The Forever War - Tapa dura

Many books have already been written about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and about the War on Terror - how they happened and why, how they've succeeded and failed. "The Forever War" is not that kind of book: rather than argument or hand-wringing, Dexter Filkins offers us a kaleidoscopic tour of the great conflicts of our time. Through his eyes as a reporter on the ground, we witness the events that began with the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, led to the September 11 attacks in 2001, and culminated in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Filkins is the only American reporter to have witnessed all these events on his own and close-up - public executions and amputations; the destruction of the twin towers; the collapse of the Taliban in 2001; and, over five years of grinding struggle in Iraq.In this work: we move across a vast and various landscape of amazing characters and astonishing scenes; we meet Iraqi insurgents and American soldiers - Afghan rebels and Taliban clerics; and, we travel to deserts and glaciers and mountaintops, to the scenes of suicide bombings and into the homes of the bombers themselves. Like no other book, "The Forever War" will provide a visceral understanding of the War on Terror, its victims, and the people who fight it. It will show what war is, what this particular war is, and how it feels.

Dexter Filkins has been foreign correspondent in Afghanistan and Iraq for the New York Times since 2000. He was a member of the Iraq bureau from 2003 to 2006, a Nieman fellow at Harvard in 2006, and is currently a fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for his work from Afghanistan in 2002, he has received numerous awards, including the George Polk awards for his coverage of the assault of Falluja in 2004, and an Overseas Press Club award.