earlyandalone's review against another edition
3.0
While I found this book engaging, intelligent, and informative, I just couldn't keep reading it after 200 pages of vignette-style descriptions of war. Filkins is a great writer and journalist, but the book isn't a history of the war, and doesn't offer any kind of chronology or context for the kinds of atrocities and misery he describes. While this may be enough for some, it wasn't for me, and I ultimately had to retreat.
bourbonandabook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
angelofthe0dd's review against another edition
4.0
If you pick up this book, expecting either a scathing critique of the US invasion of Iraq or a star-spangled, apple pie, heroic adventure story, you're going to be disappointed either way. This book is an account of the Iraq invasion told from the view of a reporter who was there to report. That might sound obvious and lame, but it's actually what made this book a great read. Mr. Filkins wasn't out to politically sway his readers to "us" or "them". He wanted his readers to understand:
1. How dangerously intricate, complex, and age-old the political/religious situation is in Iraq.
2. The human toll of war on both sides - the death, the suffering, the innocent victims, and the frequent, senseless bloodbaths.
The book reads like a political philosophy professor teaching a course, and the professor wants his students to feel like they were there and then to make up their own minds if there was a "good" or "bad" guy.
No doubt, we invaded Iraq for its oil. Strangely, that word is almost non-existent in this book. Another controversial feature of the Iraq invasion - US mercenaries (Black Water) - are also only mentioned in a couple of sentences. I think the author purposely left those terms out to avoid giving the book a political slant.
1. How dangerously intricate, complex, and age-old the political/religious situation is in Iraq.
2. The human toll of war on both sides - the death, the suffering, the innocent victims, and the frequent, senseless bloodbaths.
The book reads like a political philosophy professor teaching a course, and the professor wants his students to feel like they were there and then to make up their own minds if there was a "good" or "bad" guy.
No doubt, we invaded Iraq for its oil. Strangely, that word is almost non-existent in this book. Another controversial feature of the Iraq invasion - US mercenaries (Black Water) - are also only mentioned in a couple of sentences. I think the author purposely left those terms out to avoid giving the book a political slant.
bulwerka's review against another edition
4.0
Dexter Filkin's experiences as a war reporter are cataloged excellently in this book on America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He expresses the utter brutality, confusion, and ignorance we have of the conflicts, and the enduring impression the reader gets is how futile these wars are. Many of his stories, as one would expect, are extremely graphic, and the tone of the book is far from light. However, it is an excellent chronicle of America's wars and is a must read for anyone with interest in the subject.
ronpayne's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Nonfiction written by an adrenaline junkie war reporter who covered Afghanistan and Iraq before, during and after 9/11. Made up of a series of stories viewed and reported on by the author, often arranged non-sequentially to give a slice of a specific subject, it's really good at explaining what happened, in graphic detail, but no so great at examining why from a larger perspective. Still, if you want a book that shows why war is bad and stupid, this will do it.
jerrylwei's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good. Couldn't handle his ego and his Baghdad running vignettes. His stories of American soldiers were more compelling and moving than his treatment of Iraqis and Afghans, unclear if that's due to his bias or mine.
susannadkm's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.5
“‘We yelled at them to stop,’ Corporal Eric Jewell told me. ‘Everybody knows the word stop. It’s universal.’ In all, 6 members of Omar’s family were dead, covered by blankets on the roadside. Among them were Omar’s father, mother, brother, and sister. A two-year-old, Ali, had been shot in the face… ‘Better them than us,’ one of [the marines] said.” (Chapter 7)
Filkins writes of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in snapshots (as well as possible for someone who doesn’t speak the languages and can only describe what he sees or what English-speakers say). For some reason I was expecting a more coherent history of Afghanistan or Iraq, so I was disappointed, even though it’s really well-written.
Two more quotes illustrating the absurdity of the Iraq war:
“There were always two conversations in Iraq: the one the Iraqis were having with the Americans and the one they were having among themselves. The one the Iraqis were having with us—that was positive and predictable and boring. And it made the Americans happy because it made them think they were winning. And the Iraqis kept it up because it kept the money flowing or because it brought them a little peace. The conversation they were having with each other was the one that really mattered, of course. That conversation was the chatter of a whole other world, a parallel reality, which sometimes unfolded right next to the Americans—even right in front of them—and we almost never saw it.” (Chapter 7)
“By mid-morning, Sassaman’s battalion had searched 70 homes in Abu Shakur and questioned dozens of men, but netted not a single gun nor a single suspect. If you multiplied the raid on Abu Shakur a thousand times, it was not difficult to conclude that the war was being lost. However many Iraqis opposed them before the Americans came into the village, dozens and dozens more did by the time they left. The Americans were making enemies faster than they could kill them.” (Chapter 9)
I listened to the audiobook.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Dexter Filkins is an American journalist who made a name for himself covering the Iraq War and Afghanistan War for The New York Times. Of course, this book has a lot about the attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 by Al Qaeda. This book also covers a lot about the rise of the Taliban and a lot of the things that the author witnessed while serving as a war correspondent overseas. The quality of writing in his articles and this book is well above par. He has a way of conveying experiences and information in a way that grab you emotionally and mentally.
Some of the things he writes about in this book are absolutely horrific, but nothing that is unheard of by this point. We have been watching coverage of military and political actions regarding Taliban and these wars for over twenty years. (This is insane to think about, because I was in eighth grade when the attacks happened, and have seen/lost friends and loved ones due to these wars.) I think the shock value of what the Taliban does has worn off, and now it is just an "of course they are doing that" type of thing, and that is scary and sad. The author does a great job relating his experiences in a way that makes them believable and readable. It had a lot of points that really make one think about things.
Some of the things he writes about in this book are absolutely horrific, but nothing that is unheard of by this point. We have been watching coverage of military and political actions regarding Taliban and these wars for over twenty years. (This is insane to think about, because I was in eighth grade when the attacks happened, and have seen/lost friends and loved ones due to these wars.) I think the shock value of what the Taliban does has worn off, and now it is just an "of course they are doing that" type of thing, and that is scary and sad. The author does a great job relating his experiences in a way that makes them believable and readable. It had a lot of points that really make one think about things.
julesjim's review against another edition
3.0
Stories about the Afghanistan and mostly Iraq war, by an American journalist having spent years in the middle of it. The anecdotes can be moving and often terrifying. Unfortunately, it doesn't give any perspective about the reasons behind it all (oil, WMDs, media, neo-cons, etc.)...
emurph09's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.0
« ‘if we gave people jobs, we would have an end to terrorism’ »
« As i walked out, I couldn’t help but feel cynical about the CIA in Iraq. It was hard to believe they were so bereft of intelligence that they had been forced to rely on a newspaper reporter to help them with the whereabouts of a kidnapped American. »