by George Crile
from Grove Press
| | | List Price: | $16.00 | | Price: | $10.88 | | You save: | $5.12 (31%) | | | Media: | Paperback | | Availability: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
Editorial ReviewCharlie Wilson's War was a publishing sensation and a New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times bestseller. In the early 1980s, a Houston socialite turned the attention of maverick Texas congressman Charlie Wilson to the ragged band of Afghan "freedom fighters" who continued, despite overwhelming odds, to fight the Soviet invaders. Wilson, who sat on the all-powerful House Appropriations Committee, managed to procure hundreds of millions of dollars to support the mujahideen. The arms were secretly procured and distributed with the help of an out-of-favor CIA operative, Gust Avrokotos, whose working-class Greek-American background made him an anomaly among the Ivy League world of American spies. Avrakotos handpicked a staff of CIA outcasts to run his operation and, with their help, continually stretched the Agency's rules to the breaking point. Moving from the back rooms of the Capitol, to secret chambers at Langley, to arms-dealers' conventions, to the Khyber Pass, this book presents an astonishing chapter of our recent past, and the key to understanding what helped trigger the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and ultimately led to the emergence of a brand-new foe in the form of radical Islam.
Customer Reviews:
- Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
- Book "CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR
Book was in better condition than I had expected. Shipping was fast and I was kept abreast of shipping etc. VERY satisfied.
- The Best Non-Fiction I've Ever Read
This is without a doubt the best non-fiction book I have ever read. The plot, the characters and the writing were all brilliant. A truly exhilirating thrill ride. I couldn't put the book down - in fact, I missed my bus stop reading the book.
When I finished, I felt that I had lost my close friends, and that my life had just gotten a little less exciting.
If you want a thrilling, titilating, over-the top book that never lets up in terms of entertainment, than this is the book for you.
If there... more info
- Rollicking good story, but...
"Charlie Wilson's War" is a Cold War thriller with the extra attraction that it really happened. It tells the behind-the-scenes story of Texan congressman Charlie Wilson, a hard-drinking, hard-loving, Commie-hating bad boy who nearly singlehandedly (as far as the book tells us) dragged the CIA and the US government into supporting the Afghan mujahidin against invading Soviet forces. Charlie gets top billing, but shares much of the limelight with two other men. Gust Avrakatos is a CIA man whose rough... more info
- The enemies of our enemies are not our friends...
Charlie Wilson's War may be one-sided, but it's still a very interesting read, especially in these post-9/11 days. Years before the words Taliban and al Qaeda were in everyday use, or for that matter, even familiar to most Americans, the CIA was waging a secret war in Afghanistan.
Having grown up in the tail end of the Cold War, the threat of the USSR never really gripped me the way it did the generations prior to me. We laughed at the comical "Duck and Cover" commercials when we watched them in... more info
Similar Products:
Portions © Amazon.com, Inc. |
