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The Forever War

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Editorial Review:

From the front lines of the battle against Islamic fundamentalism, a searing, unforgettable book that captures the human essence of the greatest conflict of our time.
Through the eyes of Dexter Filkins, the prizewinning New York Times correspondent whose work was hailed by David Halberstam as "reporting of the highest quality imaginable," we witness the remarkable 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.
Filkins's narrative moves across a vast and various landscape of amazing characters and astonishing scenes: deserts, mountains, and streets of carnage; a public amputation performed by Taliban; children frolicking in minefields; skies streaked white by the contrails of B-52s; a night's sleep in the rubble of Ground Zero.
We embark on a foot patrol through the shadowy streets of Ramadi, venture into a torture chamber run by Saddam Hussein. We go into the homes of suicide bombers and into street-to-street fighting with a battalion of marines. We meet Iraqi insurgents, an American captain who loses a quarter of his men in eight days, and a young soldier from Georgia on a rooftop at midnight reminiscing about his girlfriend back home. A car bomb explodes, bullets fly, and a mother cradles her blinded son.
Like no other book, 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.

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• A dangerous life in an American disaster zone
  This is a great book; easy to read and thought provoking. Filkins introduces us to his world; a choatic military disaster in the middle east. Written in short story form, we see the war from one man's perspective. His respect and admiration for the "grunts" and Iraqi/Afgangi victims comes through on every page. Filkins makes no judgements, it's not a political book, we only see the results of the Bush Administrations actions in the years 2002-2006 (the Rumsfeld years). When Filkins left there seemed to be... more info

• A "wow" experience
  Dexter Filkins' "The Forever War" is the gripping tale of a journalist's experience in the Middle East. Dexter Filkins covered the Middle East since 1998. He is able to draw upon the unique perspective of viewing Afghanistan before 9-11, Ground Zero on 9-11, and the consequences of 9-11 in the Middle East. If you are looking for an explicit commentary of the war, an analysis of other American achievements and mishaps, or a damning expose of the backwardness of the Middle East you will be disappointed.... more info

• The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq from a personal perspective
  The Forever War is Dexter Filkins's personal account of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. As a foreign correspondent for the New York Times stationed in Afghanistan (2001-02) and Iraq (2003-06), Filkins has bona fides in spades. Fortunately, he's also a good writer. Filkins's straightforward prose is well-crafted and clear, never detracting from the real story.
  Rather than a comprehensive account of the wars, The Forever War is a zoom lens focusing on discrete scenes. One scene might describe a... more info

• TWO THUMBS UP
  The Forever War takes you right there to the HELL which is WAR. Passage after passage, you are witness to what the media does not tell you. Have you ever wondered who the insurgents are? How many people make up our enemies in Iraq? How many groups are we really fighting? How many civil wars are really going on? This books gives truth and insight to these questions. Dexter puts his life on the line to report what is in this book. That is what makes this book extra valuable and respectable. I could not put... more info

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