Charlie Wilson's War

The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History

By: George Crile

Narrated by: Christopher Lane

Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Charlie Wilson’s War is the untold story of the last battle of the Cold War and how it fueled the rise of militant Islam. Charlie Wilson, a maverick congressman from east Texas, conspired with a rogue CIA operative to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful covert operation in the Agency’s history.

In the early 1980s, after a Houston socialite turned Wilson’s attention to the ragged Afghan freedom fighters who continued to fight the Soviet invaders despite overwhelming odds, the congressman became passionate about their cause and procured hundreds of millions of dollars to support the mujahideen. The arms were secretly procured and distributed with the help of an out-of-favor CIA operative, Gust Avrokotos, whose working-class Greek-American background made him an anomaly among the Ivy League world of American spies. Avrakotos handpicked a staff of CIA outcasts to run his operation and, with their help, continually stretched the Agency’s rules to the breaking point.

Moving from the back rooms of the Capitol, to secret chambers at Langley, to arms-dealers conventions, to the Khyber Pass, Charlie Wilson’s War is a detailed and brilliantly reported account of the inside workings of the CIA.

©2003 George Crile (P)2004 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

• 2004 Audie Award Winner, Unabridged Nonfiction

"Crile, a 60 Minutes producer, offers an absorbing, thoroughly detailed look at the largest and most successful CIA operation in U.S. history: the arming of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan." (Booklist)
"An engaging, well-written, newsworthy study of practical politics and its sometimes unlikely players." (Kirkus Reviews)

“Narrator Christopher Lane affects an even tone and pace, allowing the events of the story to carry the listener to the extraordinary highs and sickening lows of the flawed but heroic Wilson. Thankfully, Lane takes it easy on the accents and shines brightest when allowing a tinge of cynicism in his delivery." ( AudioFile)

“Put the Tom Clancy clones back on the shelf; this covert-ops chronicle is practically impossible to put down.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Entertaining read/listen

I enjoyed listening to the book. The narrator does a fine performance. The story is fascinating.

The Best!

Unbelievable! This audio book is absolutely absorbing. A novelist would be hard pressed to create such a compelling story. As a bonus, you get a terrific narrator and a keen insight into some of our current terrorist troubles.

Fascinating

Amazing to hear about the inside workings of the CIA and Congress with real names of real people involved in real events. I couldn't wait to hear each chapter of this book. It's also enlightening to learn about the culture of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Highly recommended.

Great Book

One of the best books I have read in this genre.

Charlie Wilson's War

A great read. Gives context to Iraq war. First class writing. When will Crile come out with another book. I can't wait.

Outstanding But LONG

Outstanding book, but then it was an outstanding real life story. All the 4-5 star reviewers get it right. But for an audiobook and a listener that is not a professor of history it is way too long. The reader is great, but his style doesn't lend itself to droning on and on about previously unknown, but a wide cast of characters, especially if they are only minor in the whole scheme of the story or not known by previous media events in our lifetime.

My recommendation is to get the abridged version. But don't miss it altogether because it is a great story, with a whole lot of relevance to our current events.

The book is MUCH better than the movie!

Would you listen to Charlie Wilson's War again? Why?

Absolutely! The details and explanations of the Russian War in Afghanistan are fascinating. I understand how the US participated then and what the US is up against now.

What did you like best about this story?

How this Congressman got things done.

What does Christopher Lane bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's a great artist who captures each character w/ the appropriate dialect and inflections. He makes the book real throughout without falter.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I enjoyed it all.

Any additional comments?

Its worth the listeners investment in time and money..

One of the best books I have ever listened to

This book is both informative and entertaining. It provides insights into the operations of Congress, the CIA and our relationship with Pakistan during the 1980's. Charlie and Gust come to life with the voice of the reader who does an outstanding job. There is a brief epilogue that attempts to tie the events of the book to the events of 9/11. I wish this section had been more fully developed. This is a must read for anyone interested in world events.

Good and Bad

This is not an easy book to listen to. It is a long book and felt like it took a long time to listen to it. The events are not told in a chronological manner, so they are repetitive and it does get confusing at times. I may be jaded, but I do not quite believe political characters are quite as altruisitc as this author presents many of the people in this story to be. This did occur after Watergate, remember, which opened a lot of eyes.

Nonetheless, it was a good story and I did enjoy it. And even better, I learned something. I try to include some non-fiction in my reading and I try to read/listen to a book before seeing a movie. This fulfilled both of those needs and was worth the effort to do so.

Needs a good editor.

A very interesting story. 'Truth is stranger than fiction'. That said, "Charlie Wilson's War" needed a good editing. Some detail did not seem relevent or was repetitive.
This is a part of recent history that is better told. It brings some light to current events and for me, a better understanding of US Government Departments.
If the writing was tighter, it could rate a 4 or 5 star listen. The story is good.