Charlie Wilson's War

“A vivid narrative…
Charlie Wilson’s War
is a behind-the-scenes chronicle of a program that is still largely classified…. Few people who remember Wilson’s years in Washington would discount even the wildest tales.”

—David Johnston,
The New York Times Book Review

“Who can possibly resist a story about a maverick Texas congressman who managed to bring the Soviet Union to his knees?
Charlie Wilson’s War
is a cross between Tom Clancy and Carl Hiaasen, with the distinguishing feature that it’s all apparently true.”

—Gerard DeGroot,
The Christian Science Monitor

“
Charlie Wilson’s War
reads like a best-selling novel…. Crile’s globe-trotting research and adroit writing have produced a vastly entertaining book that outmuscles most spy novels in its quota of sheer thrills and chills.”

—John Marshall,
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“What a tale, what a yarn. Good Time Charlie Wilson of Lufkin, Texas, noted boozer and pussyhound, teams up with a rule-bending CIA agent to secretly funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to the mujahideen of Afghanistan. Over the years, they slowly bleed the Red Army to defeat, ultimately causing the fall of the Soviet Union. I know it sounds far-fetched, even fantastic, but Crile has boatloads of evidence to back up his thesis. This has to be one of the wildest stories ever told. It’s a whale of a tale and I recommend it highly.”

—Molly Ivins,
The Texas Observer

“Crile’s account is important, if appalling, precisely because it details how a ruthless ignoramus congressman and a high-ranking CIA thug managed to hijack American foreign policy.”

—Chalmers Johnson,
Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Irresistible…The story of this odd and world-shaping partnership really can’t be believed until Crile and his thorough reporting gradually make it clear that yes, it all really happened.”

—Steve Kettman,
San Francisco Chronicle

“[Crile] has hold of a story here that everyone else missed…an extraordinarily entertaining piece of reportage that has much to tell us about how the United States armed a group of people who are now using the weapons we provided them to kill us.”

—Charles Taylor, Salon

“Practically impossible to put down…will keep even the most vigorous critics of this Contra-like affair reading to the end.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Crile has raised the bar on books of this sort. It has more political intrigue, more suspense, more intense psychological analysis, and more technological know-how than anything Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum could fantasize about. And it has something else besides: It’s true.”

—Shannon Friedman,
Charleston Gazette

“Vibrant storytelling…An entirely new take on Reagan-era history with international sweep and modern implications, neatly laid over the intriguing, untold inner workings of [the CIA].”

—Jan Jordan,
Houston Chronicle

“A gripping read for students of the Cold War, anyone who wants the lowdown on how their tax dollars really get spent, Central Asian junkies or those who delight in cloaks, daggers, and plausible deniability.”

—
The Economist

“This I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-fiction tale has it all: a Marlboro Man handsome leading man, a parade of impossibly gorgeous women, sex, and spies…. But Crile’s book is also a disturbing meditation on the unintended consequences of a U.S. foreign policy so single-mindedly focused on beating the Soviets that we unwittingly helped arm and organize a new Evil Empire.”

—Kathy Kiely,
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

“A bizarre chapter of contemporary history that could have been written by Ian Fleming,
Charlie Wilson’s War
is a true tall tale of silver screen–sized characters that, for better or worse, changed the world…and it goes a long way toward answering the question asked by many Americans: Why do they hate us?”

—Mary Brown Malouf,
The Salt Lake Tribune

“If you like tell-all books about the unbelievable things that our elected folks can do for you, you will love this book.
Charlie Wilson’s War
has it all, as well as an explanation about how our most feared enemy, Osama bin Laden, got his start with a little unintended help from his friends right here in the United States.”

—Saralee Terry Woods,
The Nashville City Paper

“An amazing tale, made all the more amazing because it was missed by the press. George Crile has written a book revealing the extraordinary details and intrigue of a secret war, and that alone would be a monumental achievement. But he has also written a book about how power works in Washington, about how the CIA succeeded in this war but failed because it armed an ally who became our enemy, about how we might better understand Islamic fundamentalism, about how a solitary Congressman guilefully moved the U.S. government, and all of this comes with a breathtaking cast of characters worthy of a Le Carré novel. Only it’s all true. And just as vivid.”

—Ken Auletta

Grove Press

New York