Following events from the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, through the aftermath of the attack on New York on September 11, and the American wars in Iran and Afghanistan, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Filkins sets forth this definitive account which examines America's conflict with Islamic fundamentalism, and explores the human cost.

Originally published: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.

Prologue: hells bells -- PART I. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, SEPTEMBER 1998: Only this -- Forebodings -- Third world -- Jang -- PART II. BAGHDAD, IRAQ, MARCH 2003 - Land of hope and sorrow -- I love you, March 2003 -- Gone forever -- Video -- The kiss -- A hand in the air -- Blonde -- A disease -- The view from the air -- The man within -- Kill yourself -- The cloud -- Mogadishu --Pearland -- Habibi -- The vanishing world -- Communiques (I) -- Just talking -- The mahdi - Proteus -- Your name -- Communiques (II) -- the revolution devours its own -- The normal -- The labyrinth -- The wall -- Fuck us -- The boss -- The turning -- The departed -- Epilogue: Laika