Lawrence Wright is a highly accomplished American author, known for his thriller novels and non-fiction books. He is a Pulitzer Prize winner, as well as a screenwriter and a staff writer for The New Yorker. Wright earned his degree from Tulane University and has had a distinguished career as a writer and educator. He taught at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, and has been a fellow at the Center for Law and Security at the New York University School of Law.
Wright was born on August 2, 1947, and grew up in Texas, where he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas. In 2009, he was inducted into Woodrow's Hall of Fame. Wright is the author of six books, but he is best known for his 2006 book, "The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11." This bestseller was awarded the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. The book's title is derived from a phrase in the Quran: "Wherever you are, death will find you, even in the looming tower." This phrase was quoted three times by Osama bin Laden in a videotaped speech directed to the 9/11 hijackers.
In addition to "The Looming Tower," Wright has written several other notable books, including "Remembering Satan: A Tragic Case of Recovered Memory" (1994), which explores the Paul Ingram false memory case. Wright testified at Ingram's pardon hearing on June 7, 1996. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film "The Siege" (1998) and wrote the script for the well-regarded Showtime movie "Noriega: God's Favorite" (2000). In 2010, a documentary featuring Wright, "My Trip to Al-Qaeda," premiered on HBO. The documentary is based on Wright's journeys and experiences in the Middle East during his research for "The Looming Tower."