With the publication of dexter filkinss stunning book, it seems the journals of correspondents in the middle east will take their place as the. In the forever war, awardwinning new york times correspondent dexter filkins does not analyse how these wars happened and why, or where they have succeeded or failed. The forever war by dexter filkins by lev grossman monday, nov. Reaching the final chapter of the forever war, i was sad. The forever war by dexter filkins houston chronicle. It is a collection of the authors work for the new york times, covering wars in. It is one of the best books about war that i have ever read. Oct 25, 2008 thus what might be a fault with dexter filkins s the forever war that the reader is sometimes confronted by the feeling that, for all the urgency and skill of his writing, he has not quite. Sep 16, 2008 the forever war audiobook written by dexter filkins. In the forever war, new york times journalist filkins collects together his dispatches from various frontlines in afghanistan and iraq. Toward the end, when i was still there, so many bombs had gone off so many times that they no longer shocked or even roused.
Dexter price filkins born may 24, 1961 is an american journalist known primarily for his coverage of the wars in iraq and afghanistan for the new york times. The forever war by dexter filkins 2009, paperback for. He also writes about the afghanistan before the war and when he was there earlier in his career. We meet iraqi insurgents and american soldiers, afghan rebels and taliban clerics. It would be a bad break for dexter filkins, and a lot of potential readers, if his vivid collection of war stories, the forever war, got lost amid the other dominant election issues. I should probably confess right away that im not a fan of journalism. Sep 14, 2008 filkins opens the forever war with a prologue describing the attack on the sunni fortress of falluja by the first battalion, eighth marines. 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 eyewitness accounts of afghanistan and iraq are more brutal and candid than i anticipated. Dexter filkinss the forever war is the best piece of war journalism ive ever read. It is a compliment to both books that the forever war s snapshot structure has prompted many comparisons with michael herrs classic piece of. The magic of the forever war is the dispassionate yet hyperinvolving manner in which filkins offers scores of mininarratives stories about iraqi civilians, insurgents and politicians, american grunts and generals alike without judgment. Filkins casts an unflinching, cold eye on life, on death, on the pain and suffering, on the pity of war itself. Dexter filkins s the forever war, brutally intimate, compassionate, often poetic accounts of the battle against islamic fundamentalism, is destined to become a classic.
In a sense the book is a series of condemnations of war itself. The forever war by dexter filkins wisconsin public radio. This event took place on september 24, 2008, as part. The forever war by dexter filkinsthe drama and urgency of dexter filkins writing is superb, says peter beaumont. Of the dozens of books written about the war in iraq, along comes dexter filkins with a commentary on iraq that blows the others away. Download legal writing in plain english, second edition. The forever war book by dexter filkins thriftbooks.
Brilliant and fearless, the forever war is not just about americas wars after 911, but about the nature of war itself. The forever war is a book that every person on earth should read. It is a collection of the authors work for the new york times, covering wars in iraq and afghanistan since 1998. The forever war by dexter filkins books the guardian. But aside from his unfiltered impressions of those distant worlds, the forever war really comes down to the personal quest that is likely to greet anyone trying to come home from a war. The forever war by dexter filkins penguin books australia. 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. Through the eyes of dexter filkins, the prizewinning new york times correspondent, we witness the remarkable chain of events that began with the. The forever war by dexter filkins the top 10 everything of. The forever war by dexter filkins the top 10 everything. Apr 08, 2014 war correspondent dexter filkins discusses his new book, the forever war. The forever war by dexter filkins 2008, hardcover for sale. He paints a portrait of war that is so nuanced, so filled with absurdities and heartbreak and.
The forever war allows us a visceral understanding of todays battlefields and of the experiences of the people on the ground, warriors and innocents alike. Filkins opens the forever war with a prologue describing the attack on the sunni fortress of falluja by the first battalion, eighth marines. He has written about the murder of a journalist in pakistan, the uprisings in yemen, the war in afghanistan, the crises in syria and. Filkins left iraq in august 2006, returning to do further. In doing so, he continues a distinguished reportorial tradition pioneered by american war correspondents in the interwar years of the 1920s and 1930s.
On the surface, dexter filkins has chronicled his experiences of afghanistan and iraq. In the forever war, awardwinning new york times correspondent dexter filkins does not analyse how these wars happened and why, or where they have. Not heard on 11912009 the new york times correspondent takes us to the front lines of the wars in the middle east. Filkins is a foreign correspondent for the new york times. As a foreign correspondent for the new york times, dexter filkins has covered the wars in. The gaping wounds of iraq and afghanistan have produced a torrent of words, but no single volume so far has the precision and power of the forever war. War correspondent dexter filkins discusses his new book, the forever war. He paints a portrait of war that is so nuanced, so filled with absurdities and. Dexter filkins, the forever war in diyala, east of baghdad, in the early days of the war, i came upon a group of american marines standing next to a shotup bus and a line of six iraqi corpses. Dexter filkins is the preeminent war correspondent of my generation, fearless, compassionate, and brutally honest.
Embedded and how with bravo company, filkins shares the deadly risks of street fighting in a hostile city in which the company, commanded by an outstanding officer. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The forever war is possibly the best journalistic account in book form yet of the war, occupation and insurgency in iraq. It is a compliment to both books that the forever war s snapshot structure has prompted many comparisons with michael herrs classic piece of reportage from. Nonpolitical and highly personal, filkins goes after the daytoday story that, through accumulation, delivers a report about the iraqi citizenry over the years after the invasion. Dexter filkins, the author of the forever war, is a new york times foreign correspondent who covered the middle east from afghanistans taliban rule in 1998.
Or for that matter, read any number of pieces that he or anyone else has written in the new york times. Dexter filkins joined the new yorker as a staff writer in 2011. Filkins doesnt lecture, he just reports, in great and perfect detail. In my enormous apartment in downtown yokohama, i would turn on my tv and watch the news from the middle east, back when keith olbermann still hosted the news show countdown.
The only real difference between this release and what you can get all the times from a real paper is that assange releases it to huge fanfare like it is a publicity event. Dexter filkins in the forever war provides his readers with a vivid, emotionally searing, and intensely personal description of his experiences covering the wars in afghanistan and iraq. Dexter filkins, a foreign correspondent for the new york times, has covered the wars in afghanistan and iraq since 2001. Filkins has been covering the conflicts in iraq and afghanistan since 1998, and since then he has filled 561 notebooks with observations and interviews.
Dexter filkins is a pulitzer prizewinning foreign correspondent who has covered the wars in afghanistan and iraq since 2001. Jan 08, 2009 wednesday, january 8 through friday, january 30, 2009. The forever war is a nonfiction book by american journalist dexter filkins about his observations on assignment in afghanistan and iraq during the 2001 war in afghanistan and the iraq war. Thus what might be a fault with dexter filkins s the forever war that the reader is sometimes confronted by the feeling that, for all the urgency and skill of his writing, he has not quite. Indeed filkins takes his title, the forever war, from joe haldemans 1974 science fiction parable about the vietnam war set in outer space. 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 twodimensional by comparison. The forever war is a nonfiction book by american journalist dexter filkins about his observations on assignment in afghanistan and iraq during the 2001 war. Why i think julian assange should win the nobel peace. Through the eyes of dexter filkins, the prizewinning new york times correspondent whose work was hailed by david halberstam as reporting of the highest quality imaginable, we witness the remarkable chain of events that began with the rise of the taliban in the 1990s, continued with the attacks of 911, and moved on to the wars in afghanistan and iraq. Dexter filkins talked about his book the forever war, which is about his experiences covering iraq and afghanistan between 19982006 for the new york times. The forever war npr coverage of the forever war by dexter filkins. Washington post book world best nonfiction of 2008 dexter filkins s the forever war is the best piece of war journalism ive ever read. Sep 16, 2008 the forever war ebook written by dexter filkins.
An account of the wars in afghanistan and iraq that deserves a place in humanitys long tradition of war reportage. He often heard iraqis say one thing to americans and something different to other. Through the eyes of filkins, a foreign correspondent for the new york times, we witness the rise of the taliban in the 1990s. He was a finalist for a pulitzer prize in 2002 for his dispatches from afghanistan, and he won a pulitzer in 2009 as part of a team of times reporters for their dispatches from pakistan and afghanistan. Himself guest author, the forever war himself guest author, the forever war 2011 real time with bill maher tv series himself. I resent the whole idea of getting information from people who are in the business of selling it. Like no other book, the forever war allows us a visceral understanding of todays battlefields and of the experiences of the people on the ground, warriors and innocents alike. Dexter filkins biography, age, education, wife, career, books. For me, the war sort of flattened things out, flattened things out here and flattened them out there too. Dexter filkins, the author of the forever war, is a new york times foreign correspondent who covered the middle east from afghanistans taliban rule in 1998 to iraq through 2006. 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. A text with exercises chicago guides to writing, editing, and publishing, by bryan a. Sep 23, 2008 the magic of the forever war is the dispassionate yet hyperinvolving manner in which filkins offers scores of mininarratives stories about iraqi civilians, insurgents and politicians, american grunts and generals alike without judgment.
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. Provides a firsthand account of the battle against islamic fundamentalism, from the rise of the taliban in the 1990s, to the terrorist attacks of 911, to the wars in afghanistan and iraq, offering a study of the people involved from all sides of the conflict. Sep, 2019 dexter filkins, the author of the forever war, is a new york times foreign correspondent who covered the middle east from afghanistans taliban rule in 1998 to iraq through 2006. As a foreign correspondent for the new york times, dexter filkins has covered the wars in afghanistan and iraq since 2001. It is a brilliant, fearless work, not just about americas wars after 911, but ultimately about the nature of war itself. The forever war by dexter filkins 2008, hardcover for. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the forever war. Aug 24, 2008 dexter filkins accompanying bravo company as the marines push into falluja in november 2004.
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