Never read that before either. I had read somewhere he had
become obsessed with immortality or death or something like
that... though I haven't read enough about him to know what's
true & what is made up for one's own stance on him.
Many of the things I read are online, as there is no
local library. The sites I found I generally decided
didn't have enough info to be worth bookmarking.
Discovery did a pretty good overview of his life and career a few weeks ago. It leaves out a number of details and focuses more on his military abilities, but it definitely is not a hack job. Most histories of him sound like "George Bush, as told by Al-Jazeera with special reporting from Osama Bin Laden" would. This one doesn't and it's worth watching.