The Great Gamble: The Soviet War in Afghanistan

“Fascinating….A highly readable history of the conflict.” —New York Times Book Review

In The Great Gamble, a groundbreaking account of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, former NPR Moscow correspondent Gregory Feifer vividly depicts the war that contributed greatly to the demise of the USSR, and that offers striking lessons for the 21st century, as well. Told from the perspective of the Russians who fought it, The Great Gamble offers valuable insight into the history of Afghanistan’s troubled government and the rise of the Mujahideen and Al-Qaeda. In the words of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “Feifer has done truly extraordinary research… For all its heft, [The Great Gamble] is an effortless read—an unusual and gratifying combination.”

The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a grueling debacle that has striking lessons for the twenty-first century. In The Great Gamble, Gregory Feifer examines the conflict from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground. During the last years of the Cold War, the Soviet Union sent some of its most elite troops to unfamiliar lands in Central Asia to fight a vaguely defined enemy, which eventually defeated their superior numbers with unconventional tactics. Although the Soviet leadership initially saw the invasion as a victory, many Russian soldiers came to view the war as a demoralizing and devastating defeat, the consequences of which had a substantial impact on the Soviet Union and its collapse.

Feifer's extensive research includes eye-opening interviews with participants from both sides of the conflict. In gripping detail, he vividly depicts the invasion of a volatile country that no power has ever successfully conquered. Parallels between the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq are impossible to ignore—both conflicts were waged amid vague ideological rhetoric about freedom. Both were roundly condemned by the outside world for trying to impose their favored forms of government on countries with very different ways of life. And both seem destined to end on uncertain terms.

A groundbreaking account seen through the eyes of the men who fought it, The Great Gamble tells an unforgettable story full of drama, action, and political intrigue whose relevance in our own time is greater than ever.

“This is a provocative and important book, telling us what the Soviet military was thinking and feeling as it lost its war in Afghanistan. Gregory Feifer vividly shows that their campaigns there amounted to a manual of how not to do it.” - Thomas Ricks, author of Fiasco and The Gamble

“Fascinating. . . . A highly readable history of the conflict. . . . The author, NPR’s Moscow correspondent, tells the story mainly through the eyes of Soviet veterans and spies. The results are vivid and original. . . . It’s ‘a tragic human story,’ Feifer writes—and one that he recounts with skill.” - The New York Times Book Review

“Authoritative. . . . One hopes that Gregory Feifer’s grim cautionary tale is on the nightstand of Gen. David Petraeus—and of President Obama, as well. Not much has been written about the Soviet Union’s nine-year military occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. With Feifer’s excellent analysis of that ill-fated mission, the gap has been filled. . . . Feifer has done truly extraordinary research. . . . Yet for all its heft, it is an effortless read—an unusual and gratifying combination.” - The Minneapolis Star Tribune

“A richly reported tale. . . . As Feifer vividly recounts, the Soviet operation was swathed in confusion. . . . This might seem like ancient history to some, but it’s all intensely relevant. . . . Wars can be won and lost in Afghanistan. . . . Despite the dark conclusions of this brilliantly reported book, President Obama might want to keep that in mind.” - Christian Caryl, The Washington Monthly

“Feifer brings to life in spirited detail the bloody, eight-year struggle that killed a million Afghans and tens of thousands of Russians and broke the back of the Soviet Union, which disappeared within two years of the war’s end. You think it can’t happen to us? Read Feifer.” - Thomas Powers, author of Heisenberg’s War

“Tracing the arc of the Soviets’ military disillusionment in Afghanistan, Feifer, who is an NPR reporter in Moscow, provides essential historical background to the present war in Afghanistan.” - Booklist

“Feifer’s thoughtful, deliberative use of eyewitness testimony gives an intensely close-up sense of what the war was like for those who fought it.” - Kirkus Reviews

“A comprehensive history of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. . . . Writing from Soviet war veterans’ points of view and weaving together a tangle of third-person testimonials, Feifer lets those who participated in the conflict give the history lesson. . . . Feifer is uncompromising when it comes to telling the whole truth and nothing but. . . . The Great Gamble is a powerful cautionary tale and a must read for any serious student of Soviet and Afghan history.” - The St. Petersburg Times