The Operators

“The life of a general is something to see, especially when it’s Stanley McChrystal, America’s four-star, rock star commander, at the height of his power and panache in Afghanistan. It’s a hard story to get, and hard to tell it well, but in the hands of Michael Hastings, it’s a world-class job of reporting and a joy to read.”
—Richard Ben Cramer, author of What it Takes and DiMaggio

“The most impact-laden story of the year…written by a perfect specimen of the new breed of journalist-commentator.”
—Barrett Brown, Vanity Fair

“An impressive feat of journalism by a Washington outsider who seemed to know more about what was going on in Washington than most insiders did.”
—Frank Rich, New York Times

“The Operators is a troubling first-person narrative about a bizarre episode in U.S. military history, as well as a trenchant analysis of the disaster in Afghanistan. Hastings … brings a fresh eye and a brutally authentic voice to America’s decade-old misadventure in Afghanistan.”
—Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times

“The Operators seems destined to join the pantheon of the best of GWOT literature, not just for its rock-and-roll details, but for its piercing chronicles of a world gone mad.”
—Matt Gallagher, Newsweek/Daily Beast

“As the situation in Afghanistan grows increasingly muddy, [Hasting’s] disciplined adherence to solid journalistic practices and his acute eye for sharp scene setting makes much of the chaos comprehensible. Hastings has definitely taken up the traditional banner of the intrepid war correspondent, but he’s simultaneously shot it through with iconoclastic holes; the effect is illuminating on many levels.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Hastings brilliantly intertwines narratives…. Hasting’s first-class, engrossing reportage reveals unsettling yet human flaws behind one of recent history’s most lionized military figures, and a war which purportedly began as a response to terrorism, but whose aims–in the author’s estimation–remain ambiguous.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Superb… the book provides vital insights about the war not available anywhere else… One of the most eye-opening accounts provided yet…from one of the bravest and most intrepid journalists who has covered it.”

—Glenn Greenwald, Daily Beast