Synopses & Reviews
NATIONAL BESTSELLERIn this definitive account of the conflict, acclaimed war correspondent and bestselling author Bing West provides a practical way out of Afghanistan. Drawing on his expertise as both a combat-hardened Marine and a former assistant secretary of defense, West has written a tour de force narrative, rich with vivid characters and gritty combat, which shows the consequences when strategic theory meets tactical reality. Having embedded with dozens of frontline units over the past three years, he takes the reader on a battlefield journey from the mountains in the north to the opium fields in the south. A fighter who understands strategy, West builds the case for changing course. His conclusion is sure to provoke debate: remove most of the troops from Afghanistan, stop spending billions on the dream of a modern democracy, and insist the Afghans fight their own battles. Bing West’s book is a page-turner about brave men and cunning enemies that examines our realistic choices as a nation.
About the Author
Bing West, a Marine combat veteran, served as assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration. A contributor to
National Review, he is the author of
The Village, No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah, and
The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq. The Village, a classic about counterinsurgency, has been on the Marine Corps Commandant’s Reading List for forty years. West’s books on Iraq have won the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s General Wallace M. Greene Jr. Award for nonfiction, the Colby Award for military nonfiction, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award for journalism. His articles appear in
The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal
. He and his wife, Betsy, live in Newport, Rhode Island.
From the Hardcover edition.