Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History

Crile, George

ISBN 10: 0871138549 / ISBN 13: 9780871138545

Published by Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press, 2003

About this Item

Condition:As New Dust Jacket Condition: As New. 8vo "Charlie Wilson's War" tells the story of what became the largest covert operation in history--costing over $1 billion a year. Moving from the back rooms of the Capitol, to secret chambers at Langley, to arms-dealer conventions, to the Khyber Pass, this is a compulsively readable account of the inside workings of the CIA. book. Seller Inventory # 007389

Bibliographic Details

Title: Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary ...

Publisher: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press

Publication Date: 2003

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: As New

Dust Jacket Condition: As New

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

From an award-winning 60 Minutes reporter comes the extraordinary story of the largest and most successful CIA operation in history-the arming of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, pressure mounted for the Americans to support the Afghan resistance. Charlie Wilson, a maverick congressman from East Texas who sat on the powerful House Defense Appropriations Committee, persuaded his colleagues to allocate $10 million to fund the CIA's effort to arm the Mujahideen. Charlie Wilson's War tells the story of what became the largest covert operation in history; funding eventually grew to over $1 billion a year. The book includes an incredible cast of characters: Charlie, the charismatic, hard-partying congressman who raised eyebrows when traveling to Pakistan with unusual companions -- one his personal belly dancer, another an ex-beauty queen -- but was passionate about supporting the Afghans and brilliant at getting deals done. Gust Avrakotos, a working-class Greek among Ivy Leaguers at the CIA who set up the team that ran the largest operation in the history of the CIA. President Zia of Pakistan, who became great friends with Charlie and used his leverage to get huge aid dollars as well as keep the West looking away as he built the first Muslim bomb. Moving from the back rooms of the Capitol, to secret chambers at Langley, to arms-dealers conventions, to the Khyber Pass, Charlie Wilson's War is brilliantly reported -- one of the most detailed and compulsively readable accounts of the inside workings of the CIA ever written, with a cast of characters and a plot out of Le Carre or Clancy. This book is a remarkable account of the last battle of the Cold War, a battle that helped weaken the Soviet Union and led to its collapse and, of course, paved the way to the rise of the Taliban, with consequences that we are dealing with today.

About the Author:

George Crile is a veteran producer for 60 Minutes. He lives in New York with his wife and family.