The Forever War by Dexter Filkins

This book, written by a New York Times prize-winning foreign correspondent, is a kaleidoscopic account of America's conflict with Islamic fundamentalism, including the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, the aftermath of the attack on New York on September 11, and the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This highly personal but nonpolitical work of war journalism does not attempt to provide comprehensive narratives, opinions, or analysis. Instead, it is an accumulation of vignettes and snapshots of specific moments, individuals, and interactions. Of this book, Robert Stone the New York Times wrote, “You might call the work of enlightening and guiding a deliberately misguided public during its time of need a cultural necessity. The work Filkins accomplishes in The Forever War is one of the most effective antitoxins that the writing profession has produced to counter the administration’s fascinating contemporary public relations tactic.”