I don’t plan on getting into the book reviewing business but I will share a few thoughts on what I’m doing with my library card.

Jawbreaker is Gary Berntsen’s (written with Ralph Pezzulo) account of his tenure in Afghanistan. Who the fuck is Gary Berntsen you ask? Well according to the book, he was the CIA’s main man during the early stages of the war in Afghanistan. And by “main man” I mean he pretty much ran the war. As a matter of fact, Mr. Berntsen points out in the book that he is the first civilian (CIA operatives are considered civilians apparently) to direct a major battlefield operation in American military history.

One interesting thing about the book is that parts of it are blacked out. Since a lot of the information that Mr. Berntsen was trying to publish is classified, it sometimes looks as if you are reading one of those old documents that you see on UFO shows that the History Channel is always showing. It doesn’t really disrupt the book too much and you could argue that it adds to the ambiance of his account. Or you could argue that its a waste of ink.

Jawbreaker definitely gives you a perspective of the war that you have not been privy too yet. As frustrating as it is that Osama is still alive and cave dwelling, you will be encouraged by the level of cooperation and bravery that the CIA and military showed in the early part of the Afghan war. The extremely short amount of time it took to overthrow the Taliban was incredible considering how much coordination was needed with the Northern Alliance and the fact that we didn’t have very many troops on the ground.

Anyway, worth the read if it’s a subject that your interested in.