Winner of the the National Book Critics Circle Award for Non-Fiction

'Spellbinding ... a magisterial account of the great tragedy of our age ... it is a classic' Evening Standard
'In the finest traditions of American investigative journalism' The Times
'Spectacular ... makes Bourne movies pale in comparison' Financial Times

From the Pulitzer Prize winning of the acclaimed Ghost Wars, this is the full story of America's grim involvement in the affairs of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2016. In the wake of the terrible shock of 9/11, the C.I.A. scrambled to work out how to destroy Bin Laden and his associates. The C.I.A. had long familiarity with Afghanistan and had worked closely with the Taliban to defeat the Soviet Union there. A tangle of assumptions, old contacts, favours and animosities were now reactivated. Superficially the invasion was quick and efficient, but Bin Laden's successful escape, together with that of much of the Taliban leadership, and a catastrophic failure to define the limits of NATO's mission in a tough, impoverished country the size of Texas, created a quagmire which lasted many years.

At the heart of the problem lay 'Directorate S', a highly secretive arm of the Pakistan state which had its own views on the Taliban and Afghanistan's place in a wider competition for influence between Pakistan, India and China, and which assumed that the U.S.A. and its allies would soon be leaving.

Steve Coll's remarkable new book tells a powerful, bitter story of just how badly foreign policy decisions can go wrong and of many lives lost.

The international bestselling account of America's grim involvement in the affairs of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2016.

About the Author
Steve Coll is dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. His major books include Private Empire, The Bin Ladens and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars. He is a staff writer on The New Yorker.

Reviews
Every assertion is carefully sourced and checked. This book is in the finest traditions of American investigative journalism. Coll is the thinking man's Michael Wolff. -- Sherard Cowper-Coles * The Times *
A masterful and entertaining account ... the story is delivered with a literary prowess that has been absent in previous western accounts of America's longest running war -- Rafia Zakaria * Guardian *
Spectacular ... Directorate S has a cast of characters that makes Bourne movies pale in comparison -- Demetri Sevastopulo * Financial Times *
Impressively detailed, stylishly crafted and authoritative... as gloomy as it is compelling * Economist *



Book Information
ISBN 9780718194499
Author Steve Coll
Format Paperback
Page Count 784
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 546g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 33mm