Before 9/11: A Biography of World Trade Center Mastermind Ramzi Yousef

By: Fergus Mason

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

He was behind one of the deadliest attacks on American soil before 2001. Long before the world knew the name Osama bin Laden, Ramzi Yousef orchestrated the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center—a chilling precursor to the attacks that would follow years later.

This biography traces Yousef’s path from his early life through his involvement in a series of global terror plots, including plans to assassinate Pope John Paul II, crash a plane into CIA headquarters, and destroy multiple airliners over the Pacific. While most of these plots failed, the World Trade Center bombing shocked the United States and revealed a new kind of threat.

The book also explores the unexpected details that emerged after his capture—particularly claims that Yousef experienced a dramatic personal transformation while serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison.