Ghost Wars
To what extent did America's best intelligence analysts grasp the rising threat of Islamist radicalism? Who tried to stop bin Laden and why did they fail? Comprehensively and for the first time, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll recounts the history of the covert wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and sowed the seeds of the September 11 attacks. Based on scrupulous research and firsthand accounts by key government, intelligence, and military personnel both foreign and American, Ghost Wars details the secret history of the CIA's role in Afghanistan (including its covert operations against Soviet troops from 1979 to 1989), the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of bin Laden, and the failed efforts by U.S. forces to find and assassinate Bin Laden in Afghanistan.
Updated with New Documents From the 9/11 Commission
"Ghost Wars, Steve Coll's objective—and terrific—account of the long and tragic history leading up to Setpember 11, is . . . certainly the finest historical narrative so far on the origins of al Qaeda. . . . Coll's riveting narrative makes the reader want to rip the page and yell at the American counter-terrorism officials he describes—including Clarke—and tell them to watch out."
—James Risen, The New York Times Book Review
"A long overdue look at the peaks and valleys of the CIA's presence in Afghanistan through the decades leading to September 10, 2001 . . . 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."
—James Bamford, The Washington Post
Format: Paperback (712 Pages)
Author: Steve Coll
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
