Ghost Wars Audiobook By Steve Coll cover art

Ghost Wars

The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001

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Ghost Wars

By: Steve Coll
Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
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About this listen

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
Central Asia Middle East Wars & Conflicts Military War Espionage Suspenseful Iran Iraq War Soviet Afghan War
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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

What listeners say about Ghost Wars

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Excellent Read

Any additional comments?

There is a lot that was going on behind the scenes I did not know about until I

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Detailed and really interesting

one of the best audio book i have listen to in a while! really recommend it

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Informative

The author brought a great deal of facts that can correct some of the misunderstandings about the role of the CIA in Al Qaeda creation.

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What an eye opener!

A story of bureaucratic and political incompetence, political self preservation, greed and laziness with a pinch of self delusion.

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An excellent book of a fairly modern history

This book does an excellent job at demystifying the events surrounding global terrorism and Afghanistan. I will definitely be picking up Directorate S after finishing this.

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Amazing from Beginning to End

I thought I knew a fair amount about U.S. operations in Afghanistan pre- 9/11 but this author's research was absolutely amazing. He tells the CIA story so clearly as if he were on the ground the entire time leading these missions. The first chapter immediately captured my attention and it only got more intense chapter after chapter. This is one of the few books I have proactively suggested to my colleagues that they need to read to learn about this amazing story.

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Interesting and important but not riveting

This book would make a great read. But for an audiobook it is too dense and a bit dry.

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Essential Reading

Essential reading when trying to understand the decades of events which lead to the  September 11th attacks and our twenty-year war in Afghanistan that followed. 

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We have to do better!

Having lived through 9/11 and being one of the military responders, in the form of our Air Defense response (See United Flight 93) I am just amazed at how we as the US are at the top of the food chain somehow. I'm trying to not Monday morning quarterback, but in some senses our timidness on dealing with Al Queda led to this attack being successful in a way I'm sure they couldn't have imagined. 23 years later with Afghanistan a total failure, thousands of servicemen and women lost, countless more that came home damaged and we end that period, much as we did in Vietnam. Running Away in projected weakness. We should never have been over there as long as we were. Why did it take so long to get UBL? I'm still a died in the wool red, white and blue lover of my country. We can and must do better going forward!!!

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Fascinating background to 9/11

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ghost Wars?

Interesting detail of how first the US and Saudi Arabia supported the taliban, and later how Pakistan supported the Taliban and Bin Laden.

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5 people found this helpful