On the Ground in Afghanistan with America's Elite Special Forces

This is a documentary and is not an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat, war story for the reader. This story contains lots of history and politics concerning the Afghanistan conflict. Lots of garrison life.

Written totally by Kevin Maurer and it is dull & boring. Chronicles a late in the AFG war attempt to civilize and train a bunch of wanker ANCOP. Nothing much happens. Don't waste your time with this one.

If you want to read an OUTSTANDING book, it's Lions of Kandahar by Major Rusty Bradley with a limited assist from Kevin Maurer. One of the best books I've read in a decade..

This is a documentary and is not an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat, war story for the reader. This story contains lots of history and politics concerning the Afghanistan conflict. Lots of garrison life.

Written totally by Kevin Maurer and it is dull & boring. Chronicles a late in the AFG war attempt to civilize and train a bunch of wanker ANCOP. Nothing much happens. Don't waste your time with this one.

If you want to read an OUTSTANDING book, it's Lions of Kandahar by Major Rusty Bradley with a limited assist from Kevin Maurer. One of the best books I've read in a decade..

Extremely well written. Provides an inside look into what special forces teams do and how they operate, but if you're looking for green berets in combat this is not the book for you. I don't think a single bullet was fired the entire book. Now there's nothing wrong with that just be aware of what you're reading.

I read this book after reading the hi speed book "no easy day". I found it to be an awesome insight in the daily monotonous grind of war in Afghanistan. If you want to read some action packed guns a blazing material I suggest looking for a Tom Clancy book. However if you want to read about what happens most of the time in Afghanistan, then this is you read. It is not painful to read like stated in other reviews it is insightful and entertaining.

When you read a war story, you expect some action. I think the author even got bored. I made it all the way to page 81 and then gave up when I realized that I had paid to read text like the following quote..." he was literally indulging in his pet peeves - rolled up sleeves, team patches - which only made the tension worse. Tony told Matt and Greg to take the patches off in order to placate the sergeant major. They did as he asked, but grumbled about it" If this is the kind of gripping war story you like then fine but I can't keep giving the author any more of my precious time.

##Thank you to all in the military

I was excited for this book. I have read several other SF accounts on the war in Afghanistan and the author made this the most uninteresting one yet. I am sure there is a great story somewhere in the experience of these soldiers, unfortunately the author doesn't tell it.

This book generally lacked depth and substance. It was clear that the author didn't get access to write the book he wanted so he chose to force a story out of what he experienced instead. It's the story of an ineffective deployment due to the beareaucratic nature the war in Afghanistan has taken. The character development is shallow and generic, and the story is repetitive and uneventful. It provide no unique insight into the war, the Group, the specific mission of special forces, or any major events.

It was a very disappointing read, and I had to force myself through it. I feel that a low quality work like this is a disservice to the troops who allowed the author inside their circle.

A different take on the Global War on Terror (GWOT) than most military memoirs, Gentlemen Bastards is written from an outside (non-military) perspective. Kevin Maurer is a journalist who was embedded with a team of Army Special Forces for a portion of their deployment. The perspective of an outsider provides a refreshing change from the standard military memoir (which, don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy) and allows the reader to learn about the Green Berets along with the author. I've read reviews that put the book down because of its "lack of action" but speaking as a member of the military, sometimes no action is the best sort of action. The mission of the Special Forces isn't to conduct direct-action raids, it's to train indigenous forces. In this book, you'll learn about the frustrations and issues faced by the Special Forces team as they conduct village stability operations in Afghanistan and train up the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP.) I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in modern military history, special operations, or the complex domestic politics of the Afghanistan military.

I have read several of the "Navy SEAL books" which have come out lately. The main difference between those books and this is that soldiers in action wrote the first books. This book is NOT! You notice the observer's perspective immediately in the more prosaic writing style. Second, the setting for this book was not that exciting compared to the more dangerous and challenging missions described in the other books.
For readers of army action books, this is a downer.

Compelling and well-written, this is a true gem in a genre saturated with soldier accounts and by-the-numbers stories of battles and units, this is a refreshingly personal and honest look behind the scenes of a world misrepresented by the news. I'm an avid reader of military fiction and non-fiction and this is the best exploration of the Special Forces world I've come across, and it's very current. I found myself laughing out loud at some points, and truly amazed at a few revelations. Maurer makes great observations about the nature of journalistic integrity and how embedded journalist become part of the story--but in this case Maurer putting himself into the story is just the drink the reader has ordered. This is an excellent way to understand the relationship between the US Forces and the Afghan freedom fighters, and it's entertaining, to boot.

GENTLEMEN BASTARDS is accessible enough for the casual reader and, in my opinion, a must-have for the military enthusiast. I wish there were more accounts like this one on the shelves, because I found myself flipping through the pages so quickly I was out of the book before I was finished enjoying it.

A boring story, boringly written. A poorly-written account of a frustrating process of special forces trying to gain rapport with a bunch of uncivilized Afghans. The cover photo and text imply excitement and action; there is none of either. Stilted text and language further harm the book. The book is further harmed by including numerous unexplained terms. Another idiotic aspect is that the author omits any photos of weapons or vehicles, and no clear description of either, even though they would have been of great interest. The author sucks the life out of what might have been a tolerable book.

I love this genre but not this book. Two excellent books I can recommend are BRAVO TWO ZERO about a squad of SAS commandos in desperate straits, and INTO THE FIRE about a horrendous battle in Afghanistan and the actions of the Marine who truly earned the Medal of Honor.

War is monotony.

Maurer depicts the true nature of war. War, where things change rapidly and often slowly and tensions exist between allies. Not every American is working cohesively but they're all on the same team.

This book is real, you get to know the men on this Special Forces team and learn what it's like to live in a combat zone when 'combat' isn't what it's like in the movies. You get to know these guys and where they come from and what makes them "special."

With generous detail but consumable prose you see how regular and special operations approach problems differently sometimes at odds with each other.

There is a reason the publisher picked Maurer to coauthor No Easy Day; Maurer knows the human and real terrain and can make it come to life with words.

Must read.

It’s unique book. But there's another great book about comparison of Soviet (1979-1989) and American battlefield experience in Afghanistan
The book “Soviet Afghanistan Veterans Share Their Stories, Make Predictions. Comparison of Soviet (1979-1989) and American battlefield experience in Afghanistan” collects Soviet soldiers’ predictions about the future of Afghanistan after the withdrawal of Coalition forces in 2014.
These book’s available on the store Kindle-Store: http://www.the store.com/dp/B00B5YFS66

These assessments and forecasts were made by troops who served in Afghanistan in 1979–1989 and know the country well.
Here are some of their opinions:

Victor, intelligence agent
So you want to know what’s going to happen after NATO troops withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014? I can answer that question right away. Here’s why: at the beginning of 1987, when I was getting ready to leave this “paradise,” Command HQ wondered the same thing. I guess they were already looking into this issue at the very top. We analyzed it, writing short essays on the topic. Whatever people wrote, however, their conclusions were the same. Namely, once we withdraw from the DRA, the country will descend into infighting for power—in effect, another war, only a civil one this time. After the long years of occupation—by the Germans, by the British, by us, and now by Americans—these people got used to constant warfare. Boys start carrying arms when they’re ten years old. This people will not tolerate any authority. I think we (meaning all civilizations) were too soon with our efforts to bring this country into the twentieth or twenty-first century. Everything must follow the strict laws of history. They have a tribal system there, with every clan and every tribe fighting for control over the rest. There are countless factions headed by warlords who viciously guard their territories. There were instances when our “friends” would deliberately feed us info on their opponents, calling them spooks with one goal in mind: to hurt their enemies as much as possible with our help. There are so-called “neutrals,” who are tired of fighting and wouldn’t let either our troops or the people’s government onto their territories. I personally knew the elder of the Al Makhail tribe, who live high up in the mountains near the Pakistani border. He agreed to supply us with information, but we were sure he just used us to settle scores with his enemies. So my answer is this: once the Americans leave, there will be a new intertribal war. This is what they’re really good at.

Ivan, officer
Our experience of withdrawing from Afghanistan showed that the capability of Afghani troops and police in the presence of foreign troops was one thing (seemingly high) and in the absence thereof quite another (objectively much weaker). One way or another, we’re bound to see this drop in capability after NATO troops withdraw in 2014. Furthermore, even now there are signs that militants have infiltrated the Afghani police and military forces.
What’s my conclusion? I am certain that the situation in Central Asia will get worse following the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan.
Unfortunately (but in the end, inevitably) there will be more militants entering countries such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, etc. through Hindu Kush.

Aleksandr, officer
The situation in Afghanistan is like a roly-poly toy: it always comes back to the position determined by its inner workings, not by any external forces.
The British left in 1842 because they couldn’t beat the insurgents, who then took control over the territory. Once the USSR announced it would be withdrawing its troops in 1986, the mujahedeen began getting ready to take the power back, and the local army and police forces couldn’t resist them for much longer. In 2014, NATO forces will withdraw, and since no miracle is forthcoming, the roly-poly situation will get back to the troubled status quo.

Vladimir, officer
After American troops withdraw in 2014, the Karzai administration will NOT have control over the whole of Afghanistan. This is obvious from a number of factors.
This book also has Soviet officers, soldiers, intelligence and GRU agents sharing their experiences of warfare in this turbulent country, as well as their impressions of NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan.

Questions anyone would have about being imbedded with Elite Special Forces to learn about them were answered by the author in an easy to read style. In depth knowledge about Afghanistan-Special Forces interactions allowed explanations of many aspects of the peace keeping missions. A good read.

I really expected more from this book based on the description and synopsis. It was overall quite boring: the recording of day-to-day humdrum activity within a unit and the journalist's observations. I just don't get what the message is he wanted to communicate. This story really gave nothing for me to take away.

A fantastic account of one journalist's (Kevin Maurer) time embedded with a Special Forces (Green Beret) unit in Afghanistan. Not meant to be an action thriller or a plot driven tale, but an account of heroes nonetheless. Reading this book was constantly refreshing and always interesting due to Kevin's writing style and editorial observation of the world happening around him and how he affected that world while a part of it. I highly recommend "Gentlemen Bastards."

-Mitch Gerads
Co-Creator and Illustrator of "The ACTIVITY" from IMAGE Comics

I agree with other reviewers in that this is not an engaging story and that it feels like the author set out to write a different book, but circumstances did not help him and he got stuck with this. On this same subject, highly recommend Lions of Kandahar: The Story of a Fight Against All Odds as an alternative.

I returned the book.

After looking at the cover and reading the front and back of the book at Banres and Noble, I thought this would be a great read. However after several attempts to intrigue myself with this book I found it wasn't possible. This book was written by a journalist who pretty much just writes about how cool these sf guys are and there day to day antics. There is minimal material regarding fire fights or even anything along the lines of the q course. It seems as though it was a book full of fancy adjectives and nouns trying to fill up pages without really any interesting journalism. "The hot suped up jeep looked badass as the sf guys climbed aboard with their huge packs and course desert sand flicking off their boots." Not an actual quote but you get the idea. not worth your time.

A great read expounding on, not the direct action, recon gun slinging missions, but focuses on the difficult unconventional warfare and foreign internal defense that make the green berets so vital in the war against insurgency.

I found this book extremely difficult to get through. It is clear that the author had no material or story line, but chose to proceed anyway. Disappointing from an author who has written some good books in the past.