This highly enlightening and at times disturbing book covers the last five years in that turbulent war, seamlessly blending a tight narrative of the strategic and political events of that time with an engrossing group of personal recollections of combat from Special Forces troops called upon to accomplish a nearly impossible task ... Beyond the author’s recounting of information not previously known about America’s covert combat operations of the last five years, she also shows the very human face of war ... America’s longest war is finally receiving its due from some fine books recounting the deeds of the brave troops who served under difficult conditions. This volume uncovers and narrates some uncomfortable facts not previously known to the American public in a straightforward manner, and is well worth reading [.]
Jessica Donati presents a memorable but choppy portrait of Americans fighting in Afghanistan over the last six years, which is notable because there have been few good accounts of the war there ... Donati...does an especially good job at portraying the combat in Kunduz in October 2015 ... Over all, Donati tells a confused but important story about limited warfare. The American government spends a lot of money and loses only a few soldiers, but it gains little ... for those caught up in the war on the ground, civilians and combatants alike, the risks and costs are huge.
Donati captures the chaos and arbitrariness of the war ... Her vivid, uncompromising reporting presents U.S. politicians and senior military commanders as disconnected from the reality of the war as they flounder in search of a satisfactory way out of it.
Donati provides clear-eyed insights into the frustrations and challenges that confront American soldiers ... Donati's book is unflinching in the stories it tells about servicemen participating in an unforgiving war ... Featuring often-overlooked perspectives, this is an important read on America's military involvement in Afghanistan.
The book hits its mark in its sympathetic portrayal of the boots on the ground, in particular the Special Forces and Green Berets of Operational Detachment Alpha. Their frustrations at the human costs, from deaths to homesickness to mission futility, will resonate with readers.
... a gritty and well-informed look at the current state of the U.S. war in Afghanistan ... Skillfully interweaving big-picture policy analysis with frontline reporting, Donati shines a stark light on this shadowy conflict. The result is a distressing yet vital update on America’s longest war.
... a searing, dispiriting portrait of America’s elite warriors in the field ... potent ... Donati’s on-the-ground account—and it’s clear that she put herself in constant danger to tell the soldiers’ stories even as American officials dithered about how to deploy those troops—is sometimes as hallucinatory as Dispatches and as taut and well written as Mark Bowden’s now-classic book [Black Hawk Down]. Exemplary journalism and a powerful argument for not putting soldiers in harm’s way unless we’re sure we know why.
