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The Three Battles of Wanat: And Other True Stories by [Mark Bowden]

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Mark Bowden

The Three Battles of Wanat: And Other True Stories Kindle Edition

by Mark Bowden (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

74 ratings

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From the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Black Hawk Down: “a first-rate collection” of long-form journalism on war, sports, politics, and more (Booklist).

Mark Bowden has established himself as one of America’s leading journalists and nonfiction writers. The Three Battles of Wanat collects the best of his long-form articles, including pieces from the Atlantic, Vanity Fair, the New Yorker, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The titular article delves into one of the bloodiest days of the War in Afghanistan and the years-long fallout it generated within the United States military. In “The Killing Machines,” Bowden examines the strategic, legal, and moral issues surrounding armed drones. And in a brilliant piece on Kim Jong-un called “The Bright Sun of Juche,” he recalibrates our understanding of the world’s youngest and most baffling dictator.

Also included are profiles of newspaper scion Arthur Sulzberger; renowned defense attorney and anti-death-penalty activist Judy Clarke; professional gambler Don Johnson, who won six million dollars in a single night playing blackjack; and David Simon, the creator of the legendary HBO series The Wire.

“Mark Bowden marshals his finest for The Three Battles of Wanat.” —Vanity Fair

Print length

345 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication date

January 5, 2016
File size

2142 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Bowden is the author of seven books, including Black Hawk Down, Bringing the Heat, Killing Pablo, and Guests of the Ayatollah. He reported at The Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty years and is a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly. He lives in the Philadelphia area.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Praise for The Three Battles of Wanat:

“[Bowden is] one of America’s pre-eminent practitioners of long-form journalism . . . Given the importance of military affairs in Bowden’s oeuvre, it’s no surprise to find a trove of combat-related work in this new collection . . . Beyond the military pieces, Wanat offers excellent profiles . . . The Three Battles of Wanat should please Bowden’s legions of fans. He usually writes with care and empathy, eschewing fashionable snark and take-down drama.”—Dallas Morning News

“In Mark Bowden's four decades as a reporter, he has been honing his skills going after the second look—the return to an event or a story once the proverbial dust has settled, to ‘dig deeper and write longer’ in order to understand what really happened. In this process he has become a passionate advocate for long-form journalism and one of its more successful practitioners . . . The story of the three versions of the battle for Wanat is a good place to begin. Bowden is so good at what he does best—highlighting the human angle of battles large and small—that the reader is led to consider what another round of "boots on the ground" could actually mean.”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“The author of the bestselling Black Hawk Down will please fans and win new ones with this bracing collection of essays. Bowden is in his element charting the familiar and complex territory of American engagement in foreign conflicts . . . But those only familiar with Bowden’s war reportage will be pleasantly surprised to discover the variety of topics he has tackled in this collection . . . With his rigorous and respectful approach to his subjects, multifaceted viewpoint, and wry sense of humor, Bowden proves that American journalism hasn’t kicked the bucket yet.”—Publishers Weekly

"A first-rate collection from one of the finest writers in contemporary journalism."Booklist

“Mark Bowden marshals his finest for The Three Battles of Wanat.”—Vanity Fair

“Bowden is consistently curious about the anonymous, often invisible operators who power modern warfare—drone operators, intelligence agents, special forces teams . . . Bowden tells a good story.”—Salon

“Deeply researched work on war, profiles of prominent, interesting people and sports personalities, and a variety of general interest essays represent fine examples of contemporary journalism, as the author himself looks to his investigative models such as Nellie Bly, Ida Tarbell, and John Hersey . . . Readers of Bowden’s work are assured of honest, straightforward, painstakingly researched essays.”—Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0163BZ2AM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atlantic Monthly Press (January 5, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 5, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2142 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 345 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #343,778 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #95 in Afghan War History
- #320 in Afghan War Military History
- #464 in Essays (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
74 ratings

About the authors

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Mark Bowden
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Mark Bowden is the bestselling author of Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, as well as The Best Game Ever, Bringing the Heat, Killing Pablo, and Guests of the Ayatollah. He reported at The Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty years and now writes for Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, and other magazines. He lives in Oxford, Pennsylvania.
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Mark Bowden
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Mark Bowden is the author of Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, Hue 1968, Guests of the Ayatollah, Killing Pablo and other books. He is a longtime contributing writer to The Atlantic and reported at The Philadelphia Inquirer for more than twenty-five years. He lives in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
See more on the author's page

Customer reviews

5 star		49%
4 star		16%
3 star		16%
2 star		9%
1 star		11%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Charles A. Krohn

The real price paid for strategy gone astray by those at the bottom of the pyramid, rarely recorded.

Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

Not every chapter is equally compelling, but the one on Wanat is as good as it gets, ever.

I had a similar experience in Vietnam where my battalion was ordered to attack an entrenched North Vietnamese Army regiment, three times our size, with air or artillery support. Why? Because our division commanding general believed the NVA would retreat into Laos once they spotted American uniforms. Overall, we had about 100 killed; and the general received a Distinguished Service Cross (next below the Medal of Honor) for his bravery, despite the fact he had a nervous breakdown in the middle of the battle.

The story told by Bowden rings true, stoking my anger that has never been extinguished. The survivors of Wanat must feel the same way. I salute them and the author for telling their story.

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

Fearless Fed

Combat and Dennis Rodman in the same book---nuf said.

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

The title is somewhat misleading as I initially thought the book was solely about the Wanat battle. The book leads off and is dominated by the Wanat story but also includes several other long short stories
Bowden spares no effort in researching his stories and the end product is invariably balanced and well written
A wildly different story is the adventures of Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong ul. You may think reporters and analysts have examined and thoroughly reported about the No Korea dictator. Well they haven't. First of all,Rodman's inter action with the little fat guy as reported by Bowden it is hilarious. I rarely,rarely laugh out loud because of a story but this one had me in stitches. Bowman writes of one party that got so wild and out of control, including the little rocket man, that Rodman passed the word that everybody should probably cool it. A party-in North Korea-too wild for Dennis Rodman!!! I suppose you had to be there

8 people found this helpful

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Miller Family

Should be called, "The Three Battles of Wanat: And Other Stories You Might Not Want To Read..."

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

I'm a big fan of Bowden's war writing, but this book wasn't what I signed up for. The Fighter Ace story was interesting as was the drone one, but then it lost me...I don't care about sports or essays about politicians and farm animals. I guess I should have read the description a bit better. Save you money and get Hue, it's a masterpiece.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Arthur L. Washut

Least Favorite Bowden Book

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2020

Verified Purchase

The war story is fairly short then you get stories about Joe Biden and the owner of the NY Times. The cover makes you think this is another action story but it is not. I have read other Bowden books and enjoyed them, but this one - not so much.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Alabama

More good writing by Mark Bowden. Interesting stories.

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is better than I expected. The lead off story is something I had seen in the past. Mark Bowden gives a good report of what happened and the follow up investigation. The other stories are about different people around the world including the North Korean dictator Kim III (Kim Un). If you liked Black Hawk Down and Hue 1968, this is more of his good writing. I highly recommend it.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Deborah

The Titles a lie!! It didn't tell 3 battles, much less one.

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2021

Verified Purchase

Angry. Blatant false advertising of title!! It had a page and a half of one battle, to detail one angry fathers whose son was killed and the controversy this caused. The fathers vengeance. There were not the 3 battles that occurred, not even a whole one.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Warren

A good lead story.

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

An interesting and informative article about Wanat, but I did not find most of the articles that followed of much interest.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Charles

Beguiling.

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2018

Verified Purchase

StartS a tad slow. Draws you in. Charms, even teaches. Nicely done for a remarkably versatile and learned writer. Outstanding job.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Brian Pratt

NOT JUST ABOUT WAR, THANK GOD!

Reviewed in Canada on August 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is a wide ranging collection of essays on war,political conflict,dictatorship,propaganda,journalism and other topics. The author does his homework; if you have an open mind you will enjoy this work. It reminds of the line from Hamlet: "there are more things on heaven and earth .......than you have drempt of in your philosophy. "

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