“The Outpost is a mind-boggling, all-too-true story of heroism, hubris, failed strategy, and heartbreaking sacrifice. If you want to understand how the war in Afghanistan went off the rails, you need to read this book.”
—Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air and Where Men Win Glory
“One of the most important books of the year. Jake Tapper’s book is meticulously researched, excellently written, and a must-read for everyone who does more than just mouth the phrase ‘I support the troops.’ ”
—Curt Schleier, Minneapolis Star Tribune
“The power of The Outpost lies in Tapper’s development of the main characters.… He juxtaposes dramatic battles, complete with limbs blown off and eyes dangling from sockets, with poignant scenes of wives and parents first learning of the deaths of their loved ones.”
—Seth Jones, Washington Post
“Brilliant, dedicated reporting by a journalist who goes to ground to get the truth. A sad, real tale about this war, America, and the brave warriors who live—and die—at the point of the spear.”
—Bob Woodward, author of Plan of Attack, The Commanders, and Obama’s Wars
“There have been many books written on the subject of America’s seemingly endless engagement in Afghanistan, but none better than The Outpost.”
—Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic
“Jake Tapper has woven an intricate account about battlefield bravery hamstrung by military bureaucracy.… His voice is understated, not polemical—just a good reporter letting the facts speak for themselves.”
—Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
“Jake Tapper has written perhaps the best book set in Afghanistan to date.… He provides a window into the false hopes and visions that enabled this failed experiment, an attempt to create government in spaces that had actively avoided such.”
“As Rudyard Kipling did in the nineteenth century, now, in his magnificent book, Jake Tapper takes us to an untamed part of Afghanistan at war. Journey to The Outpost to understand what our troops go through—and why they go through it.”
—James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers, Flyboys, and The Imperial Cruise
“The seminal work of documentary journalism to emerge out of the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan.”
—Anand Sankar, Business Standard
“Analyzing the consequences of decisions, large and small, is what makes Tapper’s book so important.… For those wishing to understand the middle years of the war, they could do no better than to read The Outpost.”
—Nate Rawlings, Time
“A fascinating history… Tapper delivers a blow-by-blow account of [the soldiers’] actions, their personal stories, and the tortured, often incomprehensible command decisions that kept them fighting despite inadequate support and an ally, Pakistan, that actively encouraged the enemy.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Mr. Tapper lays bare the poor decision-making that shattered dozens of American lives in the pursuit of an ill-conceived goal.”
—Sarah Chayes, Wall Street Journal
“The Outpost is valuable because its faithful account of bravery, stupidity, and inertia makes the objective case for admiration and outrage.”
—Sam Jacobson, Commentary
“A heartbreaking chronicle of the rotation of soldiers asked to oversee an underfunded, often thankless mission.”
—Sam Stein, Huffington Post
“The Army uses the term ‘BLUF’—bottom line up front. The BLUF on Jake Tapper’s new book on Afghanistan, The Outpost, is that you need to read it.”
“A heartbreaking, detailed day-to-day account.… Tapper does what all great narrators do: He brings to life the individual men in a way that allows readers to see each soldier in full, with their unique backgrounds, hopes, dreams, and families.”
—Susan Gardner, DailyKos.com
“A chronicle of the commitment and heroism of individual soldiers. As such, it can rarely have been surpassed in the history of military writing.”
—John Hinderaker, PowerLineBlog.com
“This is a narrative, not a polemic, and Tapper patiently lays out the history of what happened at Keating in a gripping, forceful style.… This unadorned, powerful account challenges the purposes and wisdom of America’s ongoing military presence [in Afghanistan].… A timely indictment of a thoughtless waste of young American lives.”
—Kirkus Reviews