Book Review: Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden

A Fair Trade Book



Title: Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?

Author: Morgan Spurlock

Date: 2008

Publisher: Random House

ISBN: 978-1-4000-6652-0

Length: 304 pages including endnotes and index

Quote: “I want [my son] to know these people. Not to see them as ‘the Other,’ but as people he shares this world with.”

One thing I know about military history: It is never written accurately during a war. Can’t be. Shouldn’t be. So forget about anybody, even Morgan Spurlock, telling you anything about “OBL” or Afghanistan that wasn't in the newspapers at the time. Current war news always contains high levels of mis-, dis-, and non-information. As it should—don’t you know there’s a war on?

Nevertheless, I have to respect a guy who filmed himself deliberately losing his looks, and even his sex life, to make a good movie. Although Spurlock does not claim to have discovered anything new while writing his new book, he can be depended on to write a good travel story.

He did not actually try to find Osama Bin Laden and call him out. Others did that; for Spurlock it was a recurring joke. What he did for this book, with the help of James Brabazon and various local “fixers,” was go to countries where Bin Laden has supporters and interview local people about their lives, their history, and their feelings about the war.

There are a few moments when this book shows its author’s age, or youth. Finding it easy to appreciate traditional Pakistani clothing styles, he “instantly thought they were the greatest invention since pajamas.” Well, yes, actually, although shalwar kameez is the most popular name for these outfits because local variations on the same thing and the same name are found in most Islamic countries, the British discovered the comfort of wearing “pyjamas” in India, where they heard people call these outfits paejama. (For an early twentieth century description of the Indian paejama and various other variations on shalwar kameez, check your library for a 1950 book called Costume Throughout the Ages, by Mary Evans.)

Spurlock’s sense of humor doesn’t dominate Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden as thoroughly as P.J. O’Rourke’s sense of humor dominated Give War a Chance. This may be considered a good thing. It’s safe to read Spurlock’s book while eating, but then again it’s easier to believe that unexpected details of his anecdotes are literally true.

In fact, because Spurlock avoids (a) the regressive childish feeling that blowing other people and their buildings up is fun because after all nothing’s going to hurt you (O’Rourke’s biggest problem in Give War a Chance) and (b) slipping into anti-war panic and conspiracy theories (Michael Moore’s biggest problem in everything he’s done since the turn of the century), it’s fair to say that if you’re going to read just one up-close-and-personal documentary of a funny man observing a serious war, this should be it.

I bought this one as a marked-down new book in time to post this review on Associated Content, years ago. The copy I had has been sold. However, as I've reviewed other books that were not eligible to be resold as Fair Trade Books ten years ago but are eligible now, I see no reason not to add this no-longer-new documentary for its historical value. Allegations of Sexual Misconduct that (a) weren't violent and (b) were a long time ago? Meh...at least Spurlock's young enough that I can imagine him being guilty of more Sexual Misconduct in the present century than any reasonable woman would consider cute and/or pitiful, the way Garrison Keillor's alleged misdeed was...if he's still tempted to Sexual Misconduct I say he should stop it at once, but that's no reason not to encourage him to write sex-free documentaries. The usual terms apply: $5 per book, $5 per package (three more books of this size would fit into a package), and $1 per online payment, from which we'll send $1 to Spurlock or a charity of his choice.