Book

26/11 Mumbai Attacked

📖 Overview

26/11 Mumbai Attacked chronicles the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai through firsthand accounts and investigative journalism. Author Harinder Baweja compiles interviews with survivors, security personnel, and government officials to reconstruct the events across multiple locations in the city. The book provides a timeline of the attacks while examining the security and intelligence failures that preceded them. Baweja's reporting includes details about the attackers' preparation, their journey to Mumbai, and the response from various Indian agencies during the crisis. The narrative moves between different attack sites including the Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi Trident, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, and Nariman House. Key decisions made by officials and security forces are documented alongside the experiences of civilians caught in the crossfire. Through this comprehensive account, Baweja raises questions about India's counterterrorism preparedness and the complex geopolitical factors that contributed to the attacks. The book serves as both a historical record and an analysis of systemic vulnerabilities in national security.

👀 Reviews

There appear to be very limited public reader reviews available online for "26/11 Mumbai Attacked" by Harinder Baweja. What readers liked: - Comprehensive first-hand accounts from survivors, security personnel, and officials - Detailed timeline and sequence of events - Clear breakdown of operational failures and security lapses - Focus on facts rather than sensationalism What readers disliked: - Some passages feel rushed or disjointed - Could include more analysis of broader geopolitical context - Limited coverage of long-term impacts and aftermath Available Ratings: Goodreads: 4.2/5 (13 ratings, 2 written reviews) Amazon India: No ratings found Amazon Global: No ratings found Due to the small number of public reviews, this summary may not fully represent reader consensus. The book appears to be more widely referenced in academic and policy discussions than consumer book reviews.

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🤔 Interesting facts

🔹 The book provides detailed transcripts of phone conversations between the terrorists and their handlers in Pakistan during the Mumbai attacks, obtained from intelligence agencies. 🔹 Harinder Baweja was one of the first journalists to report from ground zero during the attacks and spent months interviewing survivors, security personnel, and intelligence officials. 🔹 The 26/11 attacks lasted 60 hours across multiple locations in Mumbai, making it one of the longest urban siege operations in modern history. 🔹 The author reveals how the terrorists underwent extensive training in Pakistan, including learning Mumbai's geography through Google Earth and practicing with replicas of the targeted hotels. 🔹 The book documents how the terrorists reached Mumbai's shores in a hijacked fishing vessel called MV Kuber, after killing its Indian captain, Amarsinh Solanki.