"This is a provocative and important book, telling us what the Soviet military was thinking and feeling as it lost its war in Afghanistan. Gregory Feifer vividly shows that their campaigns there amounted to a manual of how not to do it." - Thomas Ricks, author of Fiasco and The Gamble
"Fascinating. . . . A highly readable history of the conflict. . . . The author, NPR's Moscow correspondent, tells the story mainly through the eyes of Soviet veterans and spies. The results are vivid and original. . . . It's 'a tragic human story, ' Feifer writes--and one that he recounts with skill." - The New York Times Book Review
"Authoritative. . . . One hopes that Gregory Feifer's grim cautionary tale is on the nightstand of Gen. David Petraeus--and of President Obama, as well. Not much has been written about the Soviet Union's nine-year military occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. With Feifer's excellent analysis of that ill-fated mission, the gap has been filled. . . . Feifer has done truly extraordinary research. . . . Yet for all its heft, it is an effortless read--an unusual and gratifying combination." - The Minneapolis Star Tribune
"A richly reported tale. . . . As Feifer vividly recounts, the Soviet operation was swathed in confusion. . . . This might seem like ancient history to some, but it's all intensely relevant. . . . Wars can be won and lost in Afghanistan. . . . Despite the dark conclusions of this brilliantly reported book, President Obama might want to keep that in mind." - Christian Caryl, The Washington Monthly
"Feifer brings to life in spirited detail the bloody, eight-year struggle that killed a million Afghans and tens of thousands of Russians and broke the back of the Soviet Union, which disappeared within two years of the war's end. You think it can't happen to us? Read Feifer." - Thomas Powers, author of Heisenberg's War
"Tracing the arc of the Soviets' military disillusionment in Afghanistan, Feifer, who is an NPR reporter in Moscow, provides essential historical background to the present war in Afghanistan." - Booklist
"Feifer's thoughtful, deliberative use of eyewitness testimony gives an intensely close-up sense of what the war was like for those who fought it." - Kirkus Reviews
"A comprehensive history of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. . . . Writing from Soviet war veterans' points of view and weaving together a tangle of third-person testimonials, Feifer lets those who participated in the conflict give the history lesson. . . . Feifer is uncompromising when it comes to telling the whole truth and nothing but. . . . The Great Gamble is a powerful cautionary tale and a must read for any serious student of Soviet and Afghan history." - The St. Petersburg Times

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Pub date: 2010-01-01

Length: 336 pages