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The Black Tulip: A Novel of War in Afghanistan
“In this suspense-filled thriller, the man who ran the closing phases of the Afghan war for the Agency takes his readers on a stunning voyage of discovery through that clandestine world, from Kabul to Hong Kong and the Moscow of the Evil Empire.”—Larry Collins, co-author of Is Paris Burning?
Set in the treacherous mountains of Afghanistan and the equally hazardous headquarters of the CIA Operations Directorate in Washington, The Black Tulip is a fast-paced thriller, based on real events, by the legendary spy who masterminded the plot to arm Afghan freedom fighters in their holy war against the Soviets. A longtime veteran of the CIA, Bearden knows the tricks of the trade, the price of honor, the bonds of blood, and the enduring lure of retribution.
Praise for The Black Tulip
“An irresistible page-turner . . . especially vivid because we know the author was a witness to events.” — The Wall Street Journal
“Milt Bearden really delivers. With thirty years in the CIA to back it up, he knows what he’s talking about. . . . A terrific book.” —Robert De Niro
“A heart-stopping tale of espionage and betrayal. Forget Tom this is the real thing.” —Richard Holbrooke
“A truly engrossing espionage read . . . Bearden explains how the CIA supplied Afghan guerrillas with the hardware—rockets, Stinger surface-to-air missiles, and night-vision equipment—which enabled them to chew a vastly stronger Soviet force to bloody ribbons. . . . Highly recommended.” — The Washington Times
Set in the treacherous mountains of Afghanistan and the equally hazardous headquarters of the CIA Operations Directorate in Washington, The Black Tulip is a fast-paced thriller, based on real events, by the legendary spy who masterminded the plot to arm Afghan freedom fighters in their holy war against the Soviets. A longtime veteran of the CIA, Bearden knows the tricks of the trade, the price of honor, the bonds of blood, and the enduring lure of retribution.
Praise for The Black Tulip
“An irresistible page-turner . . . especially vivid because we know the author was a witness to events.” — The Wall Street Journal
“Milt Bearden really delivers. With thirty years in the CIA to back it up, he knows what he’s talking about. . . . A terrific book.” —Robert De Niro
“A heart-stopping tale of espionage and betrayal. Forget Tom this is the real thing.” —Richard Holbrooke
“A truly engrossing espionage read . . . Bearden explains how the CIA supplied Afghan guerrillas with the hardware—rockets, Stinger surface-to-air missiles, and night-vision equipment—which enabled them to chew a vastly stronger Soviet force to bloody ribbons. . . . Highly recommended.” — The Washington Times
336 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1998
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237 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 8, 2012
My mother-in-law gave me this book for Christmas 1998. I just got around to reading it! I found it to be very interesting. It kept my attention the entire time I was reading it. She included a book review from the December 12, 1998 issue of The Washington Post (Pages B1 & B2). The review talks about the author's career in the CIA, etc.
It is particularly interesting as the US now has troops on the ground and air in Afghanistan and I wonder how similar our experiences are compared to those of the Soviet troops in the 1980's. I wonder how the typical Afghanistani citizen feels about the US military compared to the Soviet military? Maybe Milt Bearden needs to write another book and relate it to our US experience.
It is particularly interesting as the US now has troops on the ground and air in Afghanistan and I wonder how similar our experiences are compared to those of the Soviet troops in the 1980's. I wonder how the typical Afghanistani citizen feels about the US military compared to the Soviet military? Maybe Milt Bearden needs to write another book and relate it to our US experience.
April 9, 2014
Great insiders story from a seasoned veteran of the CIA. Although the work is fiction the plausibility factors are high with few if any holes in the character and plot development. Well worth the read if you are looking for some historical context before the US invasion of Afghanistan.
November 6, 2021
The idea was good and even appealing, but the writing was not up to a standard. The stars of this fiction were superhero’s. The narrative was full of clichés and obvious outcomes. The Russian voices in this story spoke with the same clichés as the Americans and the reader could conclude that they were all born in Brooklyn. The author has to get credit for creating an interesting story line, but in the end, I believe it misses the mark.
June 20, 2017
This book is not quite 'fast-paced' -- it actually rambles and drags a bit. The parts that do move along are rather good. It felt like it wanted to be "The Scarlet Pimpernel" for the Cold War, but it lacked both the heart and the humor.
October 7, 2018
How funny that so many characters in this book actually do represent real people. A solid 3.75 stars. I enjoyed all the angles of the Afghan conflict that I hadn't heard before, along with the various intrigues. That damn Aldrich Ames.
September 9, 2020
Mostly boring, repetitive, un-self-aware, plotless, CIA bootlicking, Cold War relic.
January 5, 2017
I received THE BLACK TULIP as a Christmas gift when I was in high school from my father, if memory serves me correctly. I tried reading it back then, and then set it down, because back then, I wanted the immediate and violent action of the Mack Bolan or Richard Marcinko novels.
Recently, I decided to pick the novel back up and give it a spin.
I would say that I wish I would have read it earlier, but the truth of the matter is that I was not ready to read it as a high school student. Now, as a GWOT veteran and student of counterterrorism strategy and history, I can fully appreciate Milt Bearden's novel.
THE BLACK TULIP follows CIA paramilitary contractor Alexander Fannin, a first-generation American, as he conducts unconventional warfare operations in Afghanistan alongside the mujahideen against the Soviet Union's formidable 40th Army. The stakes rapidly escalate from geopolitical to personal as Fannin and his KGB counterpart, Alfa Group Major Klimenko, dance dangerous choreography that could easily lead to both their demises.
My issue with Bearden's prose is that it is minimalist to the point of doing a lot of telling where it should be doing showing. The detailed descriptions he does provide are brilliant and paint an immaculate picture of the locales, whether they be Moscow, Hong Kong, or Afghanistan, but a lot of the time, the descriptions are too sparse to the point of being bland.
However, the descriptions notwithstanding, THE BLACK TULIP is a page-turning thriller. It is not for those not knowledgeable about the intelligence community or about the Soviet-Afghan War (unless you are willing to research on the fly), but Bearden definitely flexes his knowledge and his experience through his prose. It reads with the voice of those who have walked the path.
I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a fictional account that will make one wonder just how much of it is fiction and how much of it is fact told in fiction.
One more note: at one point, one of the characters notes that the mujahideen will more than likely turn on their American advisers. Given that the book was written in 1998, Bearden definitely saw the writing on the wall regarding the then-upcoming Global War on Terrorism.
Recently, I decided to pick the novel back up and give it a spin.
I would say that I wish I would have read it earlier, but the truth of the matter is that I was not ready to read it as a high school student. Now, as a GWOT veteran and student of counterterrorism strategy and history, I can fully appreciate Milt Bearden's novel.
THE BLACK TULIP follows CIA paramilitary contractor Alexander Fannin, a first-generation American, as he conducts unconventional warfare operations in Afghanistan alongside the mujahideen against the Soviet Union's formidable 40th Army. The stakes rapidly escalate from geopolitical to personal as Fannin and his KGB counterpart, Alfa Group Major Klimenko, dance dangerous choreography that could easily lead to both their demises.
My issue with Bearden's prose is that it is minimalist to the point of doing a lot of telling where it should be doing showing. The detailed descriptions he does provide are brilliant and paint an immaculate picture of the locales, whether they be Moscow, Hong Kong, or Afghanistan, but a lot of the time, the descriptions are too sparse to the point of being bland.
However, the descriptions notwithstanding, THE BLACK TULIP is a page-turning thriller. It is not for those not knowledgeable about the intelligence community or about the Soviet-Afghan War (unless you are willing to research on the fly), but Bearden definitely flexes his knowledge and his experience through his prose. It reads with the voice of those who have walked the path.
I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a fictional account that will make one wonder just how much of it is fiction and how much of it is fact told in fiction.
One more note: at one point, one of the characters notes that the mujahideen will more than likely turn on their American advisers. Given that the book was written in 1998, Bearden definitely saw the writing on the wall regarding the then-upcoming Global War on Terrorism.
April 29, 2009
Milt Bearden should stick to nonfiction. (See "The Main Enemy" review.)
Bearden tests the fiction waters with The Black Tulip. The book has the usual international spy ops intrigue with a smattering of romance and action. I just didn't dig it too much. It's not horrible. It's just not good; which is ironic because Bearden lived the life for 30+ years, as opposed to the armchair warriors writing better books.
Though I always wonder when reading former-CIA officers' fiction books whether the story they tell was stamped "fiction" to satisfy the CIA's censors.
Example - The True Story of JFK's Assassination: A Novel. (Faceless CIA Bureaucrat: "Well, okay. So long as you put 'A Novel' in the title.")
If you want a better former-CIA author, look to Robert Baer. Baer writes a better story. (See "Blow the House Down" review.)
Bearden tests the fiction waters with The Black Tulip. The book has the usual international spy ops intrigue with a smattering of romance and action. I just didn't dig it too much. It's not horrible. It's just not good; which is ironic because Bearden lived the life for 30+ years, as opposed to the armchair warriors writing better books.
Though I always wonder when reading former-CIA officers' fiction books whether the story they tell was stamped "fiction" to satisfy the CIA's censors.
Example - The True Story of JFK's Assassination: A Novel. (Faceless CIA Bureaucrat: "Well, okay. So long as you put 'A Novel' in the title.")
If you want a better former-CIA author, look to Robert Baer. Baer writes a better story. (See "Blow the House Down" review.)
October 9, 2024
A good Spy vs. Spy book. Almost felt realistic. So I don't know if it's a little non-fiction with some fiction. Could be that way. Either way, it was a good suspense.
I have read this twice 10 years ago. After I re-read it, I gave it to a friend. I was in the Navy at the time and it was during a deployment, so he appreciated the hand-me-down book. He also ended up liking the book too.
I have read this twice 10 years ago. After I re-read it, I gave it to a friend. I was in the Navy at the time and it was during a deployment, so he appreciated the hand-me-down book. He also ended up liking the book too.
November 6, 2015
An excellent look at the Russian war in Afghanistan from the Russian perspective. The term "black tulip" refers to the aircraft used to carry the bodies of fallen soldiers back home to Russia.
January 22, 2010
Novel of war in Afghanistan after CIA gives Mujahideen Stinger missiles.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews