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`a visceral, frightening book about modern war...both unnerving and mesmeric' --The Scotsman
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`as broad, vivid and unbiased a portrait of Iraq as has yet been written ... a fine, compelling, brilliant book.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The source of THE FOREVER WAR is 561 notebooks that Dexter Filkins filled in a nine year period, when he worked as a correspondent for The Los Angeles Times in Afghanistan and The New York Times in Iraq. In a section of acknowledgements at the end of his book, Filkins thanks Jonathan Segal, his editor at Knopf, who "helped shape my unwieldy ideas and an even more unwieldy manuscript..."
While Filkins is surely being generous, what he and Segal succeed in delivering is a highly layered rendering of Filkins's experiences that both clarifies and conveys the complexity of these failed states. Filkins and Segal, in other words, have managed this mother lode of on-the-scene impressions brilliantly. They have created a book that is highly perceptive, never strident or polemical, and absolutely riveting.
The layering of experience is everywhere in TFW. One quick illustration is Chapter Eight, which focuses on a maternity hospital in Diwaniya that Jerry Bremer visits. This begins with Bremer's advance man, who is a Republican political operative, not an Iraqi expert. Then Bremer exits his Chinook and gives a speech, like a politician campaigning, citing statistics showing that all 200 hospitals in Iraq are open, that the country's health care is improving, and so on. But what Filkins learns from the doctors is that there is no electricity. As a result, the hospital cannot sterilize instruments or warm the incubators and its premature babies are dying. In this and other visits to this hospital, Filkins also finds one employee who hates Saddam more than the American occupation but another who hates the chaos of the occupation more than Saddam. Altogether, this single short chapter shows the effort to manage the story, the reality, and the complex reactions and allegiances of the Iraqis. Throughout, TFW has a very rich narrative.
In TFW, Filkins does many things exceedingly well. But among my favorites is his discussion of the nihilism of the insurgents. In contemplating videos of suicide bombings, he writes:
"The videos made me wonder. What was more important to these guys, the suicide or the murder? You'd think it would be the murder, but I wasn't always so sure; there was a hint of nihilism in everything Al-Qaeda did. At the end of the Palestine-Sheraton video, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia at the time, gave a little speech. He promised victory for the Islamic world and, barring that, annihilation. `If the enemy wins,' Zarqawi promised, `we will burn everything.'" This nihilism is apparent in everything Filkins writes about Al-Qaeda.
Other excellent chapters examine ethic cleansing, IEDs, and the death of Lance Cor-poral William L. Miller. Highly recommended.
While Filkins is surely being generous, what he and Segal succeed in delivering is a highly layered rendering of Filkins's experiences that both clarifies and conveys the complexity of these failed states. Filkins and Segal, in other words, have managed this mother lode of on-the-scene impressions brilliantly. They have created a book that is highly perceptive, never strident or polemical, and absolutely riveting.
The layering of experience is everywhere in TFW. One quick illustration is Chapter Eight, which focuses on a maternity hospital in Diwaniya that Jerry Bremer visits. This begins with Bremer's advance man, who is a Republican political operative, not an Iraqi expert. Then Bremer exits his Chinook and gives a speech, like a politician campaigning, citing statistics showing that all 200 hospitals in Iraq are open, that the country's health care is improving, and so on. But what Filkins learns from the doctors is that there is no electricity. As a result, the hospital cannot sterilize instruments or warm the incubators and its premature babies are dying. In this and other visits to this hospital, Filkins also finds one employee who hates Saddam more than the American occupation but another who hates the chaos of the occupation more than Saddam. Altogether, this single short chapter shows the effort to manage the story, the reality, and the complex reactions and allegiances of the Iraqis. Throughout, TFW has a very rich narrative.
In TFW, Filkins does many things exceedingly well. But among my favorites is his discussion of the nihilism of the insurgents. In contemplating videos of suicide bombings, he writes:
"The videos made me wonder. What was more important to these guys, the suicide or the murder? You'd think it would be the murder, but I wasn't always so sure; there was a hint of nihilism in everything Al-Qaeda did. At the end of the Palestine-Sheraton video, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia at the time, gave a little speech. He promised victory for the Islamic world and, barring that, annihilation. `If the enemy wins,' Zarqawi promised, `we will burn everything.'" This nihilism is apparent in everything Filkins writes about Al-Qaeda.
Other excellent chapters examine ethic cleansing, IEDs, and the death of Lance Cor-poral William L. Miller. Highly recommended.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Comparisons between this book and Michael Herr's 'Dispatches' are inevitable as they both share the same snapshot story format. The word 'dispatches' also features in 'The Forever War's' subtitle - which I suspect is no coincidence. As I considered Herr's book to be one of finest books on war ever written and I was keen to read this 21st century version.
'The Forever War' is mostly about Afghanistan and Iraq after the American led invasions, but there are sections prior to that. It's written in a very unbiased manner leaving the reader to draw there own conclusions from the stories involving US troops, insurgents, civilians, politicians and war profiteers. The style of writing is very matter of fact, but rarely dry or dull and never it romanticises war in the way that Herr's book occasionally could. It does an excellent job of showing just how complex the situation in middle east and Iraq in particular really is, however the book points no fingers of blame and is neither anti-war or pro-war in tone.
I would recommend this book to anyone really, whether you agree with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq or not. Regardless of your viewpoint reading 'The Forever War' will give all but the most blinkered readers something to think about.
'The Forever War' is mostly about Afghanistan and Iraq after the American led invasions, but there are sections prior to that. It's written in a very unbiased manner leaving the reader to draw there own conclusions from the stories involving US troops, insurgents, civilians, politicians and war profiteers. The style of writing is very matter of fact, but rarely dry or dull and never it romanticises war in the way that Herr's book occasionally could. It does an excellent job of showing just how complex the situation in middle east and Iraq in particular really is, however the book points no fingers of blame and is neither anti-war or pro-war in tone.
I would recommend this book to anyone really, whether you agree with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq or not. Regardless of your viewpoint reading 'The Forever War' will give all but the most blinkered readers something to think about.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you read one book about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan then read this one. Unlike the more narrowly focused autobiographical stories by soldiers who were there this is more a broad kaleidescope illustrated by the short vignettes painted by Filkins words. And it is broad. He speaks to everybody from the US soldiers on the front line to senior officers, politicians and advisors. On both sides. He tells of his scary meetings with Jihadists, rioting crowds and incoming fire. It gets you at the first page when the US Marines are playing ACDC's "Hells Bells" on rock concert speakers while attacking Falluja.
The main thing I found is how the book shows the culture gap to be such a seemingly vast chasm that it almost reads like Science Fiction - can this be the same planet? Unfortunately, yes, it can but it still seems like a different world. I found when I eventually put the book down I was drained - so much death, so much suffering and no end in sight.
The main thing I found is how the book shows the culture gap to be such a seemingly vast chasm that it almost reads like Science Fiction - can this be the same planet? Unfortunately, yes, it can but it still seems like a different world. I found when I eventually put the book down I was drained - so much death, so much suffering and no end in sight.
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The Tim Page of the Islamic Wars...
Tim Page is an Englishman who was addicted to the adrenalin rush that he fed by the action of the Vietnam War. Read more
Published 16 months ago by John P. Jones III
excellent ...
Fascinating book - I wished there was more of it and have subsequently bought copies for friends and relatives.
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Impressions of the American wars in the Near East
Contrary to much that has been and is being written on the Anglo-American (plus coalition) wars and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan, Dexter Filkins' book "The Forever War" is... Read more
Published on 11 May 2009 by M. A. Krul
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