Gripping ... Zuckoff's books often focus on intense moments of heroism and conflict ... The Secret Gate takes a similar approach in this fast-paced read that builds to the climactic and risky rescue.
Reads like a thriller ... The Secret Gate describes, in compelling detail, the excruciating decisions faced by members of the diplomatic corps and military as they decided who to evacuate and who to leave behind; however, the book doesn’t fall into the trap of allowing the American narrative to subsume the Afghan one ... A fast-paced escape narrative, but it is also a morally complex interrogation of Homeira’s wrenching choice.
A vivid and wrenching chronicle of both the heart-wrenching decision to leave one’s home to escape danger and going above and beyond the call of duty to help strangers. Zuckoff has created a definitive account of this moment in history.
Zuckoff delivers a gripping account of Aronson’s routine during those final days ... A last-minute rescue seemed impossible, but he made it happen. An uplifting account of genuine heroics in the latest American military debacle.