No Good Men Among the Living
America, the Taliban, and the War Through Afghan Eyes
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Narrated by:
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Assaf Cohen
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By:
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Anand Gopal
About this listen
In a breathtaking chronicle, acclaimed journalist Anand Gopal traces in vivid detail the lives of three Afghans caught in America's war on terror. He follows a Taliban commander who rises from scrawny teenager to leading insurgent, a U.S.-backed warlord who uses the American military to gain personal wealth and power, and a village housewife trapped between the two sides who discovers the devastating cost of neutrality. Through their dramatic stories, Gopal shows that the Afghan war, so often regarded as a hopeless quagmire, could in fact have gone very differently. Top Taliban leaders actually tried to surrender within months of the U.S. invasion, renouncing all political activity and submitting to the new government. Effectively the Taliban ceased to exist--yet the Americans were unwilling to accept such a turnaround. Instead, driven by false intelligence from their allies and an unyielding mandate to fight terrorism, American forces continued to press the conflict, resurrecting the insurgency that persists to this day.
With its intimate accounts of life in war-torn Afghanistan, Gopal's thoroughly original reporting lays bare the workings of America's longest war and the truth behind its prolonged agony. A heartbreaking story of mistakes and misdeeds, No Good Men Among the Living challenges our usual perceptions of the Afghan conflict, its victims, and its supposed winners.
©2014 Anand Gopal (P)2015 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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One of the Best books this year!
- By Nazir on 05-26-22
By: Scott Carney, and others
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The Saboteur
- The Aristocrat Who Became France's Most Daring Anti-Nazi Commando
- By: Paul Kix
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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In the tradition of Agent Zigzag comes this breathtaking biography, as fast-paced and emotionally intuitive as the very best spy thrillers, which illuminates an unsung hero of the French Resistance during World War II - Robert de La Rochefoucald, an aristocrat turned anti-Nazi saboteur - and his daring exploits as a résistant trained by Britain's Special Operations Executive.
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Brave outstanding young man
- By paula wright on 06-02-20
By: Paul Kix
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City of Thorns
- Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp
- By: Ben Rawlence
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Situated hundreds of miles from any other settlement, deep within the inhospitable desert of Northern Kenya, Dadaab is a city like no other. Its buildings are made from mud, sticks, or plastic; its entire economy is gray; and its citizens survive on rations and luck. Over the course of four years, Ben Rawlence became a firsthand witness to a strange and desperate limbo-land, getting to know many of those who have come there seeking sanctuary.
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Compelling but dry
- By Megan on 09-16-16
By: Ben Rawlence
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Son of Hamas
- A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices
- By: Mosab Hassan Yousef, Ron Brackin - contributor
- Narrated by: Mosab Hassan Yousef
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Since he was a small boy, Mosab Hassan Yousef has had an inside view of the deadly terrorist group Hamas. The oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding member of Hamas and its most popular leader, young Mosab assisted his father for years in his political activities while being groomed to assume his legacy, politics, status...and power. But everything changed when Mosab turned away from terror and violence and embraced instead the teachings of another famous Middle East leader.
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Very insightful look at the underbelly of Hamas.
- By C,L, Richey on 05-05-14
By: Mosab Hassan Yousef, and others
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Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu
- And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts
- By: Joshua Hammer
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that had fallen into obscurity. The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu tells the incredible story of how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist and historian from the legendary city of Timbuktu, later became one of the world's greatest and most brazen smugglers.
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It seemed like a good idea at the time
- By Jennifer A Greenhalgh on 08-10-16
By: Joshua Hammer
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Fractured Lands
- How the Arab World Came Apart
- By: Scott Anderson
- Narrated by: Scott Anderson
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2011 a series of antigovernment uprisings shook the Middle East and North Africa in what would become known as the Arab Spring. Few could predict that these convulsions, initially hailed in the West as a triumph of democracy, would give way to brutal civil war, the terrors of the Islamic State, and a global refugee crisis. But, as New York Times best-selling author Scott Anderson shows, the seeds of catastrophe had been sown long before. In this gripping account, Anderson examines the myriad complex causes of the region's profound unraveling.
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Timely and a must to listen to!
- By becky robbins on 05-05-17
By: Scott Anderson
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Madame President
- The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
- By: Helene Cooper
- Narrated by: Marlene Cooper Vasilic
- Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the harrowing but triumphant story of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, leader of the Liberian women's movement, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first democratically elected female president in African history.
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Enlightening
- By Jean on 04-28-17
By: Helene Cooper
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Fast Times in Palestine
- A Love Affair with a Homeless Homeland
- By: Pamela J. Olson
- Narrated by: Julia Farhat
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Pamela Olson, a small town girl from eastern Oklahoma, had what she always wanted: a physics degree from Stanford University. But instead of feeling excited for what came next, she felt consumed by dread and confusion. This irresistible memoir chronicles her journey from aimless ex-bartender to Ramallah-based journalist and foreign press coordinator for a Palestinian presidential candidate.
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Palestine from the Inside—and Out
- By Susie on 11-04-13
By: Pamela J. Olson
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Stolen Girls
- Survivors of Boko Haram Tell Their Story
- By: Wolfgang Bauer, Eric Frederick Trump - translator
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 5 hrs
- Unabridged
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One night in April 2014, members of the terrorist organization Boko Haram raided the small town of Chibok in northeast Nigeria and abducted 276 young girls from the local boarding school. The event caused massive, international outrage. Using the hashtag "Bring Back Our Girls", politicians, activists, and celebrities from all around the world - among them First Lady Michelle Obama and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai - protested.
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Perspective changer
- By frostyski3 on 05-13-17
By: Wolfgang Bauer, and others
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The Forever War
- By: Dexter Filkins
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Through the eyes of Dexter Filkins, we witness the chain of events that began with the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, continued with the attacks of 9/11, and moved on to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Forever War allows us a visceral understanding of today's battlefields and of the experiences of the people on the ground, warriors and innocents alike. It is a brilliant, fearless work, not just about America's wars after 9/11, but ultimately about the nature of war itself.
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A memorable "read"
- By TCinDC on 02-16-09
By: Dexter Filkins
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The Lemon Tree
- By: Sandy Tolan
- Narrated by: Sandy Tolan
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1967, not long after the Six-Day War, three young Arab men ventured into the town of Ramle, in what is now Jewish Israel. They were cousins, on a pilgrimage to see their childhood homes; their families had been driven out of Palestine nearly 20 years earlier. One cousin had a door slammed in his face, and another found his old house had been converted into a school. But the third, Bashir Al-Khairi, was met at the door by a young woman called Dalia, who invited them in.
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Steeping The Lemon Tree
- By Faithfull Fan on 04-11-18
By: Sandy Tolan
What listeners say about No Good Men Among the Living
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Don K in Alaska
- 11-22-17
If the author is correct, we've really blundered
This book shows how American soldiers and diplomats made a bad situation much worse. Should be mandatory reading
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- United States University Student
- 10-21-15
Telling of U.S. Policy
Would you listen to No Good Men Among the Living again? Why?
Yes I would. It is great to see things through the eyes of the people that we are actually fighting. I like to compare this book to the likes of when the West was conquered by the Union Army of the United State.
What did you like best about this story?
I like how he jumps from interviewees. I think it is nice to see how the cultures and gender relations are brought out and excentuated. What I like most is the fact that he hit on 2 themes: 1) No trust among the natives by the U.S. and 2) Just being a human being and treating people humanely. I think it's interesting to see that the U.S. sent an Army that had little political/cultural knowledge of the region. But that is what you get when you hole yourself up in a FOB and mix diplomacy at the same time. To top things off, no language expertise. How do you fight an enemy you cannot communicate with?
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- Texas87
- 09-30-21
What the war felt like Afghanis
Excellent book. By focusing on the lives and experiences of Afghanis during the war, this book exposes the violence on all sides and it’s affects on the course of the war and the individuals caught up in it.
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- Susan
- 05-14-15
Two Sides to Every Story
Would you consider the audio edition of No Good Men Among the Living to be better than the print version?
Amazing,succinct writing! Essential reading for all Americans! I didn't read the print,yet, but I will! It was a little bit confusing to keep the people straight while listening, but the reader was excellent. The amount of American money wasted in this rather ridiculous endeavor was a message that came through clearly. Just as in Benghazi, it was difficult even for experts to tell the good men from the bad. I can't blame the men for trying to pick the winner and whimsically changing sides. The consequences of picking the wrong side were torture and death which is the meaning of the book title"No Good Men Among the Living". What on earth was America thinking by even being there? If Seymour Hersh's story turns out to be true(and some of it does clear up some inconstancies). We have missed the target and have more enemies than we imagined possible.
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
I was a little bit familiar with what had happened to women in Iraq whose husbands had been killed, but the women of Afghanistan faced greater obstacles in some respects because they were practically incarcerated and sometimes had no place to go and faced starvation. Part of this story follows an educated woman who was able to find a phone and some aid, but her sons may also be in a "lost generation"
What does Assaf Cohen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
An excellent reader whose pace and voice were perfectly suited to the work. Too bad he didn't read the new Wright Brother's book.
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
The fact that many of the detainees at Guantanamo were held without charges and even when the tribunal knew they were not subversives, they were still detained for years.
Any additional comments?
I wish that there were more reporters who could actually be journalists.
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- Kindle Customer
- 09-11-16
Captivating!
Read this twice, could read it again! Many characters, broad scope, well written and edited.
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- cheechhee
- 12-03-21
Great book
I learned so much, from this book. A must read for alternate perspective of the 20 year war.
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- Sean
- 05-03-20
can't wait for the 2020 extended version
and then, eventually, the 2030 version. will be cool to see all the twists and turns the war will have taken at that point. The problem with a book about Afghanistan is that every story starts and ends in the middle of the full story. There are always more things to look at before when you start and immediately after you finish. That being said, this book is disheartening, and as a US military member, it is incredibly frustrating to see that our daily work out here seems to have no lasting impact.
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- Jameson
- 05-29-16
Interesting and valuable
This book was important to hear, although I would definitely like to confirm some of the authors claims and assertions for myself first. Some stories can be a bit dry, and while driving it was easy to get lost and miss a few things. Overall though, these are important stories for Americans to hear.
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- Ningu
- 08-18-20
Struggled to finish
The amount of research here must have been as terrible to collect as to read.
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- Tim Jackson
- 05-22-18
A New Perspective on an Old War
This was one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. Having been a child when 9/11 occurred, I was raised in the shadow of the Afghan War and was raised on the narrative of the war. To hear about it from the perspective of Afghanis was absolutely riveting. I will agree with other reviewers that the Taliban is given a bit of a break in the book, but I think that that's largely intentional, as their misdeeds have gone widely published and are well known, while the actions of others may not have been and so are more of the focus. I would highly highly recommend this to anyone with any interest in US foreign policy or anyone with a general interest in Afghanistan itself
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