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The Forever War
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
19 posts | 9 read | 12 to read
National Bestseller One of the Best Books of the Year: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Boston Globe, and Time An instant classic of war reporting, The Forever War is the definitive account of America's conflict with Islamic fundamentalism and a searing exploration of its human costs. Through the eyes of Filkins, a foreign correspondent for the New York Times, we witness the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, the aftermath of the attack on New York on September 11th, and the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Filkins is the only American journalist to have reported on all these events, and his experiences are conveyed in a riveting narrative filled with unforgettable characters and astonishing scenes. Brilliant and fearless, The Forever War is not just about America's wars after 9/11, but about the nature of war itself. From the Trade Paperback edition.
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review
LaurenAsh
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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Pickpick

Just so good, and one of the infinite reasons why journalism, the media, and war reporters are needed and necessary. #LitsyAtoZ #LetterF

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LaurenAsh
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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This book. Just wow. #lunchbreakreading

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FourofFiveWits
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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Bailedbailed

This book suffers from the most grievous flaw, in my opinion, that a book can suffer. The eight deadly words, "I don't care what happens to these people."

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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And in my personal goals for this election season...that's six conflict books completed, three more to go. They may be dark, gritty, and more realism than I can stand at times, but they are conversations that shouldn't be hidden underground.

brendanmleonard What are other conflict books you are considering? 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @brendanmleonard I have read I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai, It's what I Do by Lynsey Addario, 13 Hours by Mitchell Zuckoff, War Journal by Richard Engel, ISIS by Michael Weiss, and now The Forever War. On my list yet for this year is...And Then All Hell Broke Loose by Richard Engel, .... 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Redeployment by Phil Klay, and for some reason right this second I can't remember the last one. I set this goal for myself this year, sort of arbitrarily. I thought that current conflicts the US was involved with would come up this election and in debates. I also picked books about those ... 8y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa ...And a group of political books I wanted to read before November. This election season hasn't gone quite the way I thought it would, there's much more name calling than policy discussion so far, but I still feel better informed. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa The last one on hold at the library is Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! 8y
brendanmleonard I want to read the Engel. Have you considered Billy Lynn? That's on my list. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @brendanmleonard...No, I hadn't heard of that one, but I may have to add it now. 8y
12 likes3 stack adds7 comments
review
Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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Pickpick

Great book, from the view on the ground, starting in Afghanistan before & after 9/11 and then moving on to Iraq through the invasion & insurgencies. Wonderful writing & info., even if at times his stark and gritty stories were more real in their reality than I really wanted to read, still worth it.

QuoteQueen @MilitaryHistory75 have you read this one? Seems like something you'd be interested in. 8y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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The lies we tell ourselves are always the worst

brendanmleonard Filkins is on my "to read" list. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @brendanmleonard it a tough read at times, reality being too real sometimes, but I'd definitely recommend it. 8y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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The odd quote that makes you realize that something else you've read stuck with you in an odd way. The Major's occupation pre-Iraq wouldn't have caught my eye before, BUT after reading The Big Short earlier this year it jumped out at me. The author says good things, I immediately thought 'trouble'.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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...and women like Wijdan al-Khuzai. The insurgents were brilliant at that. They could spot a fine mind or a tender soul wherever it might be, chase it down and kill it dead. The heart of a nation. The precision was astounding."

tkingsanchez Started reading this, but somehow got distracted. I've been meaning to pick it back up. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tkingsanchez I did the same, I originally started it years ago and sat it down and I am just now going back to it. 8y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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Describing the mentality of the Iraqi people when the country was opened up after the invasion, like dealing with a whole country of traumatized PTSD survivors.

BestOfFates I've been enjoying these quotes but I have to say this one sounds rather dehumanizing - especially the sitting in filth part. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BestOfFates I know & I've been trying to post his quotes from his interviews & experiences without posting any of the detailed torture/death scenes that are also in this book. I think his point is just that like those inhuman insane asylums of the past, the whole populace was severely traumatized. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa And in a state of shock. 8y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BestOfFates the above quote continues as follows: "Sometimes I would walk into the newsroom that we had set up in The New York Times bureau in Baghdad, and I‘d find our Iraqi employees gathered round the television watching a torture video. You could buy them in the bazaars in Baghdad; they..." 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa "were left over from Saddam‘s time. The Iraqis would be watching them in silence. Just staring at the screen. In one of the videos, some Baath party men had pinned a man down on the floor and were holding down his outstretched arm, while another official beat the man‘s forearm with a heavy metal..." 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa "pipe until his arm broke into two pieces. There was no sound in the video, but you could see that the man was screaming. None of the Iraqis in the newsroom said anything. I tried to recall these things when I got impatient with the Iraqis. Sometimes, when readers from America sent me e-mails..." 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa "expressing anger at the Iraqis—why are they so ungrateful? why can‘t they govern themselves?—I considered sending them one of the videos." 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa It's definitely a dark book, but maybe by my leaving out some of that darkness, his quotes appear more flippant. I don't think they are intended that way, I actually think he has great sympathy for a traumatized people & his comparisons to the horrors of early insane asylums is just a comparison... 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Does that help any? @BestOfFates I think he's saying that when Saddam fell there was an entire dehumanized population that wasn't sure how to go forward. 8y
BestOfFates I completely feel where you're coming from & I think if you delve into the comparison, the fact that most people in 19th c asylums were out there through no fault of their own & through forces outside their control it can be useful. Just the filth comparison elicits such an instinctive disgust... 8y
BestOfFates reaction, especially considering how many Americans already view Afghans, it just seems poorly worded. And I completely feel for the idea of a traumatized population and how it can be hard to really express that to a country that hasn't had an in-country war in over 100yrs! 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BestOfFates We're in Iraq now, but yes. And the author does talk about that and 9/11, as in the death toll numbers aren't that big compared to what some countries see regularly just with natural disaster. That Americans just didn't have the concept of how normal those kinds of deaths really are. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BestOfFates I've been trying to read a bunch of different books on the war(s) both from war reporters who live in the region (more of an outsider looking in perspective), & some like Malala's book (an insider's view) to try and understand the subtleties behind some of the glossed over news stories 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BestOfFates I honestly thought in this election year here in the US, these topics and policy would be discussed a bit more in debates, and I wanted to have a better knowledge than I do now of the area, the people, the conflicts. 8y
BestOfFates Ack, should have noticed the Saddam reference, had in my head it was a book about Afghanistan. That's a really impressive plan. I studied politics with a middle eastern concentration in college & have just become so cynical about our entire relationship w/the region. Esp as it seems like no one... 8y
BestOfFates Here seems to really care much anymore. Which perfectly plays into everyone else's perception of us as spoiled & easily bored/tired of war. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BestOfFates the first part was Afghanistan before 9/11, then after the invasion, now it's moved on to Iraq after the invasion. So I'm sure you were just remembering an earlier post/quote I made about the Taliban, or when I mentioned Malala. And yes, if I don't read more in this area, no matter... 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa How dark the books can be, I won't know anything, because yes...it isn't talked about much here and the news is fairly censored. Richard Engel and Lyndsey Addario both mentioned that in their books...trying to report things that their news agency didn't want to cover and basically hitting a wall.. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ...as a reporter. I honestly thought these subjects would be brought up more this election season, but so far it's very quiet on these issues....and most issues of real substance in my opinion. Lots of finger pointing and name calling, not a lot of plans moving forward. 8y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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Two bullets. And I paid for them. One hundred fifty dinars. And this man gave me a receipt. ‘Here is the receipt for the bullets used for the execution of your brother.‘” Iraq was filled with people like...They weren‘t survivors as much as they were leftovers.The ruined by-products of terrible times

Megabooks Wow...that's so tragic! 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Ebooksandcooks ... Yes, most of it is that way, so tragic and disheartening, but yet important stories to understand if we want to understand the people and politics involved. So definitely a tough read, but worth it I hope. 8y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins

And as long as I'm disclosing all of my goofy challenges that I've accepted or given myself this year. I'll also admit that being an election year here in the US, I also challenged myself to read a bunch of political books & books regarding current conflicts prior to November. Just an FYI. ;)

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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It may have taken me years to get back to this book, but as I'm reading about the rise of the Taliban and the battles after 9/11, guess what's in the news today...The Taliban.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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And since this was written we've added another 10+ years....

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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So visually stark and gruesome all rolled into one. The author definitely has a way with words, unfortunately the underlying story and his reporting assignments, leave his comparisons, even about inanimate objects, tinged with dark analogies.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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Life under the Taliban at an Afghan hotel, that used to have tourists from around the world, before the war(s). And this is the light stuff, the stories are overall so DARK. I'm having a hard time placing Malala and her book in this dark world...and yet knowing how her story turned out, I shouldn't.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Forever War | Dexter Filkins
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I tried this one years ago as a book and drifted off to something else and never came back. It's been just sitting there unfinished for years, but now I borrowed it on audiobook, let's see if I can finish it now. Maybe...

BestOfFates Good luck! 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BestOfFates Thanks, I'll need it! 8y
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