Authors react to being on Bin Laden's reading list

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Wednesday released a list of 39 English-language books recovered during the 2011 Navy SEAL raid of the compound in Pakistan where al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was living.

The wide-ranging selection includes books ranging from well-known nonfiction to academic tomes to works derided as conspiracy theories. Several are critical of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

"The enemy reads what we write, they listen to what we say, they try to gain insights all the time," said CBS News Senior National Security Analyst Juan Zarate. "Bin Laden very much saw himself as a strategic leader of this global jihadi movement fighting a historic battle against the remaining superpower in the world, the United States, and so he wanted to understand as much as possible what made the United States work. He wanted to understand its vulnerabilities."

CBS News took a closer look at some of the more notable books on the list - and asked some authors what they thought of their inclusion on bin Laden's reading list.

Checking Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions

Henry Sokolski, who co-authored "Checking Iran's Nuclear Ambitions," with Patrick Clawson, told CBS News his book's presence on the list is a larger reminder of the reach of the written word.

"I think other cultures and certainly our adversaries read, and what's exciting about this revalation is the possibility that Osama bin Laden did that as well. And he was an enemy. If he did read, we ought to pay more attention to what we're writing, and we ought to read as well," he said.

Fortifying Pakistan: The Role of U.S. Internal Security Assistance (Introduction)

"I'm really surprised. What a weird book for him to have," Christine Fair, the co-author of "Fortifying Pakistan: The Role of U.S. Internal Security Assistance," told CBS News. The introduction of the book -- which she wrote with Peter Chalk -- was among the English-language selections recovered from the compound.

"The book was really about why is Pakistan so terrible at counterterorrism, so its actually so ironic that Osama bin Laden had this book on his bookshelf," she said.

Fair also said she is unsure how bin Laden might have procured the book, since it was not for sale in Pakistan. The book was in the hands of some Pakistani government officials, but otherwise only for sale from Amazon or the U.S. Institute for Peace. It was not available for download when it was first released.

Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance

Bin Laden apparently was a fan of linguist and left-wing writer Noam Chomsky and had not one, but two of his books in his collection: in addition to "Hegemony or Survival," ODNI said bin Laden had a copy of "Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies." Both books are very critical of modern American society.

Another fan of Chomsky's "Hegemony or Survival" was the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

New Political Religions, or Analysis of Modern Terrorism

Barry Cooper, a University of Calgary political science professor, penned a book looking into the spiritual motivations behind terrorists who are motivated by religious ends rather than political goals. The book uses case studies of groups that exhibit so-called "pneumopathological consciousness," the idea that people who know the difference between moral right and wrong still choose the wrong course of action to serve an unrealistic objective.

At first, Cooper thought the CBS News inquiry about his book on bin Laden's list was a hoax. Then his reaction was, "I sort of wondered how [bin Laden] would have responded to it because it's not the usual kind of analysis of terrorist operations. It's about the spiritual motivations of guys like him and Hezbollah and Aum Shinrikyo...and what they thought they were trying to accomplish," he said.

Bloodlines of the Illuminati

This book by Fritz Springmeier claims to provide a "devastating exposé" of the most powerful men and women in the United States, according to the Amazon description.

Imperial Hubris

Author Michael Scheuer worked at the CIA for more than 20 years and from 1996 to 1999 was the chief of the unit tracking Osama bin Laden. From 2001 to 2004 he returned as a special advisor to the head of the unit before resigning from the CIA in 2004. His book - which was published anonymously at first - argues that attacks on the America in the name of Islam are spurred not by the Western lifestyle, but rather by U.S. support for Israel and unpopular Muslim regimes, as well as its military and political policies in the Middle East.

In 2004, when Scheuer was revealed as the author of the book, he told 60 Minutes, "[Bin Laden's] genius lies in his ability to isolate a few American policies that are widely hated across the Muslim world. And that growing hatred is going to yield growing violence...Our leaders continue to say that we're making strong headway against this problem. And I think we are not."

In a 2007 statement, bin Laden basically offered a blurb for the book, saying, "If you want to understand what's going on and if you would like to get to know some of the reasons for your losing the war against us, then read the book of Michael Scheuer in this regard."

Oxford History of Modern War

Here's what Charles Townshend, an international history professor at Britain's Keele University, had to say when CBS News emailed him to ask if he was surprised that his book appeared on a list of those held by bin Laden:

"Surprising - in that of course I had no idea that he has acquired a copy... also perhaps in that it looks a bit out of line with the bulk of the list, which is not historical. I'm quite glad he didn't have a copy of my book 'Terrorism: A Very Short Introduction'!"

Townshend's edited collection of works traces the evolution of warfare over the last several centuries as militaries became more professional, weapons became more lethal, and opposition to armed forces changed shape.

New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11

One of bin Laden's selections was this book by David Ray Griffin, which has largely been dismissed by critics as a conspiracy theory. Publisher's Weekly wrote, "He strongly implies that the Bush administration had foreknowledge of the attack and sought to conceal what Griffin suggests was the Pakistani intelligence agency's involvement in the planning for the attacks. His analysis is undergirded by the theory that a significant external threat, on the scale of Pearl Harbor, was very much in the interest of the Bush administration, which he believes is intent on self-interested aggressive foreign policies. Even many Bush opponents will find these charges ridiculous, though conspiracy theorists may be haunted by the suspicion that we know less than we think we do about that fateful day."

Obama’s Wars by Bob Woodward

Journalist Bob Woodward focused on President Obama's decision-making on the war in Afghanistan and the global fight against terrorism the subject of his 2010 book. It turns out that his audience extended well past America.

It was no surprise that Woodward's book was listed among the English-language works that belonged to bin Laden. The al Qaeda leader touted the book in a video message released on the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. He recommended Americans read Woodward's book in order to determine whether the Obama administration lived up to his "Yes, we can" promise.

Unfinished Business, U.S. Overseas Military Presence in the 21st Century

For a report for the Center for a New American Security, O'Hanlon studied the outlook for the U.S. military base realignment overseas as part of the Global Posture Review implemented by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

"He probably wanted to understand better the bases from which we could be watching and, if we found him, striking him!" O'Hanlon told CBS News.