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)

The REAL Story of the Middle East and the CIA

This book is a complex story which will grab your attention and keep it. After reading or listening to it you will have a much better insight into why we are where we are today in the Middle East. You will also learn that Ronald Reagan DIDN'T defeat the Russians (much to my disappointment, since I am a Reagan supporter)despite what anyone says.

You will learn how our government REALLY works, particularly Congress. Trading favors regardless of political party or whether your representativr is a conservative or a liberal.
You will learn more about why the CIA wasn't there when 9/11 occurred than you ever will from the sanitized 9/11 Commission Report.

You will learn that Reagan bet on the wrong horse (Nicaragua amd the Contras) to beat the Russians while the long shot (the Afghans and Pakistan) won the race and toppled the Russians with the help of a Texas Democrat who was everything that Muslims hate about America, a drunken womanizer. His fight to unite Pakistanis, Afghans, Israelis, Saudis, Egyptians, Swiss and more into one of the most rag-tag coalitions in history all in the single goal of defeating and destroying the Red Giant. And succeeding better than anyone could have imagined.

When you read or listen to this book you will not believe your eyes or ears. You will not regret the time you spend with this vook but if you don't read it, you will miss one of the most straightforward honestly written books ever. Having read thousands of books in my life, this is something I have never said about any other book I have ever read. IT will really open ypur eyes, no matter what your political beliefs may be.

I know that I will be recommending it to all of my friends and relatives, which is something else I never do.

Charlie's War B4 I see movie

This book gives a very detailed explaination of one way that the Congress works with, or how it can work around the rest of the federal government. I strongly encourage others to read or listen to this book, and I look forward to seeing Tom Hank's representation of Charlie in the movie.

Congressional War!

Charlie Wilson is one of the wierd characters in our Congress who through sheer will-power twists the arms of key government agencies to do his bidding. In this case the cause seemed right, extracting the USSR from Afghanistan. However, one is left with the distinct impression that the checks and balances between branches that our Constitutional mandates don't always work.

The book is well written and the story concisely presented. Don't pass this one up.

Truly Remarkable

I was sorry to hear that George Crile passed away but what a monumental piece of history he left for all of us. I can compare this to the Company but it is definitely more timely and opens the curtain to what really goes on in Congress. If you thought 9/11 was bungled, and you hope for reform, read this book as the real answers lie in how the very seat of our government actually work. While Charlie may be a hero, what this depicts is the total disfunctionality of our country. Sad to say, when you can give $90Million to the Afhgans by doing things your own way, our duty is to vote in new officials who will treat our system with respect and be ethical.

Seeds of a terrorist state!

Charlie Wilson, a Texas Democrat, a womanizer and boozer, but vehementyly anti-communist, single handedly orchestrates the transfer of billions of dollars in military aid and assistance to the Afghan mujahadin, through the radicalized Pakistahni secret service, thereby setting the stage for the collapse of the Russion empire, the rise of the Taliban and the ascendence of Osama Bin Ladin. This is a truly gripping story and lays bare the machinations behind the arming of the mujahadin.

It's an exciting non-fiction novel!

I just finished this book today. Going in, I assumed without question that there would be some significant boredom with 20 hours of listening time. I was wrong! I cannot begin to count the number of times that I had to hit reverse on my MP3 to hear what I missed because of a significant distraction. The story is absolutely fascinating. Its sad, frustrating, exciting, funny and just plain wild. It provides great insight into the CIA, congress, Afghanistan and the Middle East. And if you believe in God, its impossible not to see Him in the directors chair. I cannot imagine having missed this book. A somewhat cursory internet search indicates that other varied sources generally agree with this version of history.

Scandalous and eye-opening

This read grabs you by the collar right away and drags you into the politically charged cold war politics of the 1980s. The maverick CIA roughneck, and coke-snorting congressman take it to the the Soviets in a way impossible with today's politically correct rules. Reagan may have gotten all of the credit for taking down the "Evil Empire," but it was these two rogues and the Pakistanis that deserve this credit.

You'll be exposed to hours of interesting facts about the culture of the CIA, the concentrated levels of power in Congress, the roles the Chinese, Paks, Saudis, and Israelis played in the fall of the Soviet Union, and the vacuum that was created when the empire collapsed.

Fascinating Story of Politics., Money, and War

This is a great story about the politics and money behind American funding for the war in Afghanistan against the Soviets

Interesting Book

An interesting twist on the entire Afghanistan issue. The book, like the movie, flows well though stalls in parts.

A stunning book, fact that reads like fiction.

Charlie Wilson's War stands head and shoulders above any other book I've bought from audible (I buy at least one a week). The pace, the twist and turns of the plot, the larger than life characters, the improbability of the plot would be rejected by any publisher of fiction, Yet as non-fiction it was a gripping and compulsive read.
I found myself looking for excuses to go for a drive just so I could finish a chapter.