Looking For Some Book Recommendations

Well, I recently watched Zero Dark Thirty and I thought, well, that was interesting but I wonder how much of that was real. Then it occurred to me that while I know the general outline of America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, that I don't know that much about them.

Of course as they are recent events, finding something that isn't either a diatribe on how America is the worlds worst evil and or over the top flag waving is difficult.

Anybody got recommendations for books on the subject of Iraq/Afghanistan and the hunt for bin Laden?

How can you be a Mike Yon fan and not have read Danger Close and Moment of Truth in Iraq? As real as it gets.

Also: The Wars of Afghanistan Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers

Also: War in a Distant Country: Afghanistan : Invasion and Resistance (Little known gem)

Yeah that's true. I've read neither.

To be fair, Danger Close is more about Michael than Iraq. Still, riveting.

I think Zero Dark Thirty was based on a book. If there was fabrication in that movie, you'd think participants would have come forward.

I know a good book regarding the end of the Vietnam war but nothing on Iraq or Afghanistan, sorry

hey, seeing how you love movies, you should really see Restrepo if you haven't seen it yet.

I have seen Restrepo. It was the movie that finally made me change my thinking about the war in Afghanistan and admit to myself what pointless folly it is. Very powerful.

Restrepo was incredible.

Very good background is:

The Great War for Civilisation (The Conquest of the Middle East) by Robert Fisk.

How deep into the rabbit hole of general Mid-Eastern international relations do you wanna get? The history of all the players is really crucial to understanding the whole thing since so much of what's going on there now has it's roots in cold war satellite state bullshit and colonial resource exploitation that crosses a lot of state boundaries.

I definitely second the Fisk book as a great overview.

I can't think of anything specific off the top of my head but I'd also suggest reading something that goes back to the post WWI carving up of the former Ottoman empire and all the conflicts built into the creation of new states based on neo-colonial interests rather than any sort of locally considered nation building.

Ghost Wars by Steve Coll is a pretty good history lesson of more specifically what's gone on in Afghanistan prior to the invasion and all the complicated double interests that were at play.

Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror by Michael Scheuer absolutely has a more slanted view but has a ton of interesting stuff in it too.