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

Length: 26 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize, General Nonfiction, 2005

Lionel Gelber Prize

New York Times Notable Book

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.

©2011 Steve Coll (P)2011 Penguin

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

A Masterpiece of Unbiased, Critical Journalism

This is an amazing account of American policy towards Afghanistan, with a focus on terrorism and clandestine operations. it is not a history of the Soviet War, the subsequent Afghanistan Civil Wars or the 9/11 attacks. Rather it weaves events and personal accounts together in a long but excellent account of how America failed its own citizens and the citizens of Afghanistan. it shows that there is not a simple answer of "how" 9/11 happened. It came out of a cascading series of events and policy failures that politicians and clandestine agents failed to see, at least with enough precision or political will to prevent the attacks.

This book is very fair to all participants Even when it notes failures to act on the threat of global,, Isalmic terrorism (both broadly and in specific cases), it makes sure to explain why politicians acted this way.. While leftists and conservatives may find flaws with the book's treatment of certain individuals, its hard to criticize the author's dedication to facts.

This book is necessarily an American centric story. it does make sure to highlight Afghan suffering when possible, however. It also points to American and European hypocrisy on certain human rights issues. It discusses some Afghan war crimes, but does not go into detail.

The audio edition is well performed, although I noticed some editing errors which caused sentences to end suddenly, without pause. This is confined to a small number of parts and is acceptable, although not ideal. The wonderful content and performance makes up for these issues. My only other, potentially negative, thought on the book is that it is very detailed and therefore long. I listened to it in three. day long sessions, however I expect most do not have that much time.

For those looking for a shorter, more generalist history of Afghanistan which covers much of the same ground, I would recommend "Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History" by Thomas J. Barfield. it is also excellent and on audible, although it has a different goal. It covers most of Afghanistans pre Soviet War history and imparts a better understanding of the people of Afghanistan. The book may be good to read before moving to Ghost Wars (as I did), but the context is not necessary to understand the book.

Ultimately, if you are a dedicated reader who wants to learn more about the invisible and clandestine forces in Afghanistan and America's policy failures surrounding 9/11, I can't recommend this books enough.

Fantastic Narrative/Narrator, Atrocious Editing

This book covers US foreign policy, CIA covert action, and the international and domestic politics involved. It is a must read for anyone interested in the history of current US involvement in South Asia, and a highly recommended book to read before Steve Coll's next book, "Directorate S."

However, as good as the narrator is, there are many editing problems associated with the full audio track. This most often manifests in cut-off sentences that pick up very oddly in a related, but very slight tangential topic the author was discussing. If it were just a few, I would understand. However, there are at least two dozen times this happens making me question if there is more information and writing that I missed because it accidentally got edited out. This occurs throughout the entire book and is a major nuisance.

Otherwise, this is an excellent book that I highly recommend.

Tech issue great "story"

There are random words that are not said throughout the book. In one spot Osama Binladin is s only partially said but in the rest of the book his name is used. This happens throughout the book for various words.

Amazing read

Excellent read for anyone interested in intelligence and US foreign policy. Highly recommended for anyone in uniform, and leaders.

Amazing and Enlighting

Absolutely required reading.

Narrated perfectly.

Don't think about it another second, just listen.

*This includes the updates from the 9/11 Commission released after the original book was published.

Great History

This is a great history of the evolution of Islamic terrorism. The narrator does an excellent job as well.

Great Book

Interesting history and excellent narration. I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about, and from, our history.

Must Read!

Great book, very detailed info and very informative. If you have any degree of interest in, Afghanistan, America and the war on terror, buy this book.

Incredible Depth from Multiple Perspectives

This is a much more in depth exploration of pre 9/11 Afghanistan than I had anticipated. The detailed facts and nuanced complexities of foreign affairs and intragovernemental relationships are not spared. For a casual listener without strong foundational knowledge of the events discussed, the book may, at times, seem dry and difficult to follow.

However, the incredible depth from multiple points of view paints a more holistic picture than any other single source. Informative, entertaining and, from a foreign policy perspective, eye-opening to the inter-workings of government. Will listen again and would recommend.

Very informative

Everything was good but the editing could use some work, occasionally a few words where cut short due to bad transitions, otherwise this was great.