The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008

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More About This Book

Overview

Thomas E. Rick's news-breaking follow up to the #1 New York Times bestseller Fiasco

Now updated to fully document the inside story of the Iraq war since late 2005, The Gamble is the definitive account of the insurgency within the U.S. military that led to a radical shift in America's strategy. Based on unprecedented real-time access to the military's entire chain of command, Ricks examines the events that took place as the military was forced to reckon with itself, the surge was launched, and a very different war began. His stunning conclusion, stated in the last line of the book, is that "the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered probably have not yet happened."

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
The course of the Iraq War took a radical change in 2007. With military intellectual General David Petraeus at the helm, a new, unorthodox strategy generally dubbed "The Surge" emerged despite the resistance of top commanders. In The Gamble, Washington Post senior Pentagon correspondent Thomas E. Ricks utilizes hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with key officers in Iraq and Washington to document this controversial shift in American Middle East policy. The author of Fiasco delivers another major book on the Iraq conflict.
Michiko Kakutani
…powerful and illuminating …Mr. Ricks writes as both an analyst and a reporter with lots of real-time access to the chain of command, and his book's narrative is animated by closely observed descriptions of how the surge worked on the ground, by a savvy knowledge of internal Pentagon politics, and by a keen understanding of the Iraq war's long-term fallout on already strained American forces.
—The New York Times

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780143116912
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 1/26/2010
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 416
  • Sales rank: 334,366
  • Product dimensions: 5.40 (w) x 8.30 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Thomas E. Ricks is The Washington Post's senior Pentagon correspondent, where he has covered the U.S. military since 2000. Until the end of 1999, he held the same beat at The Wall Street Journal, where he was a reporter for seventeen years. A member of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams for national reporting, he has reported on U.S. military activities in Somalia, Haiti, Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Kuwait, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He is the author of Making the Corps and A Soldier's Duty.

Table of Contents

The Gamble Cast of Characters Acronyms and Abbreviations

Part One: The Old War Ends

1. Things Fall Apart (Fall 2005)
2. How to Fight This War (Fall 2005-Fall 2006)
3. Keane Takes Command (Fall 2006)
4. A Strategy is Born (Winter 2006-7)

Part Two: A New War Begins

5. If You're so Smart . . . (Spring 2007)
6. Gambling on a "Shitty Hand" (Spring and Summer 2007)
7. Signs of Life in Baghdad (Summer 2007)
8. The Domestic Opposition Collapses (Summer and Fall 2007)

Part Three: War Without End

9. The Twilight Zone (Winter 2007-8)
10. Big Wasta (Spring 2008)
11. After the Surge (Summer 2008)
12. Obama's War (Fall 2008)
Epilogue: The Long War

Appendixes A. Col. Devlin's Intelligence Assessment B. The Orders Lt. Gen. Odierno Received in December 2006
C. How Odierno Changed the Mission D. Gen. Petraeus Summarizes How to Operate in Iraq Notes Acknowledgments Index

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 17 )

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Sort by: Showing all of 17 Customer Reviews

  • Posted March 24, 2009

    A well-researched, fascinating book on the Army's win in Iraq

    For those who remember Viet Nam and for every American who wants the USA to win in Iraq, this book is a must. The high-level intrigue is fascinating among the civilian leadership, think tanks, active military, and one notable retired four-star general. We owe a tremendous thank you to a handful of great individuals identified in the book. The book is extrememly well-researched and fast moving.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted May 18, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    A calculated risk

    The travails of us policy and military engagement in Iraq have been dominating the news for the better part of five years since the invasion in 2003 until some time in 2008. The reason is quite obvious: what was supposed to be a very quick and decisive military operation that would turn Iraq into a free and peaceful society turned out to be a military and political disaster. And yet the news from Iraq stopped dominating the headlines some time in 2008. The reason for this dramatic turnaround is quite clear: it is the new US strategy that was designed to increase the number of US troops on the ground and engage with the Iraqi society on a much more direct basis. This strategy and the way that it came about is the theme of this book. Unlike many other books that have come out in recent years, this one is largely written from the military's point of view. If there is a single name that come to symbolize "The Surge" that would be the name of general Petraeus. Unjustifiably maligned by some war opponents early on in his new assignment of turning the situation in Iraq around, he has become a stellar example of professionalism and success with one of the most difficult military assignments ever. But Petraeus was not the only one in the military who contributed to the development of the new strategy. There are many others, either on active duty or as civilian advisers, who have helped shape and develop the new strategy. This book does a very good job of describing those contributions and giving credit to people who have largely labored behind the scenes. It features many combat commanders and their troops, and it gives many examples from the frontlines that help illustrate and affirm the main points.

    What makes this book particularly interesting and valuable is the sheer amount of first-hand interview material. Almost all of the main military protagonists are featured, and many of their most important experiences recoded and presented in an easy journalistic style. The approach to policy that the book adopts is pragmatic rather than ideological. It gives as sober of an assessment of what happened during the war as one can find these days. It concludes with a sobering prediction of where the military engagement is headed, and a prediction that a substantial US presence is likely to remain in Iraq for many more years, if not decades.

    The only issue that I have with the book is that it may contain too much information: some of the points could have been made with far less material. But otherwise this is an excellent read and a must for anyone who is interested in what has really been happening with The Surge and why it worked in the end.

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  • Posted October 1, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    A Sobering Read

    Thomas Ricks' second book on Iraq continues the account he began in Fiasco. He covers the war largely from a military viewpoint in contrast to Bob Woodward, who emphasizes the politics inside Washington.Ricks obviously admires Gen. Petraeus but does not cover over other views of the war and predictions of its aftermath.Some of the most interesting parts of the book are accounts of dissenters like Emma Sky, the British Middle East expert who spent three tours in Iraq and became a trusted advisor to Gen. Odierno. If Ricks does not eventually write a definitive history of the second Iraq war, his writings will be an important source for the author who completes that task.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 20, 2009

    The Gamble by Thomas Ricks well worth reading

    This books was well written and enjoyable. Gave me a new prespective of David Petreaus and his involvement in the Surge. Think it would be of interest for all Americans to know this information. Enlightening.

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  • Posted April 13, 2009

    This is a fabulous book!

    I will read this book again and again and have ordered every book written by this author. Even for someone not involved in the military, it is absolutely fascinating.

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  • Posted April 6, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Great Book about a timely subject

    This is a wonderful book for anyone who is interested in the war in Iraq. The book is factual, balanced and shows how we recaptured the initiative with this war, and the possible pitfalls that remain. A good read!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 6, 2009

    very informative

    great book on the strategy behind the surge.

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