The Accidental Guerrilla

Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One

By: David Kilcullen

Narrated by: Peter Ganim

Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

David Kilcullen is one of the world's most influential experts on counterinsurgency and modern warfare. A senior counterinsurgency advisor to General David Petraeus in Iraq, his vision of war dramatically influenced America's decision to rethink its military strategy in Iraq and implement "the surge". Now, in The Accidental Guerrilla, Kilcullen provides a remarkably fresh perspective on the War on Terror. Kilcullen takes us "on the ground" to uncover the face of modern warfare, illuminating both the big global war (the "War on Terrorism") and its relation to the associated "small wars" across the globe: Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Chechnya, Pakistan, and North Africa.

Kilcullen sees today's conflicts as a complex pairing of contrasting trends: local social networks and worldwide movements; traditional and postmodern culture; local insurgencies seeking autonomy and a broader pan-Islamic campaign. He warns that America's actions in the war on terrorism have tended to conflate these trends, blurring the distinction between local and global struggles and thus enormously complicating our challenges. Indeed, the US had done a poor job of applying different tactics to these very different situations, continually misidentifying insurgents with limited aims and legitimate grievances (whom he calls "accidental guerrillas") as part of a coordinated worldwide terror network. We must learn how to disentangle these strands, develop strategies that deal with global threats, avoid local conflicts where possible, and win them where necessary.

Colored with gripping battlefield experiences that range from the jungles and highlands of Southeast Asia to the mountains of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to the dusty towns of the Middle East, The Accidental Guerrilla will, quite simply, change the way we think about war. This much anticipated book will be a must listen for everyone concerned about the war on terror.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2009 David Kilcullen (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This book should be required reading for every American soldier, as well as anyone involved in the war on terror. Kilcullen's central concept of the 'accidental guerrilla' is brilliant and the policy prescriptions that flow from it important. And that's not all; the book has many more insights drawn from various battlefields." (Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek)

Informative and important

I enjoyed he in depth case study, don’t normally re listen to audiobooks but will def re visit this one

Content excellent, though dry. Narration terrible

I'm trying to figure out if this is a human or a computer narrating. He ruins the book. Not the easiest book to narrate, but he fails.

COIN explained

brilliant book on the intricacies of COIN and how we need to continue to develop better responses to Takfiri extremist groups.

Must read (listen)

Quality of audio: excellent
Quality of Narration: superb (Peter Ganim)
This is not the same narrator who read the acronyms at the beginning. There was another narration on Audible a while back that was awful. This narrator is great.

This is so good, I bought the hardcover.


Kilcullen provides a very thorough and comprehensive study of why we have so many zanies fighting us. The text flows nicely, but there are many details so this book is probably for people who have a pretty good understanding of Islamic fundamentalism, the situation in Afghanistan/Iraq, and geography.

The quality of writing is excellent, and this means long complex sentences. So listening to this book means paying close attention. I listen on long drives and if I have to pay too close attention to the traffic, I find I've got to rewind to catch what I've missed.


Did you notice that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs recently started the AfPak Hands program??? That program would be the obvious next step to take if you read Accidental Guerilla. Concur with previous comment that this book is a natural follow on to The Gamble for those who are students of Counterinsurgency (COIN).

The good news is that there are brilliant soldiers like Kilcullen who not only serve their nations, but go on to serve the world, AND take the time to write about it so the rest of us can be in the loop. And he's not just a ground pounder, but a brilliant thinker who can express himself beautifully in the written word.

Excellent material. More people should know.

This book provides an excellent point of view, that is not often taken by decesion makers. I would love to see a sequel to this book that would put the years since this books publishing into reference.

Very insightful, intense perspective for conflicts

Improved my understanding of terrorism issues, the cause of, what events can lead up to it, and some of the actors at play during a 30 year span or so.

-I've studied International policy, terrorism, security strategy and a bunch of other things, and am Australian, so hearing David Kilcullen explain different theatres of conflict, the history of how they got to that situation, and then how they were handled, with a relation to both the US & Australia was thoroughly interesting.

-As a member of the military, this would be a fascinating read, people who are majoring in security strategy and warfare as well, and it should be a MUST for politicians.
-This book, is a compiled and condensed account of the experienced amassed by David Kicullen who is a respected member of not just the military, but also in the realm of conflict resolution. I've heard him referenced by many other books, including 'Inside Delta Force', 'Strategy a history' and a couple of others.
-He provides that much needed different perspective for doing the job that politicians and members of the public think is so easy to say 'yes to intervene' 'no to intervene' and the huge range of costs, information to learn and time spent.
-I think if more people read this book and took on board the insights, they would be less impulsive in their decisions regarding war & security strategy.

The narration is a bit dull and dry and times, and the information is very dense, which is why it took me so long to finish. A couple of long car journeys you can get through this, but it's also the kind of book you want to take notes.

Excellent if advanced

A must read for anyone interested in the incredibly complex conflicts we face now and will likely face in the future. Few have the experience or pedigree in counter-insurgency that Kilcullen can boast. A great follow up to Tom Rick's "The Gamble", which might be considered an introductory text. Kilcullen's work is significantly more complex, yet manages to remain engaging.

great insights, but delivery could improve

A timely, interesting topics... an author with good insights into viewing the challenges of this form of warfare.... but organized and delivered more like a dry Phd dissertation (which it may have been) than an informative piece to others who also have studied & fought the same insurgent sets. So new perspectives, but could have been delivered in a pithy means.

Facinating Insight

An enjoyable and easy to follow audio book which provided remarkable insight into counter insurgency tactics. The book was well read and laid out. Highly recommended for anyone trying to make sense of insurgencies in play across the globe.

A must.

good read if you're into the subject matter

for me this was required reading. it was interesting content. I find it hard to retain info when listening to audiobooks so I will likely need to listen to it again. reading it probably would've taken 3x as long.