Dexter Filkins is an American journalist who made a name for himself covering the Iraq War and Afghanistan War for The New York Times. Of course, this book has a lot about the attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 by Al Qaeda. This book also covers a lot about the rise of the Taliban and a lot of the things that the author witnessed while serving as a war correspondent overseas. The quality of writing in his articles and this book is well above par. He has a way of conveying experiences and information in a way that grab you emotionally and mentally.

Some of the things he writes about in this book are absolutely horrific, but nothing that is unheard of by this point. We have been watching coverage of military and political actions regarding Taliban and these wars for over twenty years. (This is insane to think about, because I was in eighth grade when the attacks happened, and have seen/lost friends and loved ones due to these wars.) I think the shock value of what the Taliban does has worn off, and now it is just an "of course they are doing that" type of thing, and that is scary and sad. The author does a great job relating his experiences in a way that makes them believable and readable. It had a lot of points that really make one think about things.