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Start giftingThe Operators
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreIn June 2010, Michael Hastings published an article in Rolling Stone that made headlines around the world: In "The Runaway General," he reported on a week he spent in Europe with General Stanley McChrystal, the revered soldier in charge of the war in Afghanistan.
McChrystal and his staff's unguarded remarks about the White House, our allies and the conduct of the war led President Obama to order McChrystal to the Oval Office, where he was fired unceremoniously. While Hastings' reporting won him a prestigious Polk award and led to two Pentagon investigations, there is much more to his story than the indiscretions of Stanley McChrystal.
In The Operators, Hastings, formerly the Baghdad bureau chief for Newsweek, takes the listener behind the diplomatic façades to paint a picture of nation-building gone awry. Hastings also takes us on patrol missions in Afghanistan, where he is embedded with American troops, and witnesses firsthand the madness, horror, and existential contradictions of Afghanistan. The Operators combines the acute reportage of a Sebastian Junger with the mad energy of a Michael Herr—it is the painful, powerful tale of a war that can never and will never be won.
Michael Hastings (1980-2013) spent two years reporting on Iraq and worked for Newsweek starting in 2002. He also filed stories from Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, Kurdistan, and Vietnam. He has been published in Slate, Salon, and Foreign Policy, as well as Newsweek International, for which he wrote four cover stories. He won the 2010 George Polk Award for magazine reporting, and at the time of his death, he was writing about politics for the news Web site BuzzFeed.
Lloyd James has been narrating since 1996, has recorded over six hundred books in almost every genre, has earned six AudioFile Earphones Awards, and is a two-time nominee for the prestigious Audie Award. His bestselling and most critically acclaimed performances include Elvis in the Morning by William F. Buckley, Jr., Ben Hur by Lew Wallace, Searching for Bobby Fischer by Fred Waitskin, and Mystic Warrior by Tracy and Laura Hickman. Lloyd's background as a performer includes extensive work in classical theater and folk music. He lives in Maryland with his wife and children.