For this week’s passion blog, I will be reviewing Charlie Wilson’s War by George Crile. In accord with last week’s trend of shifting the genre from dystopian to nonfiction, this novel conveys another fascinating story about a historical event that is somewhat enigmatic from the perspective of the public. Namely, it covers the efforts of a rogue Democratic Congressman, Charlie Wilson, to raise federal funding for the Mujahideen to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan during the Cold War. Viewed by some as an anti-communist patriot and by others as a Washington degenerate that over stepped his authority as a legislator, Charlie Wilson remains a controversial figure to this day. After all, the most iconic figures in politics rarely follow what others do, but rather pursue new things that others may follow. While the operation was venerated and celebrated in the immediate aftermath of its success, the ensuing decades of intervention in the region against radical Islamic groups challenge whether the operation was truly a geo-political win.
As with The Big Short, Crile does a superb job of actually telling a story, leading the audience to be genuinely entertained while learning far more about the event than one would from a jargon-filled historical analysis. For instance, the eccentricities and debauchery of Charlie Wilson are readily integrated into the storyline, such as the fact that he was under federal investigation for cocaine use in three different jurisdictions (including the Cayman Islands). While the emphasis on character development develops “side-stories” that engage the reader in tandem with the central plot, it also accentuates the unlikelihood and improbability that Wilson’s plan was to actually succeed. In the end, it was Wilson’s uncanny ability to network and develop connections with others such as Joanne Herring, a republican socialite whose staunch anti-communism led her to go as much as meet with Mujahideen leaders in person, that propelled it forward. Along with Wilson, responsibility for Mujahideen funding can be additionally credited to the CIA operative Gus Akrakotos who merged the efforts of Wilson in Congress with the prime agency responsible for sponsoring clandestine anti-communist operations, the CIA. Like Wilson, Akrakotos is portrayed as an eccentric and ambitious operative who induces both the extreme praise and scorn of his colleagues. The cooperation of this unlikely duo makes the story all the more fantastic, especially given the fact that its grounded in reality.
For anyone interested in a novel that explores our efforts in the Middle East during the cold war or simply interested in a thrilling and exciting novel, I cannot recommend reading Charlie Wilson’s War enough. As The Big Short does with Wall Street, this novel similarly exposes the seemingly unorthodox and even scaringly informal ways in which politics operates within Washington. It is a novel that reminds us that there is always far more going on “behind the scenes” than we could ever imagine.
I thought it was interesting how Charlie Wilson’s actions are still debated on whether or not they were helpful/successful or not. This part of your analysis stuck out to me as a reason to learn more about the topic by reading this novel.
I’ve never heard of Charlie Wilson but I liked how you started by giving an objective overview of him as well as acknowledging multiple perspectives of him. I also noticed your usage of strong diction such as, “eccentric” and “debauchery.’ Furthermore, I liked how you broaden the book to connect to other themes such as the financial crash and the general way that politics operate.
I’ve never heard of this story, but the plot sounds very interesting. I like how you somewhat broke down the book in the second paragraph, but you didn’t do it in a way that spoils the book for a reader. I’m excited to read this eventually!