Ghost Wars

The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001

By: Steve Coll

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

The explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan

With the publication of Ghost Wars, Steve Coll became not only a Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the expert on the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of Bin Laden, and the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill Bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998.

Critic reviews

“Certainly the finest historical narrative so far on the origins of al Qaeda in the post-Soviet rubble of Afghanistan . . . Ghost Wars provides fresh details and helps explain the motivations behind many crucial decisions.” —The New York Times Book Review

“The CIA itself would be hard put to beat his grasp of global events . . . Deeply satisfying.” —The New York Review of Books

“A well written, authoritative, high-altitude drama with few heroes, many villains, bags of cash, and a tragic ending—one that may not have been inevitable.” —The Washington Post

Fascinating background to 9/11

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ghost Wars?

Interesting detail of how first the US and Saudi Arabia supported the taliban, and later how Pakistan supported the Taliban and Bin Laden.

Exhaustive and enlightening

This book is a comprehensive look at CIA actions in the Middle East over the course of more than two decades. I recommend it for anyone interested in the Agency or the modern history of the region in general.

Provides context for the post-9/11 world

An excellent, comprehensive book on the who, when, where, why, and how of the events leading up to Sept. 11th, 2001. I found the level of detail impressive and eye-opening. An absolute must read for anyone attempting to understand US interactions with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and US counter-terrorism efforts.

Badly edited audio spoils it

Where does Ghost Wars rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's a decent enough book but it's heavily aimed at Afghanistan with a sprinkling of information on the CIA and Bin Laden.

Has Ghost Wars turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not at all.

What about Malcolm Hillgartner’s performance did you like?

Excellent narrator, let down by sloppy editing. Sentences cut off before words are finished. Lines repeated.

If you could give Ghost Wars a new subtitle, what would it be?

A history of Afghanistan

Any additional comments?

Overly long.

informative

loved it great read for those into detailed historical events, had lots of primary sources of declassified CIA reports and internal cables of back channels in gov't.