Marc's review
status:
Read in January, 2007
There is a reason that this book was made into a movie with prominent filmmakers and actors. However, in the movie events were too crammed together, rearranged, or made to overlap, and it was probably butchered in editing. The movie didn't work. The book was great. Very gripping and thought provoking. Also, if you think intervening in Afghanistan was a mistake and 9/11 was a global calamity worst case scenario, consider the consequences of not intervening. The Soviet military gains morale. The Soviet Union likely never collapses or the coupe succeeds and militants take over. Then the Soviet Union is still around in the 90's and possibly beyond. How does that effect the war in Yugoslavia, Chinese economic reforms, middle eastern stability with a Soviet presence, and the internet and high tech boom. Is the high tech boom as we know it possible in a world where we have to worry about the Soviets using the internet to hack into American databases, gather intelligence, and take technologies...more
There is a reason that this book was made into a movie with prominent filmmakers and actors. However, in the movie events were too crammed together, rearranged, or made to overlap, and it was probably butchered in editing. The movie didn't work. The book was great. Very gripping and thought provoking. Also, if you think intervening in Afghanistan was a mistake and 9/11 was a global calamity worst case scenario, consider the consequences of not intervening. The Soviet military gains morale. The Soviet Union likely never collapses or the coupe succeeds and militants take over. Then the Soviet Union is still around in the 90's and possibly beyond. How does that effect the war in Yugoslavia, Chinese economic reforms, middle eastern stability with a Soviet presence, and the internet and high tech boom. Is the high tech boom as we know it possible in a world where we have to worry about the Soviets using the internet to hack into American databases, gather intelligence, and take technologies from American companies? Would high tech have advanced and became affordable as quickly with technologies developed for the military more closely guarded and even privately developed technologies being too valuable to just send to China for manufacturing, as the designs might fall into Soviet hands? Would the internet and global supply chain function as well in a world divided by such fears and suspicions? Also, what about future Soviet aggression? Appeasement can lead to larger conflicts. So, it is great to read this story, as those involved are heroes. They created a mess, but then again so did George Washington. What both had in common is that they created a lot smaller of a mess than the one they replaced....less
Charlie Wilson's War 
