Dexter Filkins, a foreign correspondent for The New York Times, has covered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001. Before that, he worked for the Los Angeles Times, where he was chief of the paper’s New Delhi bureau, and for The Miami Herald. In 2009, he was part of a team of Times reporters who won a Pulitzer Prize for covering Afghanistan and Pakistan. He has received a George Polk Award and two Overseas Press Club awards. Most recently, he was a fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. He lives in New York City.
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD • A NEW YORK TIMES
BOOK REVIEW BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
One of the Best Books of the Year: Washington Post, Los Angeles
Times, USA Today, Boston Globe, and Time
“Stunning. . . . This unforgettable narrative represents . . . a
haunting spiritual witness that will make this volume a part of
this awful war's history.” —Robert Stone, The New York Times
Book Review“Filkins makes us see, with almost hallucinogenic
immediacy, the true human meaning and consequences of the “war on
terror.” —The New York Times“Unflinching. . . . Filkins
confronts the absurdity of war head-on. . . . This is a
page-turner, and one of the most astounding books yet written about
the war in Iraq.” —Time“Thanks to one reporter's heroic act of
witness and brilliant recitation of what he saw, we can see the war
as it is, and for ourselves.” —Los Angeles Times“Not since
Michael Herr in Dispatches . . . has a reporter written as vividly
about combat as Filkins does from Afghanistan and Iraq.” —USA
Today 10 Best Books of 2008“The Forever War . . . achieves a
gripping, raw immediacy.” —The Boston Globe’s Year’s Best
Books“Splendid.” —Washington Post Book World Best Nonfiction
of 2008“Dexter Filkins has seen the rise of the Taliban in
Afghanistan; he has stood in the ruins of the World Trade Center;
he has been in the heat of battle in Iraq; indeed, no one else has
been closer to the action than this courageous and thoughtful
observer. This is a sensational book in the best
sense.” —Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower:
Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
“Dexter Filkins's The Forever War is the best piece of war
journalism I've ever read. He paints a portrait of war that is so
nuanced, so filled with absurdities and heartbreak and unexpected
heroes and villains, that it makes most of what we see and hear
about Iraq and Afghanistan seem shrill and two-dimensional by
comparison. And yet, as tragic as the events he describes are, the
book manages to be a thing of towering beauty.” —Dave Eggers,
Guardian Best Books of the Year"The Forever War is already a
classic–it has the timeless feel of all great war literature.
Dexter Filkins’s combination of courage and sensitivity is so rare
that books like his come along only once every major war. This one
is ours." —George Packer, author of The Assassins’ Gate:
America in Iraq“Dexter Filkins is the preeminent war correspondent
of my generation, fearless, compassionate, and brutally honest. The
Forever War is his astonishing story. It is one of the best books
about war that I have ever read. It will stay with me
forever.” —Jeffrey Goldberg, author of Prisoners: A Muslim and
a Jew Across the Middle East Divide"Stunning ... it is not
facetious to speak of work like that of Dexter Filkins as defining
the 'culture' of a war...This unforgettable narrative [represents]
... a haunting spiritual witness that will make this volume a part
of this awful war's history." —Robert Stone, on the front page
of The New York Times Book Review“Dexter Filkins’s The Forever War,
brutally intimate, compassionate, often poetic accounts of the
battle against Islamic fundamentalism, is destined to become a
classic.” —Vanity Fair“Extraordinary. . . . if what Michael
Herr brought back from Vietnam in Dispatches was a sort of Jackson
Pollock–streaks of blood, trickles of dread, splattershot of hard
rock and harder drugs–The Forever War is like a pointillist Seurat,
a neo-Impressionist juxtaposition of spots of pure color with black
holes and open wounds.” —John Leonard, Harper’s“The
definitive–and heartbreakingly humanizing–report from the front
lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. . . . The Forever War [is] about all
wars, everywhere–and a book that will be read fifty years from
now.” —Andrew Corsello, GQ“Dexter Filkins is one of war
writings’ modern marvels, a writer of tremendous gifts and
appropriate grit to go where others will not.” —Henry C.
Jackson, Associated Press“The best war reportage you are apt to
read in a lifetime.” —Joseph C. Goulden, The Washington
Times“Unflinching. . . . Filkins confronts the absurdity of war
head-on. . . . This is a page-turner, and one of the most
astounding books yet written about the war in Iraq. . . . Filkins
doesn’t lecture, he just reports, in great and perfect
detail.” —Gilbert Cruz, Time“[Filkins is] an almost absurdly
brave war correspondent . . . his brilliant, sad, unique book . . .
may be the most readable book about Iraq. It’s certainly one of the
most artful. . . . We’re the better for it.” —Hilary Frey, The
New York Observer“Brilliant. . . . The Forever War . . . deserves
to be ranked as a classic . . . and is likely to be regarded as the
definitive account of how the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were
experienced by those who actually waged them. . . . Thanks to one
reporter’s heroic act of witness and brilliant recitation of what
he saw, we can see the war–as it is, and for ourselves.” —Tim
Rutten, Los Angeles Times“A kaleidoscope of images and intensity. .
. . It is written in finely honed bursts of vibrant color that
capture the peculiar culture of the war. . . . It is a raw and
riveting account . . . his honesty in portraying the war implicitly
exposes the hollowness of the platitudes used in Washington to
defend it.” —Chris Hedges, Philadelphia Inquirer“Splendid. . .
. it shines as a work of literature, illuminating the human cost of
war.” —Bing West, The Washington Post“Rich with details both
grotesque and sublime. . . . The Forever War is a masterpiece of
nuance.” —Matthew B. Stannard, The San Francisco
Chronicle“Gut-wrenching and touching. . . . Mr. Filkins’s stories
are those of a writer willing to endure hardship, danger and
anguish to paint an accurate picture of war for the American
public. . . . His prose is as blunt as it is powerful.” —Lee
H. Hamilton, The New York Times“Filkins . . . is a courageous
reporter and an original writer. . . . The narrative holds together
through the power of his writing. . . . The Forever War is an
astonishingly good book.” —Evan Wright, LA Weekly“Addictive. .
. . [Filkins is] a master of the moment, of the concrete, of
texture; where others try to explain, he wants you to know what
being there feels like. . . . I couldn’t put this book
down.” —Craig Seligman, Bloomberg“Dexter Filkins . . . is well
on his way to becoming the preeminent war reporter of this
tumultuous era. . . . His understated prose offers a stiletto-sharp
account of places he’s gone and people he’s met.” —John
Marshall, Seattle Post Intelligencer“Wonderfully written and
carefully researched. . . . Filkins’s meticulous attention to
detail and his bravery . . . [are] evident on every page . . . The
Forever War . . . serves as a powerful lesson in what it takes to
cover the complexities of war . . . [Dexter Filkins] has put
himself in the middle of this madness to deliver a stunning and
illuminating story.” —Chuck Leddy, Christian Science
Monitor“[Filkins is] the real deal, a reporter’s reporter . . . his
brave and stunning new book . . . pulses with prose so
lean–whipsawing between brutality and beauty–that it takes your
breath away.” —Paul Grondahl, Times Union“A chilling and
ethereal narrative of loss and the promise of loss.” —Jim
Chiavelli, The Boston Globe“Phenomenal. . . . The Forever War makes
the war in Iraq so real, so haunting, that you’ll want to sleep
with the book next to your bed and read it in every spare moment
until the last page. It does what a great book about war, loss,
politics, and sacrifice should–it moves, shocks, entertains,
educates, and inspires. The Forever War is peerless–a
classic.” —Genvieve Long, The Epoch Times
The rise of the Taliban. The 9/11 attacks. Insurgency in Iraq. New York Times foreign correspondent Filkins gives us the big picture. With a 100,000-copy first printing; seven-city tour. Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD * A NEW
YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
One of the Best Books of the Year: Washington Post, Los Angeles
Times, USA Today, Boston Globe, and Time
"Stunning. . . . This unforgettable narrative represents . . . a
haunting spiritual witness that will make this volume a part of
this awful war's history." -Robert Stone, The New York Times Book
Review"Filkins makes us see, with almost hallucinogenic immediacy,
the true human meaning and consequences of the "war on terror."
-The New York Times"Unflinching. . . . Filkins confronts the
absurdity of war head-on. . . . This is a page-turner, and one of
the most astounding books yet written about the war in Iraq."
-Time"Thanks to one reporter's heroic act of witness and brilliant
recitation of what he saw, we can see the war as it is, and for
ourselves." -Los Angeles Times"Not since Michael Herr in Dispatches
. . . has a reporter written as vividly about combat as Filkins
does from Afghanistan and Iraq." -USA Today 10 Best Books of
2008"The Forever War . . . achieves a gripping, raw immediacy."
-The Boston Globe's Year's Best Books"Splendid." -Washington Post
Book World Best Nonfiction of 2008"Dexter Filkins has seen the rise
of the Taliban in Afghanistan; he has stood in the ruins of the
World Trade Center; he has been in the heat of battle in Iraq;
indeed, no one else has been closer to the action than this
courageous and thoughtful observer. This is a sensational book in
the best sense." -Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower:
Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
"Dexter Filkins's The Forever War is the best piece of war
journalism I've ever read. He paints a portrait of war that is so
nuanced, so filled with absurdities and heartbreak and unexpected
heroes and villains, that it makes most of what we see and hear
about Iraq and Afghanistan seem shrill and two-dimensional by
comparison. And yet, as tragic as the events he describes are, the
book manages to be a thing of towering beauty." -Dave Eggers,
Guardian Best Books of the Year"The Forever War is already a
classic-it has the timeless feel of all great war literature.
Dexter Filkins's combination of courage and sensitivity is so rare
that books like his come along only once every major war. This one
is ours." -George Packer, author of The Assassins' Gate: America in
Iraq"Dexter Filkins is the preeminent war correspondent of my
generation, fearless, compassionate, and brutally honest. The
Forever War is his astonishing story. It is one of the best books
about war that I have ever read. It will stay with me forever."
-Jeffrey Goldberg, author of Prisoners: A Muslim and a Jew Across
the Middle East Divide"Stunning ... it is not facetious to speak of
work like that of Dexter Filkins as defining the 'culture' of a
war...This unforgettable narrative [represents] ... a haunting
spiritual witness that will make this volume a part of this awful
war's history." -Robert Stone, on the front page of The New York
Times Book Review"Dexter Filkins's The Forever War, brutally
intimate, compassionate, often poetic accounts of the battle
against Islamic fundamentalism, is destined to become a classic."
-Vanity Fair"Extraordinary. . . . if what Michael Herr brought back
from Vietnam in Dispatches was a sort of Jackson Pollock-streaks of
blood, trickles of dread, splattershot of hard rock and harder
drugs-The Forever War is like a pointillist Seurat, a
neo-Impressionist juxtaposition of spots of pure color with black
holes and open wounds." -John Leonard, Harper's"The definitive-and
heartbreakingly humanizing-report from the front lines in Iraq and
Afghanistan. . . . The Forever War [is] about all wars,
everywhere-and a book that will be read fifty years from now."
-Andrew Corsello, GQ"Dexter Filkins is one of war writings' modern
marvels, a writer of tremendous gifts and appropriate grit to go
where others will not." -Henry C. Jackson, Associated Press"The
best war reportage you are apt to read in a lifetime." -Joseph C.
Goulden, The Washington Times"Unflinching. . . . Filkins confronts
the absurdity of war head-on. . . . This is a page-turner, and one
of the most astounding books yet written about the war in Iraq. . .
. Filkins doesn't lecture, he just reports, in great and perfect
detail." -Gilbert Cruz, Time"[Filkins is] an almost absurdly brave
war correspondent . . . his brilliant, sad, unique book . . . may
be the most readable book about Iraq. It's certainly one of the
most artful. . . . We're the better for it." -Hilary Frey, The New
York Observer"Brilliant. . . . The Forever War . . . deserves to be
ranked as a classic . . . and is likely to be regarded as the
definitive account of how the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were
experienced by those who actually waged them. . . . Thanks to one
reporter's heroic act of witness and brilliant recitation of what
he saw, we can see the war-as it is, and for ourselves." -Tim
Rutten, Los Angeles Times"A kaleidoscope of images and intensity. .
. . It is written in finely honed bursts of vibrant color that
capture the peculiar culture of the war. . . . It is a raw and
riveting account . . . his honesty in portraying the war implicitly
exposes the hollowness of the platitudes used in Washington to
defend it." -Chris Hedges, Philadelphia Inquirer"Splendid. . . . it
shines as a work of literature, illuminating the human cost of
war." -Bing West, The Washington Post"Rich with details both
grotesque and sublime. . . . The Forever War is a masterpiece of
nuance." -Matthew B. Stannard, The San Francisco
Chronicle"Gut-wrenching and touching. . . . Mr. Filkins's stories
are those of a writer willing to endure hardship, danger and
anguish to paint an accurate picture of war for the American
public. . . . His prose is as blunt as it is powerful." -Lee H.
Hamilton, The New York Times"Filkins . . . is a courageous reporter
and an original writer. . . . The narrative holds together through
the power of his writing. . . . The Forever War is an astonishingly
good book." -Evan Wright, LA Weekly"Addictive. . . . [Filkins is] a
master of the moment, of the concrete, of texture; where others try
to explain, he wants you to know what being there feels like. . . .
I couldn't put this book down." -Craig Seligman, Bloomberg"Dexter
Filkins . . . is well on his way to becoming the preeminent war
reporter of this tumultuous era. . . . His understated prose offers
a stiletto-sharp account of places he's gone and people he's met."
-John Marshall, Seattle Post Intelligencer"Wonderfully written and
carefully researched. . . . Filkins's meticulous attention to
detail and his bravery . . . [are] evident on every page . . . The
Forever War . . . serves as a powerful lesson in what it takes to
cover the complexities of war . . . [Dexter Filkins] has put
himself in the middle of this madness to deliver a stunning and
illuminating story." -Chuck Leddy, Christian Science
Monitor"[Filkins is] the real deal, a reporter's reporter . . . his
brave and stunning new book . . . pulses with prose so
lean-whipsawing between brutality and beauty-that it takes your
breath away." -Paul Grondahl, Times Union"A chilling and ethereal
narrative of loss and the promise of loss." -Jim Chiavelli, The
Boston Globe"Phenomenal. . . . The Forever War makes the war in
Iraq so real, so haunting, that you'll want to sleep with the book
next to your bed and read it in every spare moment until the last
page. It does what a great book about war, loss, politics, and
sacrifice should-it moves, shocks, entertains, educates, and
inspires. The Forever War is peerless-a classic." -Genvieve Long,
The Epoch Times
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