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Blood, Metal and Dust
- How Victory Turned into Defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq
- Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
- Length: 21 hrs and 13 mins
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Publisher's summary
'With a soldier’s eye for telling operational details, Ben Barry offers an authoritative, compelling and inevitably bleak account of the American and British campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.' Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King’s College London
Written by the author of the official British military analysis of the Iraq campaigns, Blood, Metal and Dust is the first authoritative military history of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to tell the detailed story of what happened on the ground.
From the high-ranking officer who wrote the still-classified British military analysis of the war in Iraq comes the authoritative history of two conflicts which have overshadowed the beginning of the 21st century. Inextricably linked to the ongoing ‘War on Terror’, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dominated more than a decade of international politics, and their influence is felt to this day.
Blood, Metal and Dust is the first military history to offer a comprehensive overview of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, providing in-depth accounts of the operations undertaken by both US and UK forces. Brigadier Ben Barry explores the wars which shaped the modern Middle East, providing a detailed narrative of operations as they unfolded. With unparalleled access to official military accounts and extensive contacts in both the UK and the US militaries, Brigadier Barry is uniquely placed to tell the story of these controversial conflicts, and offers a rounded account of the international campaigns which irrevocably changed the global geopolitical landscape.
Critic reviews
"At one level Blood, Metal and Dust is a clear, dispassionate and succinct military history of the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it is much more important than that. As the US and UK turn their backs too quickly on both wars, they are in danger of disregarding the lessons and so failing to profit from their experiences. This book puts that right. Ben Barry is forthright in his criticisms and depressingly correct in his conclusions. Blood, Metal and Dust is essential reading." (Sir Hew Strachan FBA FRSE, professor of international relations at the University of St Andrews and former Chichele professor of the history of war at All Souls College, Oxford)
"Blood, Metal and Dust is a seminal work that exploits newly available archival material to produce a riveting account of the allies’ wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Armed with a keen scholarly eye and long military experience, Ben Barry dissects key decision points and pitched battles ranging from Tora Bora, Operation Medusa and Wanat in Afghanistan to the US Marines’ Anbar campaign, Operation Viking Hammer in Kurdistan, and the Sadr City battle of 2008. His unsparing judgements should inform future war planning, making this book required reading for the policymaker and the practitioner alike." (Linda Robinson, senior international/defense researcher, RAND Corporation and author of Tell Me How This Ends)
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The ISIS Solution takes a look at the current geopolitical situation, organizational structure of ISIS, and provides new thinking and strategies for dealing with the Islamic State in the Middle East. Its authors and contributors have over 50 years of combined experience in the intelligence, analyst, and Special Operations communities. Leadership and a new philosophical conversation of action is needed to eliminate violent terrorism. This book starts the conversation.
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Short, to the point, crammend full of information.
- By Joseph on 11-27-14
By: Jack Murphy, and others
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The Iraq War
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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John Keegan, whom the New York Review of Books calls "the best historian of our day", now brings his extraordinary expertise to bear on perhaps the most controversial war of our time. In exclusive interviews with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Tommy Franks, John Keegan has gathered information about the war that adds immeasurably to our grasp of its causes, complications, costs, and consequences.
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A Solid, Quick Overview
- By Charles on 12-08-04
By: John Keegan
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The Gulf War
- A Captivating Guide to the United States-Led Persian Gulf War Against Iraq for Their Invasion and Annexation of Kuwait
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jaime Peters
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Today, it is known by many names, like the First Iraq War, Kuwait War, and, most commonly, the Gulf War or the First Gulf War. It was a rather short conflict, lasting just shy of seven months between late 1990 and early 1991. Yet, it was still rather impactful because it showcased several essential innovations and changes in political and technological aspects of warfare, some of which are still part of modern conflicts.
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Title should be "In defense of Sadam"
- By michael doucette on 03-17-22
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Armies of Sand
- The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness
- By: Kenneth M. Pollack
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 24 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Since the Second World War, Arab armed forces have consistently punched below their weight. They have lost many wars that by all rights they should have won, and in their best performances only ever achieved quite modest accomplishments. Over time, soldiers, scholars, and military experts have offered various explanations for this pattern.
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A Very Worthwhile Listen
- By Michael on 08-28-19
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Counterinsurgency
- By: David J. Kilcullen
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Kilcullen brings together his most salient writings on this vitally important topic. Here is a picture of modern warfare by someone who has had his boots on the ground in some of today's worst trouble spots - including Iraq and Afghanistan - and who has been studying counterinsurgency since 1985. Filled with down-to-earth, common-sense insights, this book is the definitive account of counterinsurgency, indispensable for all those interested in making sense of our world in an age of terror.
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CounterInsurgency Insights
- By JenFox on 12-21-21
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Hunting the Caliphate
- America's War on ISIS and the Dawn of the Strike Cell
- By: Dana J.H. Pittard, Wes J. Bryant, General David Petraeus - Foreword by
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain, Shawn Compton
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In this vivid first-person narrative, a Special Operations Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) and his commanding general give fascinating and detailed accounts of America's fight against one of the most barbaric insurgencies the world has ever seen. In the summer of 2014, three years after America's full troop withdrawal from the Iraq War, President Barack Obama authorized a small task force to push back into Baghdad. Their mission: protect the Iraqi capital and US embassy from a rapidly emerging terrorist threat.
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Disconnected and Dry
- By Anthony on 12-19-19
By: Dana J.H. Pittard, and others
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Tower of Skulls
- A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Vol. 1 (July 1937 - May 1942)
- By: Richard B. Frank
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 26 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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This story casts penetrating light on how struggles in Europe and Asia merged into a tightly entwined global war. It features not just battles, but also the sweeping political, economic, and social effects of the war, and are graced with a rich tapestry of individual characters from top-tier political and military figures down to ordinary servicemen, as well as the accounts of civilians of all races and ages.
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Outstanding
- By Patrick on 03-16-20
By: Richard B. Frank
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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
- Unabridged
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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.
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Not What I Expected
- By John on 12-12-10
By: David Kilcullen
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Call Sign Chaos
- Learning to Lead
- By: Jim Mattis, Bing West
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Call Sign Chaos is the account of Jim Mattis’ storied career, from wide-ranging leadership roles in three wars to ultimately commanding a quarter of a million troops across the Middle East. Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas - and short-sighted thinking - now facing our nation.
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A pleasant surprise
- By Fountain of Chris on 09-06-19
By: Jim Mattis, and others
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Black Ops
- The Rise of Special Forces in the C.I.A., The S.A.S., and Mossad
- By: Tony Geraghty
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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After eight challenging years in Afghanistan, the new U.S. strategy, aimed at winning hearts and minds rather than search-and-destroy, refocuses the conflict on Special Forces: unorthodox soldiers who work outside of traditional military forces to combine secret military operations with nation building.
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Painful narration
- By JWS on 12-18-20
By: Tony Geraghty
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Surge
- My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War
- By: Peter R. Mansoor, General David Petraeus - foreword
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Surge is an insider's view of the most decisive phase of the Iraq War. Using newly declassified documents, unpublished manuscripts, interviews, author notes, and published sources, Surge explains how President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Ambassador Crocker, General Petraeus, and other U.S. and Iraqi political and military leaders shaped the surge from the center of the maelstrom in Baghdad and Washington.
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Helpful for the Army War College
- By BBP on 02-24-18
By: Peter R. Mansoor, and others
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When Titans Clashed
- How the Red Army Stopped Hitler
- By: David M. Glantz, Jonathan M. House
- Narrated by: James Romick
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Revised and updated to reflect recent Russian and Western scholarship on the subject, this new edition maintains the 1995 original's distinction as a crucial volume in the history of World War II and of the Soviet Union and the most informed and compelling perspective on one of the greatest military confrontations of all time.
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The largest conflict in human history
- By Eddie on 05-15-22
By: David M. Glantz, and others
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Between Giants
- The Battle for the Baltics in World War II
- By: Prit Buttar
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 17 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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During World War II, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia found themselves trapped between the giants of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Over the course of the war, these states were repeatedly occupied by different forces, and local government organizations and individuals were forced to choose between supporting the occupying forces or forming partisan units to resist their occupation. Devastated during the German invasion, these states then became the site of some of the most vicious fighting during the Soviet counterattack and push towards Berlin.
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Great listgen
- By Michael Blount on 07-09-20
By: Prit Buttar
What listeners say about Blood, Metal and Dust
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- Jack D Kendall
- 02-27-21
Extensively researched and highly detailed
If you're interested in the history of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, this is the definitive account.
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2 people found this helpful
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- philip
- 04-09-21
Outstanding Analysis of Strategic Failure
Excellent review of the twin disasters of America’s 21st century foreign policy. Berry states clearly and forcefully that the decision to invade Iraq was the greatest foreign policy of the 21st century. I don’t believe he says so but I also believe that the decision to overthrow the Taliban was also a mistake. We should have wiped out Al Qaeda and declared victory. Instead we farmed out the capture of Al Qaeda to the Northern Alliance and waged war on the Taliban. We succeeded in overthrowing the Taliban but failed to defeat the group that actually attacked us. That left us with two nations to rebuild.
The final chapter is must reading for anybody looking for a detailed and point by point analysis of what went right and wrong with a great explanation for why. I don’t recommend skipping the rest of the book but I do suggest that one pay special attention to Berry’s conclusions.
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- J. Wells
- 02-17-24
A front row seat
I lived through these events. The author is spot on in his evaluation of both Iraq and Afghanistan. What he alludes to but doesn’t say is that the American military is its own worst enemy. The military just would not work with other parts of the national security establishments. This led to strategic failures. Another point he alludes to is that the all volunteer force is not working. Many of these soldiers and contractors sabotaged the good work that was done by others. The actions of US soldiers at the prison in Iraq is a perfect example. This lack of professionalism and just common sense was absent on the strategic level as well. Another point he makes is the incredible difficulty in managing international coalitions. Many times America’s coalition partners did more harm than good. This book is remarkable in that it ties all the elements of these wars together and evaluates them.
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- Alan
- 11-16-23
Great overview
It was a great book overall but then the author had to inject his personal beliefs as if they were fact in his conclusion. Bush is continuously blamed throughout the book, and for good reason, and then the author goes on to add blame to Trump but speaks of the Obama administration as if it did everything right but just got unlucky. I wish authors of histories would stop injecting their personal beliefs into their works. All it does is expose the authors bias and cheapens the work overall.
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- Patrick
- 01-21-22
Excellent
Two stories told well. Hindsight makes it so much easier to identify mistakes but still was sad to listen to AND this was completed BEFORE our disastrous withdrawal.
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