Ghost Wars and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
Price: £5.38

or
 
   
Trade in Yours
For a £1.10 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading Ghost Wars on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden [Paperback]

Steve Coll
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
Price: £8.96 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £4.03 (31%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 5 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Friday, 21 June? Choose Express delivery at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £9.99  
Hardcover --  
Paperback £8.96  
MP3 CD, Audiobook --  
Trade In this Item for up to £1.10
Trade in Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £1.10, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Card, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more

Book Description

3 Mar 2005

The news-breaking book that has sent schockwaves through the White House, Ghost Wars is the most accurate and revealing account yet of the CIA's secret involvement in al-Qaeada's evolution.

Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll has spent years reporting from the Middle East, accessed previously classified government files and interviewed senior US officials and foreign spymasters. Here he gives the full inside story of the CIA's covert funding of an Islamic jihad against Soviet forces in Afghanistan, explores how this sowed the seeds of bn Laden's rise, traces how he built his global network and brings to life the dramatic battles within the US government over national security. Above all, he lays bare American intelligence's continual failure to grasp the rising threat of terrrorism in the years leading to 9/11 - and its devastating consequences.


Frequently Bought Together

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden + The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda's Road to 9/11
Price For Both: £16.54

Buy the selected items together


Product details

  • Paperback: 736 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin (3 Mar 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0141020806
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141020808
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 3.1 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 10,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Amazon Review

Steve Coll's Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 offers revealing details of the CIA's involvement in the evolution of the Taliban and al Qaeda in the years before the September 11 attacks. From the beginning, Coll shows how the CIA's on-again, off-again engagement with Afghanistan after the end of the Soviet war left officials at Langley with inadequate resources and intelligence to appreciate the emerging power of the Taliban. He also demonstrates how Afghanistan became a deadly playing field for international politics where Soviet, Pakistani and US agents armed and trained a succession of warring factions. At the same time, the book, though opinionated, balances accounts of CIA failures with the success stories, such as the capture of Mir Amal Kasi.

Coll, managing editor for the Washington Post, covered Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992. He demonstrates unprecedented access to records of White House meetings and to formerly classified material, and his command of Saudi, Pakistani and Afghani politics is impressive. He also provides a seeming insider's perspective on personalities such as George Tenet, William Casey and anti-terrorism czar Richard Clarke ("who seemed to wield enormous power precisely because hardly anyone knew who he was or what exactly he did for a living"). Coll manages to weave his research into a narrative that sometimes has the feel of a Tom Clancy novel yet never crosses into excess.

While comprehensive, Coll's book may be hard going for those looking for a direct account of the events leading to the 9/11 attacks. The CIA's 1998 engagement with bin Laden as a target for capture begins a full two-thirds of the way into Ghost Wars, only after a lengthy march through developments during the Carter, Reagan and early Clinton Presidencies. But this is not a criticism of Coll's efforts; just a warning that some stamina is required to keep up. Ghost Wars is a complex study of intelligence operations and an invaluable resource for those seeking a nuanced understanding of how a small band of extremists rose to inflict incalculable damage on American soil. --Patrick O'Kelley, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Certainly the finest historical narrative so far on the origins of al Qaeda in the post-Soviet rubble of Afghanistan . . . "Ghost Wars" provides fresh details and helps explain the motivations behind many crucial decisions."
-"The New York Times Book Review"


Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
IT WAS A SMALL RIOT in a year of upheavals, a passing thunderclap disgorged by racing skies. Read the first page
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Ghost Wars 19 May 2004
Format:Hardcover
Steve Coll's study "Ghost Wars" is the most comprehensive study of the CIA and other secret services operating in Afghanistan covering the twenty odd years preceding the September 11th attack that I have read so far. The account is based on an impressive bibliography and large number of interviews. It is factual, but the narrative is quite vivid and colourful. Personal interpretations and theorizing are prudently limited, which makes this book preferable in my opinion to other 'historical' accounts such as "Le Royaume de l'Insolence" (Barry), in which the author's personal theses concerning Islam for example (although interesting in their own right) tend to be presented as fact. Both books make very good reading for anyone with a special interest in the history and politics of Afghanistan.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars No doubt about it 8 Feb 2011
Format:Paperback
.
`Ghost Wars' is a well researched book with abundant footnotes supporting every detail. With so many Arab figures, the author wisely provides a list to allow the reader to keep track of who is who -- though a complicated read it is easy to follow. He exposes the CIAs failures in the days leading up to 9/11, while on the other hand, he eradicates many misconceptions of the CIA including rumors it often works for the enemy. This is an open and honest book of what is for the most part a closed and clandestine organization. Bravo!

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA is an appropriate partner for this book as it defines the environment it operates in. Another well researched book by a former CIA agent Murder in the Vatican: The CIA and the Bolshevik Pontiff does a riveting job explaining why the anti-American Pope who preceded the Polish Pope survived only 33 days in the Vatican.

Get `Ghost Wars' in hardcover for your permanent collection.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars EXPLOSIVE READING 30 Sep 2008
By Foxylock TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This literary masterpiece from Pulitzer prize winning author Steve Coll will blow your mind.The apparent relentless and exhaustive research that made this book shows Colls dedication to bringing the full story to the reader.Beginning with the US support of the Afghan fighters during the Soviet invasion and finishing just days before the attacks on 9/11 Coll will take you on a mind boggling journey encompassing delicate matters such as:the US support of the taliban,the CIA attempts to buy back Stinger missiles it had given to the Mujaheddin for $150,000 apiece!! hare brained and expensive attempts to remove Osama Bin Laden and constant policy changes and in-fighting within the CIA.Throw in the main characters:an impeached president,a president with no clue on foriegn policy,tribal leaders more concerned with personal enrichment than the liberation of their people and radical jihadists like Osama the world hide and seek champion!!Add to this mix the ineptitude of the CIA and you have an extremely interesting plot.Read this book for the story and you will become more informed on the origins of al-Qaeda,the history of Afghanistan and the entanglement of the US government.Study this book and you will see layer upon layer of CIA incompetence,could 9/11 have been prevented?
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars to Obama's choice 7 Mar 2009
By Julie
Format:Paperback
I like spy non-fiction and selected this book after finding out that Barack Obama read this during his presidential campaign. The book is beyond expectations, with a complete overview and seemingly a true account of what happened in Afghanistan during the 80's and 90's. The book is very well written and the details brought about by Steve Coll are fantastic.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible 5 Nov 2007
Format:Paperback
This has become my favourite book of all time. Each page is packed with information, the whole book is extensively referenced too. It also puts to bed many misconceptions and myths (a common one is that the CIA funded bin Laden, which is not true).
Coll also describes the feelings of those who worked in the CIA and State Dept. and he shows their many conflicts and competing ideologies. The split feelings and decisions within the U.S. policy makers with respect to Massoud, bin Laden and the Taliban are very well told.
Recommended.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book you will find on the subject 23 July 2006
Format:Paperback
This is an outstanding piece of journalism by the managing editor of the Washington Post. Very clearly written, Steve Coll details American policy towards Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion through 9/11.

Not only was this the best book on the subject I have read, it is one of the best books I have read in years.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book that reads like a novel 27 Nov 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Most political histories are a little dry and dull but this book is brilliant, so detailed and so well researched it reads like a Tom Clancy novel.

It covers the entire background to CIA involvement in Afghanistan and the rise of Bin Laden there. Its totally gripping and so informative, the only frustration is that it ends on 8 Sept just before 9/11.

If you are interested in the CIA and Afghanistan then read this book.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Afghan Insights 27 Dec 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is truely the most well documented and insightful book I have read on the current and recent political history of Afghanistan and the US's involvement in the region. Coll's access to sorce material as well as politicians is remarkable and he displays a thorough understanding of political and religious currents nuances.

Even more importantly, the book comes across as unbiased and objective yet still throughly analytical. Coll casts so much light on issues important to the region that I would recommend it to anybody intersted in understanding one of today's centres of conflict...not least politicians and government officials.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read
A very detailed reading into a very complicated situation that is currently facing Pakistan. Very hard to put the book down. However the book was bit too long for me. Read more
Published 1 month ago by MR N KHAN
5.0 out of 5 stars Steve Coll's brilliant thesis is indispensable to understanding where...
In 1990 Steve Coll was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism, and since 1998 has been Managing Editor of The Washington Post. Read more
Published 6 months ago by The Guardian
5.0 out of 5 stars First political book I have ever read. Fantastic read!
I admit that normally I like nothing better than to curl up with a book - usually fiction and normally with a romantic theme. Read more
Published 8 months ago by H Gruber
5.0 out of 5 stars skullduggery indeed!
cant think of a better book than this! exposes the cia in all its bungling glory. very informative it takes you on a crazy journey! well worth a read
Published 17 months ago by matt regan
2.0 out of 5 stars Kindle more expensive than paperback
Downloaded the sample to my Kindle and enjoyed it. When I went to buy the book, discovered it was cheaper in paperback. Off to the bookstore.
Published 23 months ago by Aproprose
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Example of Research
The author grasps the attention of the scholar with his narrative and analyses backed by key sources. Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2011 by Panagiotis Dimitrakis
4.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly Informative and swept up.
I managed to get hold of a pre-publication proof copy (Is that the CIA I hear knocking at my door?) It is full of information and relatively fluid. Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2010 by A. S. Edwards
4.0 out of 5 stars Poor digitisation
This is a wonderful book and fully worthy of five stars. However, and this is an irritating however, the publisher has been extremely sloppy with the digitisation. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2010 by waterden
5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Imagine this Subject Covered Better Than This
Superb book. In a genre which attracts too many opportunistic third hand accounts, I was looking for an authoritive, well referenced work on this important chapter in recent... Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2010 by Brian S. Meredith
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding
I do not have much to add to what has already been written about this book, suffice to say that it is an outstanding education on the events involving the CIA taking place in... Read more
Published on 26 May 2010 by Marmaduke Gentle
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges