new information provided by members of his family, the book traces the roots of his dicontent, exploring his privileged childhood riven by jealousies and family polotics. It paints the picture of a youth desperately seeking acceptance and a man whose need for attention and adulation set him upon an unbelievable course.