false 29358 24 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-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. 994561 2003 Charlie Wilson's War total:1403|5:396|4:635|3:296|2:57|1:19| 1403 5541 2183 340 2 3 true false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 31 11:53:50 -0800 2007 Wed Jan 30 20:43:55 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 1 false false Sat Jan 10 12:02:34 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 12:30:48 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 28 08:51:59 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 28 09:56:41 -0700 2008
This book is an astonishingly well-written report of how easily one man, in the right position, can circumvent due ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Mon Mar 31 13:20:55 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 13:53:46 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Aug 02 16:43:28 -0700 2007 Sun Mar 16 12:46:22 -0700 2008
But the author is actually telling three stories. The secon...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Nov 17 13:02:16 -0800 2007 Mon Jan 14 12:59:08 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Apr 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 12 07:31:40 -0700 2008 Sat May 03 13:04:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 01 11:21:30 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 05 15:35:40 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Oct 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 28 19:51:34 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 30 06:15:08 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Nov 23 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 20 13:28:10 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 08:42:21 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Mar 26 01:25:50 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 20:33:27 -0700 2009 Nightline that night in Caesar Palace, the history of Cold War will be different. Ted Koppel had opened his Nightline broadcast with a disturbing refrain: "Good evening. Tonight is the two hundred and thirty-seventh night of captivity for th...more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 16 11:12:19 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 15:10:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon May 14 18:36:25 -0700 2007 Mon May 14 18:40:32 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu May 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 14:19:08 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 14:41:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Mon Aug 03 06:13:50 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 06:19:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 1 false false Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Fri May 11 12:57:23 -0700 2007 Fri May 11 12:58:21 -0700 2007
I suppose the national security establishment didn't think arming the mujahideen might result in the civil war of 1992-6 and the rise of the Taliban? Or does it even matter for them?]]> 4 0 false false Wed Nov 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Oct 25 18:50:00 -0700 2009 Wed Nov 18 10:20:22 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon May 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 00:16:20 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 00:25:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Dec 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 12:57:55 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 13:04:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 13:46:47 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 13:53:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=955683