Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile; Unabridged MP3 Audio Book; Narrator Christopher Lane

Winner of the 2004 Audie Award

Charlie Wilson’s War is the untold story behind the last battle of the Cold War and how it fueled the rise of militant Islam. George Crile tells how Charlie Wilson, a maverick congressman from east Texas, conspired with a rogue CIA operative to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful covert operation in the Agency’s history.

In the early 1980s, after a Houston socialite turned Wilson’s attention to the ragged Afghan freedom fighters who continued to fight the Soviet invaders despite overwhelming odds, the congressman became passionate about their cause and procured hundreds of millions of dollars to support the mujahideen.

Moving from the back rooms of the Capitol, to secret chambers at Langley, to arms-dealers conventions, to the Khyber Pass, this book is a detailed and brilliantly reported account of the inside workings of the CIA.

“An absorbing, thoroughly detailed look at the largest and most successful CIA operation in U.S. history…[A] range of colorful characters…figure in this engrossing account…Readers interested in the politics and cultures of Washington, D.C., and the Middle East will relish this book.”—Booklist (stared review)

“Narrator Christopher Lane affects an even tone and pace, allowing the events of the story to carry the listener to the extraordinary highs and sickening lows of the flawed but heroic Wilson. Thankfully, Lane takes it easy on the accents and shines brightest when allowing a tinge of cynicism in his delivery.“—AudioFile

“Put the Tom Clancy clones back on the shelf; this covert-ops chronicle is practically impossible to put down.”—Publishers Weekly

“An engaging, well written, newsworthy study of practical politics and its sometimes unlikely players, and one with plenty of implications.”—Kirkus Reviews

George Crile (1945-2006) was an award-winning documentary filmmaker and veteran producer for 60 Minutes and 60 Minutes II. Charlie Wilson's War began as a 60 Minutes profile in 1988.