The Long War by David Loyn is an enthralling and engrossing read with a great plot and characters! Well worth the read

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

A deep and decisive examination of the decades-long war in Afghanistan through the eyes of an award-winning foreign correspondent. An authority on Afghanistan, the author visited the country annually for nearly three decades and spent a year working as an adviser for Afghan president Ashraf Ghani.

Drawing on multiple sources including both first-hand interviews and his own experiences, the author addresses the complex logistics and examines the motivations and tactics of both military and government officials. He offers a comparable view of the insurgents as well.

Following an extensive introduction, the author divides his detailed study into several sections.
Phase One . . . The Die Is Cast, looking at the beginnings of the United States’ involvement in Afghanistan from 2001 through 2006.
Phase Two . . . The Taliban Return and the “peace-keeping” devolves into a shooting war between 2006 and 2009.
Phase Three . . . The Surge, with a focus on counterinsurgency and the influx of troops, from 2009 through 2011.
Phase Four . . . Drawdown, with NATO withdrawing from the country, from 2011 through 2014.
Phase Five . . . Endgame? looks at the changing role of the American military and, finally, its departure, from 2015 to 202?.
Each section has between two and five chapters; a bibliography and an extensive section of notes are also included as is an index.

As with most wars, the country’s people often pay the highest price; in the war in Afghanistan, the civilian cost is steep indeed. Without a doubt, readers will find some portions of this account difficult to read, but this book should be on every must-read list for the invaluable insight it offers into a decades-long conflict steeped in political maneuvering and ethnic misunderstandings.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
#TheLongWar #NetGalley

Advance copy from NetGalley.

Essential reading, particularly given the disastrous, dishonorable withdrawal from the country precipitated by the current administration, a disaster anticipated by this author. The Long War will surely be recognized as one of the early authoritative histories of the war in Afghanistan. It is, however, not only a detailed historical account but an extensive analysis of what went right, what went wrong and what should of been done. Mr. Loyn not only spent a lot of time reporting on the ground in Afghanistan, before and during the war, but he also served its President, enabling him to provide analysis most historians and reporters cannot. If only this book could have been put on Mr. Biden's desk months ago, or on the desk of any one of his predecessors. Highly recommended for anyone wishing to understand the 20 year conflict in Afghanistan and the potentially irreparable consequences of President Biden's hasty, ugly retreat.

With America in the midst of removing its last troops from Afghanistan, this read could not be more timely. Nearly twenty years of blood and treasure have been spilled for a conflict that was, from the beginning, misguided at best, and criminal at worst. Loyn offers a detailed analysis of the vicissitudes of combat operations in Afghanistan from the immediate days following 9/11 to the aimless days of occupation long after the nation had largely turned its attention away from the conflict. The author convincingly shows, at every turn, the political and logistical complexities of the war, as well as the ways in which generals, soldiers, and civilians all tried to make sense of the quagmire they found themselves in. The ambiguity and complexity of the conflict has resulted in stunted scholarship on the war. Loyn's work offers an excellent overview of the conflict.