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4th out of 155 books
—
67 voters
Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times
Charlie 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-p...more
Paperback, 560 pages
Published
April 22nd 2004
by Grove Press
(first published January 1st 2003)
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This book was too long and poorly written. It repeated itself and skipped around quite a bit. It took me a very long time to get through this, despite being interested in the material. The author would have done better with a condensed book that flowed better. The story is over dramatized and extrodinarily biased. I'd like to hear from Casey, George, and others who were denigrated in this book. I think this is overinflated and a very egotistical version of an important turning point in US Histor...more
This definately falls in the category of truth being stranger than fiction because this story is so unlikely that no one would believe it if it hadn't happened. Not only is there much more detail and depth than the movie even hinted at, it's also a great inside look at how the American government and intelligence community actually work.
Jan 10, 2009
booklady
marked it as to-read
Bear and I watched this movie last night and while on one hand I have to say it earned its "R" rating and then some, due to nudity, excessive profanity and immorality, it is nevertheless the incredible story of an unknown second-district Texas Congressman playboy who almost single-handedly procures millions of dollars (which were then matched by the Saudis) to support the Afghani mujahideen in their fight against the Soviet Union during the 1980s. Of course you know the outcome. What's so amazin...more
2 likes · like · see review
I'm pretty conflicted about this one. It is an amazing true story with tremendous consequences (it could be argued for both good and bad) to every American. The story is very well told but filled with profanity (all of it, I presume, authentic). That was conflicting enough, but the most unsettling of all is how to weigh out the whole thing. It is fairly clear that the Russians' war with Afghanistan was the straw that financially broke the proverbial camel's back (along with an arms race with Ron...more
I stumbled across a copy of this book while on vacation. I haven't seen the film version as of yet, but I always prefer to read the book if given the choice between the two.
This book is an astonishingly well-written report of how easily one man, in the right position, can circumvent due process and the rule of law. Everyone involved in the events described here seems to think of the incidents reported here as a great patriotic endeavor. I think it's a tremendous primer on the use of raw power.
On...more
This book is an astonishingly well-written report of how easily one man, in the right position, can circumvent due process and the rule of law. Everyone involved in the events described here seems to think of the incidents reported here as a great patriotic endeavor. I think it's a tremendous primer on the use of raw power.
On...more
2 likes · like · see review
A tremendously fun read and how many books on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the jihad against the Soviets can you say that about? I'd give it 5 stars, if I felt I could trust it completely, but if it isn't entirely true, you'd want it to be. An alcholic dissolute Congressman brings down the Soviet Union, working with renegade CIA agents, right wing Christain fundamentalists aligned with fundalmentalist Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan. How can you not like this story? It's a bit like...more
This is a popular book which will soon be a film. But more goes on here than meets the eye. On the face of things, it seems like a book about the heroic efforts of a one man to help the Afghan Mujahideen take on the Soviets.
But the author is actually telling three stories. The second on is about the journey to find meaningful desire. Charlie Wilson is a wreck of a human who moves from false desire to false desire until he gets to the Mujahideen.
The question is: does he ever find his desire? If...more
But the author is actually telling three stories. The second on is about the journey to find meaningful desire. Charlie Wilson is a wreck of a human who moves from false desire to false desire until he gets to the Mujahideen.
The question is: does he ever find his desire? If...more
I guess now that Tom Hanks starred in a movie based on this book, I'm obligated to write a review. If you're into politics , intrigue, and war stories, this will be your favorite book. It's a completely true story, yet it reads like the best fiction in the genre. The movie covered a lot, but of course, a lot was left out, like Charlie's short marriage and long decline into alcoholism, which was only symbolized in the movie.
Charlie Wilson was a Democrat hawk who saved freedom for the world from t...more
Charlie Wilson was a Democrat hawk who saved freedom for the world from t...more
Charlie Wilson is a bit like everyone - a good side and a bad side. His "public" persona displayed a lot of what many would think is bad. His personal mission as a congressman from Texas was to help the Afghans who were being invaded by Russia in the 1980's. He did this through funding and close work with the CIA. His problems with alcohol will strike a chord with any recovering or former drinker.
It is an intriguing book, and somewhat scary that one man could wield this much power. The movie by...more
It is an intriguing book, and somewhat scary that one man could wield this much power. The movie by...more
Jan 27, 2011
Erik Graff
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Afghanistan fans
Recommended to Erik by:
no one
Shelves:
history
This is indeed an entertaining book about a moral reprobate, Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson, substantially responsible--along with the CIA, the Saudis and other authoritarian allies of the USA--for the defeat of the Soviet's attempts at nation building in Afghanistan during the eighties. Although this edition doesn't go into it, the history of American support for the Afghan "freedom fighters" is a good case study of unintended consequences as the withdrawal of Soviet forces supporting an alli...more
This book is overly long and unnecessarily repetitive, and constantly displays a dumpy fratboy's hero-worship of dudes who get chicks, but if you want to understand how and why the United States government and its surrogates established the Afghani terror schools that trained people like Osama bin Laden, Crile is your man. He's not exactly what I'd call writerly, but the coda about the war's aftermath among Soviet soldiers is beautiful, and for you wonks at the Central Asia desk, he calls Flashm...more
There are many and complex aspects of Afghanistan's war with Russia (e.g., Saudi weapons improved by Israeli technological adjustments delivered to Pakistan for transfer to the mujahideen to fight the Russians). The author points out that an unintended consequence of this "just war" initiated by a rogue congressman and rogue CIA agent was to replace the mujahideen with the taliban. Was the not-so-covert op worth it? Wilson argues it was because it brought down the Berlin wall. Guess history will...more
The movie barely scratches the surface. It's a great read for anyone interested in foreign affairs & policy. Crile could have done a better job organizing some of the chapters (I have a feeling they shuffled around a bit in the editing process), but it doesn't detract much.
There's obviously a lot of depth around the funding & planning of the afgan war, but it's also an interesting porthole into how things are done on Capitol Hill. Gust & Charlie Wilson are interesting characters in...more
There's obviously a lot of depth around the funding & planning of the afgan war, but it's also an interesting porthole into how things are done on Capitol Hill. Gust & Charlie Wilson are interesting characters in...more
Charlie Wilson's war is indispensible for anyone who wants to understand the roots of our current war in Afghanistan. It's also a primer on how Washington worked in the 1970s-1980s under Reagan, Tip O'Neill, and others. Congressman Charlie Wilson and the CIA funneled billions of dollars worth of money and equipment to the Mooj, or Mujahadeen, in Afghanistan to "bleed" the Soviet 40th Army. Every penny, every bullet, went via Pakistan's ISI, as a condition of Pakistan allowing it all. Wilson, his...more
I read this because it talked about the contemporary history of what was going on in Central Asia the decades prior to Three Cups of Tea. I had just finished the sequel to Three Cups "Stones to Schools" when this audiobook of Charlie Wilson's War came across my path.
Hindsight is always so interesting. Sometimes it is clear when an investigative author puts thigns into perscpective. Author really fleshed out some of the motivations, and goings on, of what happened in afghani...more I read this b...more
Hindsight is always so interesting. Sometimes it is clear when an investigative author puts thigns into perscpective. Author really fleshed out some of the motivations, and goings on, of what happened in afghani...more I read this b...more
I read this book to review it for the San Francisco Chronicle back in 2003, long before Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts made what I consider a pretty good movie out of it. An important book. Here's my review from 2003:
An army of one
How a fast-living Texas congressman secretly funneled billions of dollars to Afghanistan to fight the Soviets
Reviewed by Steve Kettmann
Sunday, May 25, 2003
Charlie Wilson's War
The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
By George Crile
ATLANTIC MON...more
An army of one
How a fast-living Texas congressman secretly funneled billions of dollars to Afghanistan to fight the Soviets
Reviewed by Steve Kettmann
Sunday, May 25, 2003
Charlie Wilson's War
The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
By George Crile
ATLANTIC MON...more
1 like · like · see review
Feb 18, 2010
Richard
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
history,
social-political
An incredibly entertaining history of Amercia's most successful covert war via proxy. When the Soviets went into Afghanistan, Congressman Charlie Wilson pushed to support the mujaheddin.
Its true that this eventually turned against us, providing the training that militarized those who would eventually become terrorists, but those dots couldn't be connected until many years later. At the time, it would have seemed just as plausible that Afghanistan would be solidly a U.S. partisan.
Charlie Wilson j...more
Its true that this eventually turned against us, providing the training that militarized those who would eventually become terrorists, but those dots couldn't be connected until many years later. At the time, it would have seemed just as plausible that Afghanistan would be solidly a U.S. partisan.
Charlie Wilson j...more
This book explains Charlie Wilson's involvement in getting funding for the CIA's Afghanistan operation. Here is what I learned:
1. Charlie Wilson and his CIA buddies use the F-bomb (or some crass equivalent) constantly
2. Certain congressman are great at persuading others to co-operate with them, even when they do not agree with the plan.
3. Afghanistan is a crazy place
4. Charlie Wilson earned his nickname "Goodtime Charlie"
One conclusion that I draw (I do not think the author or the historical pr...more
1. Charlie Wilson and his CIA buddies use the F-bomb (or some crass equivalent) constantly
2. Certain congressman are great at persuading others to co-operate with them, even when they do not agree with the plan.
3. Afghanistan is a crazy place
4. Charlie Wilson earned his nickname "Goodtime Charlie"
One conclusion that I draw (I do not think the author or the historical pr...more
This was a fantastic history of the Afghan/Russian war of the late 70s-80s. There were quite a few things that struck me as ironic while reading this. First off, the Mujahideen that the US CIA were funding to fight the invading Russians with both weapons and money were called "Freedom Fighters" by Americans. These same people we would, in 2003-?, call terrorists when fighting us in Iraq.
I find it ironic that we pumped this area with billions of dollars for weapons annually, and taught them how...more
I find it ironic that we pumped this area with billions of dollars for weapons annually, and taught them how...more
Why are we where we are today in Afghanistan? Part of the answer to that question is found in this story of a man who decided to take action when no one else would. Bigger than life, bigger than even the movie based on this book, Charlie Wilson took on Communist Russia and brought it to its knees over a secret war in a small country. Everyone knew the tribesmen couldn't win against Russia's tanks and helicopters, and Charlie Wilson decided to even the odds, shaping the politics and a country for...more
Makes anything by Tom Clancy seem tame - this is a true life spy story about a near-billion dollar program (yes, $Billion) that one congressman and US covert ops ran in the 1980's in Afghanistan.
Few Americans know about this - and how it contributes to the current events in Afghanistan - which makes it an important read. (The movie, while entertaining, was nothing compared to this.)
My only quibble is that Crile drops in crucial relevant info (such as history of conflict in Afghanistan; how cov...more
Few Americans know about this - and how it contributes to the current events in Afghanistan - which makes it an important read. (The movie, while entertaining, was nothing compared to this.)
My only quibble is that Crile drops in crucial relevant info (such as history of conflict in Afghanistan; how cov...more
This book is, quite simply, packed with a wealth of information that reveals that the author did more than just his homework; he did the extra credit project, too.
The book covers the escalation of the CIA's operation in Afghanistan in the 1980s. It does do by following Texas congressman Charlie Wilson, predominately, as well as CIA spook Gust...I'm never going to spell his last name correctly. But it goes beyond these two; other members of Congress, other CIA members, and I think even foreign d...more
The book covers the escalation of the CIA's operation in Afghanistan in the 1980s. It does do by following Texas congressman Charlie Wilson, predominately, as well as CIA spook Gust...I'm never going to spell his last name correctly. But it goes beyond these two; other members of Congress, other CIA members, and I think even foreign d...more
A fascinating overview of US involvement in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan, revealing a history quite different from what one was told at the time. It reinforces the impressions that
1. Governments are full of scheming narcissists and manipulable incompetents.
2. Narcissists do what they want, for their own gain and egos.
3. If you get in the way of a narcissist or its government, you will be destroyed.
4. You may be destroyed for trivial reasons.
5. The law is for hoi polloi only.
6. Governments lie and...more
1. Governments are full of scheming narcissists and manipulable incompetents.
2. Narcissists do what they want, for their own gain and egos.
3. If you get in the way of a narcissist or its government, you will be destroyed.
4. You may be destroyed for trivial reasons.
5. The law is for hoi polloi only.
6. Governments lie and...more
A very enjoyable read. I was a little surprised with all of the typos though. I noticed them throughout the book. Someone obviously didn't proofread well.
Nevertheless, in terms of the content of the book, it's still just amazing to me how we could have been so fixated on fighting the Soviets that we would support the mujaheddin, apparently with no regard whatsoever as to the long-term consequnces. If only we had known how incompetent the Politburo was at the time, they probably were going to fal...more
Nevertheless, in terms of the content of the book, it's still just amazing to me how we could have been so fixated on fighting the Soviets that we would support the mujaheddin, apparently with no regard whatsoever as to the long-term consequnces. If only we had known how incompetent the Politburo was at the time, they probably were going to fal...more
A lot of my reading this year has been on the accumulation and exercise of power. This book focuses on two power brokers of incredible skill--Charlie Wilson mastered the art of Congressional appropriations, and Gust Avrakotos mastered the bureaucracy of the Executive Branch.
Outside of the discussions of the exercise of power, I had a couple of issues:
- There wasn't much of a discussion of the war itself, i.e., points in Afghanistan where conflict would happen. I got the feeling that the author d...more
Outside of the discussions of the exercise of power, I had a couple of issues:
- There wasn't much of a discussion of the war itself, i.e., points in Afghanistan where conflict would happen. I got the feeling that the author d...more
Eye opening book about a subject that not very many people know about but should know about. It chronicles the millions of dollars the government, via the CIA and thanks to Charlie Wilson, gave to the mujahideen in Afghanistan during the years they were fighting the Russians. The funniest thing about this book is that Mr Wilson has no regrets.
1 like · like · see review
Crile does an incredible job of telling the remarkable story of the funding of the mujahideen in their battle against the Soviet Union in the 1980's. The detailed reporting of the characters and events doesn't get bogged down, however. Instead, Crile did a great job of writing a very readable story about a fascinating subject. It's a page-turner and fortunately so because it's also a very long read.
I was in college in the '80's and I remember the brutality of the Soviet invasion and subsequent...more
I was in college in the '80's and I remember the brutality of the Soviet invasion and subsequent...more
Introduces the reader to Charlie Wilson, a former Texas representative, and his involvement in the covert support provided to the mujihadeen. Loose on facts and long on speculation. The book does not provide a thorough history of US involvement nor does it attempt to. If it reads like fiction, a large of it may very well be just that.
Considering the mess we're in right now in Afghanistan, this is a pretty interesting read. Charlie Wilson is a TX congressman who gets pulled into the plight of the Afghans when they are invaded in the 80's by the Soviet Union. Due to his position on the Ways and Means Committee, he has the ability to help fund the Afghans in their attempt to conquer if not wear down the Soviets and convince them to go home. As he hooks up with CIA agents and others championing the cause of these underdogs, he c...more
(3.1) The astounding true story how one democratic Texas congressman and a roly-poly polyester wearing Greek CIA agent funded the biggest covert operation in US history. There's a lot here that will make anyone cheer: especially the likable scoundrel that Charlie Wilson was and his resolve and incredible political maneuverings that enabled him to succeed.
However, it is those roadblocks that loom large upon reflection. The massive ossified bureaucracy in the State dept, CIA, and DOD, and the lucr...more
However, it is those roadblocks that loom large upon reflection. The massive ossified bureaucracy in the State dept, CIA, and DOD, and the lucr...more
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“Operating in the black market is like trying to get laid in a city you don't know. In a strange city, if you have enough money, you're bound to find something, but there might be a disease contracted, you might get rolled or arrested, and there's no telling how much it will cost. With you wife, its predictable and in a steady quantity.”
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