In The Cult of Osama, Psychiatrist Peter Olsson examines Osama bin Laden's early life experiences and explains, from a psychoanalytical perspective, how those created a mind filled with
perverse rage at America, as well as why his way of thinking makes bin Laden in many cases a hero to Arab and Muslim youths. "Many other writings totally demonize bin Laden, and therein
strangely play into putting this troubled man onto a pedestal," says Olsson, who spent 25 years on a social psychological and psychoanalytical study of destructive cults and cult leaders. There
are many journalistic, political, military, and intelligence books about bin Laden and his terror cult group. But this one offers a purely psychological and psychobiographical perspective on
bin Laden and his mushrooming influence. Bin Laden's destructive "Pied Piper" appeal, leading youths to murder others and even themselves in suicide missions, stems from the peculiar and
profoundly important synchrony of shared trauma and pain between bin Laden and Arab/Muslim youth, says Olsson. "And we in the West neglect this topic, at our own peril."
