Description
By: Elliot Ackerman
“The American betrayal of Afghanistan took twenty years. Elliot Ackerman, a participant and witness, tells the story with unsparing honesty in this intensely personal chronicle.” —George Packer
A powerful and revelatory eyewitness account of the American collapse in Afghanistan, its desperate endgame, and the war’s echoing legacy
Elliot Ackerman left the American military ten years ago, but his time in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Marines and later as a CIA paramilitary officer marked him indelibly. When the Taliban began to close in on Kabul in August 2021 and the Afghan regime began its death spiral, he found himself pulled back into the conflict. Afghan nationals who had worked closely with the American military and intelligence communities for years now faced brutal reprisal and sought frantically to flee the country with their families. The official US government evacuation effort was a bureaucratic failure that led to a humanitarian catastrophe. With former colleagues and friends protecting the airport in Kabul, Ackerman joined an impromptu effort by a group of journalists and other veterans to arrange flights and negotiate with both Taliban and American forces to secure the safe evacuation of hundreds. These were desperate measures taken during a desperate end to America's longest war. For Ackerman, it also became a chance to reconcile his past with his present.
The Fifth Act is an astonishing human document that brings the weight of twenty years of war to bear on a single week, the week the war ended. Using the dramatic rescue efforts in Kabul as his lattice, Ackerman weaves a personal history of the war's long progression, beginning with the initial invasion in the months after 9/11. It is a play in five acts, the fifth act being the story’s tragic denouement, a prelude to Afghanistan's dark future. Any reader who wants to understand what went wrong with the war’s trajectory will find a trenchant account here. But The Fifth Act also brings readers into close contact with a remarkable group of characters, American and Afghan, who fought the war with courage and dedication, and at great personal cost. Ackerman's story is a first draft of history that feels like a timeless classic.
“The American betrayal of Afghanistan took twenty years. Elliot Ackerman, a participant and witness, tells the story with unsparing honesty in this intensely personal chronicle.” —George Packer
A powerful and revelatory eyewitness account of the American collapse in Afghanistan, its desperate endgame, and the war’s echoing legacy
Elliot Ackerman left the American military ten years ago, but his time in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Marines and later as a CIA paramilitary officer marked him indelibly. When the Taliban began to close in on Kabul in August 2021 and the Afghan regime began its death spiral, he found himself pulled back into the conflict. Afghan nationals who had worked closely with the American military and intelligence communities for years now faced brutal reprisal and sought frantically to flee the country with their families. The official US government evacuation effort was a bureaucratic failure that led to a humanitarian catastrophe. With former colleagues and friends protecting the airport in Kabul, Ackerman joined an impromptu effort by a group of journalists and other veterans to arrange flights and negotiate with both Taliban and American forces to secure the safe evacuation of hundreds. These were desperate measures taken during a desperate end to America's longest war. For Ackerman, it also became a chance to reconcile his past with his present.
The Fifth Act is an astonishing human document that brings the weight of twenty years of war to bear on a single week, the week the war ended. Using the dramatic rescue efforts in Kabul as his lattice, Ackerman weaves a personal history of the war's long progression, beginning with the initial invasion in the months after 9/11. It is a play in five acts, the fifth act being the story’s tragic denouement, a prelude to Afghanistan's dark future. Any reader who wants to understand what went wrong with the war’s trajectory will find a trenchant account here. But The Fifth Act also brings readers into close contact with a remarkable group of characters, American and Afghan, who fought the war with courage and dedication, and at great personal cost. Ackerman's story is a first draft of history that feels like a timeless classic.
You may also like
熱銷中 Top Trending
![Maisy's (正版) Holiday Picture Book Bag Collection (Lucy Cousins) - 買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/products/Maisy_sHolidayPictureBookBagCollection_LucyCousins_{width}x.jpg?v=1664268685)
![Maisy Goes on Holiday (Paperback) (Lucy Cousins) Walker UK](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/products/MaisyGoesonHoliday1_a13ed30d-bac5-4f72-ad36-c06a517e2a9a_{width}x.jpg?v=1664268685)
Maisy's (正版) Holiday Picture Book Bag Collection (Lucy Cousins)
Sale priceHK$175.00
Regular priceHK$504.00
In stock![Ultimate Football Heroes - Ronaldo (Matt & Tom Oldfield)-Nonfiction: 人物傳記 Biography-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/UltimateFootballHeroes-Ronaldo_Matt_TomOldfield_{width}x.webp?v=1713021985)
![Ultimate Football Heroes - Ronaldo (Matt & Tom Oldfield)-Nonfiction: 人物傳記 Biography-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/UltimateFootballHeroes-Ronaldo_Matt_TomOldfield_2_{width}x.webp?v=1713021989)
Ultimate Football Heroes - Ronaldo (Matt & Tom Oldfield)
Sale priceHK$57.00
Regular priceHK$91.00
In stock![Pip and Posy (正版) Collection (Books with Audio QR Code* )(Axel Scheffler)-Fiction: 兒童繪本 Picture Books-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/PipandPosy_Collection_BookswithAudioQRCode_AxelScheffler_10-Book_{width}x.webp?v=1714856885)
![Pip and Posy (正版) Collection (Books with Audio QR Code* )(Axel Scheffler)-Fiction: 兒童繪本 Picture Books-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/products/PipandPosy_Collection_BookswithAudioQRCode_AxelScheffler_{width}x.jpg?v=1699212651)
Pip and Posy (正版) Collection (Books with Audio QR Code)(Axel Scheffler)
Sale priceFrom HK$249.00
Regular priceHK$671.00
In stock![Dork Diaries #02 Party Time (Rachel Renee Russell)-Fiction: 幽默搞笑 Humorous-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/DorkDiaries_02PartyTime_1_{width}x.jpg?v=1714880146)
![Dork Diaries #02 Party Time (Rachel Renee Russell)-Fiction: 幽默搞笑 Humorous-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/DorkDiaries_02PartyTime_2_{width}x.jpg?v=1699232256)
Dork Diaries #02 Party Time (Rachel Renee Russell)
Sale priceHK$67.00
Regular priceHK$104.00
In stock![Percy Jackson and the Olympians #6 The Chalice of the Gods (Rick Riordan)-Fiction: 神話傳說 Myth and Legend-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/PercyJacksonandtheOlympians_6TheChaliceoftheGods_RickRiordan_{width}x.jpg?v=1714881796)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods (International paperback edition)
Sale priceHK$89.00
Regular priceHK$140.00
In stock![Legends of Lotus Island #01 The Guardian Test (Christina Soontornvat)](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/9781339041032_{width}x.webp?v=1716376443)
Legends of Lotus Island #01 The Guardian Test (Christina Soontornvat)
Sale priceHK$67.00
Regular priceHK$112.00
In stock![Brown: My Alter Ego Is A Superhero Book 1 (Håkon Øvreås)](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/9781592702510_{width}x.jpg?v=1716306931)
Brown: My Alter Ego Is A Superhero Book 1 (Håkon Øvreås)
Sale priceFrom HK$64.00
Regular priceHK$80.00
In stock