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Title details for The Forever War by Dexter Filkins - Available

The Forever War

by Dexter Filkins
Robertson Dean
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
From the front lines of the battle against Islamic fundamentalism, a searing, unforgettable audiobook that captures the human essence of the greatest conflict of our time. Through the eyes of Dexter Filkins, the prize-winning New York Times correspondent, we witness the remarkable chain of events that began with the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, continued with the attacks of 9/11, and moved on to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Filkins’s narrative moves across a vast and various landscape of amazing characters and astonishing scenes: a public amputation performed by the Taliban, children frolicking in minefields, skies streaked white by the contrails of B-52’s, a night’s sleep in the rubble of Ground Zero. We venture into a torture chamber run by Saddam Hussein.  We go into the homes of suicide bombers, meet Iraqi insurgents, and an American captain who loses a quarter of his men in eight days.
The Forever War allows us a visceral understanding of today’s battlefields and of the experiences of the people on the ground, warriors and innocents alike.  It is a brilliant, fearless work, not just about America’s wars after 9/11, but ultimately about the nature of war itself.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    September 23, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415957837
      • File size: 335150 KB
      • Duration: 11:38:13

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      THE FOREVER WAR reads like a reporter's notebook as author Dexter Filkins gives listeners the small, intimate stories of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Perhaps because of its human scale, the graphic sections depicting the impact of war on real people can be difficult to listen to. The overall series of vignettes is perfect for audiobook presentation as the listener can dip in and out at will. Robertson Dean narrates in a clear, objective manner that mirrors the author's clear, objective reporting. Dean's straightforward delivery is particularly effective during the raw battle scenes, for which drama is unnecessary. Filkins's book is well worth a listen. M.O.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 30, 2008
      Filkins, a New York Times
      prize–winning reporter, is widely regarded as among the finest war correspondents of this generation. His richly textured book is based on his work in Afghanistan and Iraq since 1998. It begins with a Taliban-staged execution in Kabul. It ends with Filkins musing on the names in a WWI British cemetery in Baghdad. In between, the work is a vivid kaleidoscope of vig-nettes. Individually, the strength of each story is its immediacy; together they portray a theater of the absurd, in which Filkins, an extraordinarily brave man, moves as both participant and observer. Filkins does not editorialize—a welcome change from the punditry that shapes most writing from these war zones. This book also differs essentially from traditional war correspondence because of its universal empathy, feelings enhanced by Filkins's spare prose. Saudi women in Kabul airport, clad in burqas and stylish shoes, bemoan their husbands' devotion to jihad. An Iraqi casually says to his friend, “Let's go kill some Americans.” A marine is shot dead escorting Filkins on a photo opportunity. Iraqi soldiers are disconcerted when he appears in running shorts (“They looked at in horror, as if I were naked”). Carl von Clausewitz said “war is a chameleon.” In vividly illustrating the varied ways people in Afghanistan and iraq have been affected by ongoing war, Filkins demonstrates that truth in prose. 5 photos.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      NEW YORK TIMES correspondent Filkins offers this concise account of the "War on Terror," beginning in the 1990s with the origins of the Taliban in Afghanistan and leading up to the present-day situations in the Middle East. Narrated by the author, the production is less a dramatized experience (as is the case with Robertson Dean's unabridged recording) and more a personal monologue on modern warfare. Filkins delivers a reading that is stripped down and unabashed, but the simplicity of his narrative approach doesn't undermine the gravity of the events he relates. His voice carries an indefinable weight that one can only acquire from having experienced war firsthand and having lived to tell about it. L.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from November 24, 2008
      Author and narrator Filkins offers this jaw-dropping account of modern warfare and the events that led up to and followed September 11, 2001. Told through firsthand accounts from his days as a foreign correspondent for the New York Times
      , Filkins follows the Taliban throughout the 1990s as well as the downfall of Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Returning to the United States after 9/11, Filkins analyzes the nature of war and its modernity. Filkins's raw reading is drenched in experience and wisdom, making for an extraordinary listening experience. The stories are amazing, and Filkins displays his talent for storytelling. A Knopf hardcover (Reviews, June 20).

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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