JawBreaker by: Gary Berntsen
 

After looking through the site for anything about this book, I thought I'd ask, has anyone read it and does anyone recommend the book?

Not worth the MSRP
 

It's a good story but the writing isn't that great. He needed a much more aggressive editor, especially for the first 50 pages (after which point things start to move along a bit more).

Not to mention huge swathes of the book have been redacted leaving lots of half formed thoughts/ideas everywhere. I do understand things were cut for National Security reasons, but the book should've been rewritten around them.

j

Mr. Berntsen was interviewed the other day, I believe it was on Sean Hannity's radio show. Based on what I heard, I intend to order the book this weekend.

Apparently the redactions were left in place on purpose.

I bought it today and will get it in about a week or so. I'll post a review when I finish.

My fiancees parents got it for me for Christmas, it was a very interesting book. I don't know if it's all factual or just the authors opinions, but either way I enjoyed it a lot. The redacted parts they left in as black boxes are very annoying, though.

I agree with much of what has already been said. As an Armchair Commando / General I enjoyed it allot as it is geared to the general public. I don’t imagine it making itself onto a professional military reading list anytime soon.

Mr. Bernsten maintains a sparse webpage here.
Washington Post's material: story, review

I'm about 3/4 of the way through this book, I must say its a very good read. One of those books that is hard to put down. As for the blacked out portions, if you have an ounce of knowledge about what is going on in the Intel world today, most of those lines make sense. I believe that Mr. Berntsen has the intention of re-releasing the book after his court case is complete, filling in those blacked out parts.

Finished the book, I highly recommend it. Great read. Good to see the different branches of government working so closely together.

I saw Mr. Berentsen's interviews spaced over 2-3 months, one with Matthews, the other escapes me but I think it was with O'Reilly. The two interviews were very different. The first had Mr. Berentsen attacking the military for failing to provide the 6-800 Rangers he requested, mentioned the very rough liasions that occured between his guys and the Mil, poor planning by CENTCOM, etc. His second interview, the most recent one from about a month ago painted a very different picture; he was deferrential to GEN Franks and staff and the decisions that they and others made with respect to the first few months of OEF and the hunt for OBL. He struggled to find neutral or even positive things to say about the military taking long pauses between phrases to answer the interviewer's questions. He gave me and those in my shop the impression of being somewhat "shady" in his answers.

I made the mistake of buying Schroen's book in hardcover, I won't do the same with Berentsen's. Instead, I'll find a very used and discounted copy at my local book mine.

good book overall. Slow for the first half, if U have read other A-stan books it can seem like Ur reading those book. The blacked out section or words are easy fill ins.

This book or First In is a good book for a Newbie coming to the area so U know what happen in 01-02.

I haven't read Jawbreaker yet.

I thought First In was alright, but kind of...how can I put this...unspecial(?). It seems like the book ends (when Schroen leaves Afghanistan) just when its really getting interesting. I would have much rather that Schroen and Bertsen had cowritten a more comprehensive book.

Good read. Picked up some interesting insights into another perspective of the opening months of OEF.

Def worth reading...but shouldn't be the ONLY book you read on it.

Was nobody who is on the forum out there with the Jawbreaker team?

You sure ask a lot of questions.

Any particular reason?

TR

Alot of questions as in..?

1) Kevlar/Mich Helmet?

2) Heat Exhaustion?

I think thats 2 topics I have asked for opinions in the 2-3 years I have been on this forums...

I apologize if my intentions came across in a negative manner.

I am not read up on the "Jawbreaker" team; but I believe what the boss is trying to say, in a nice way, is that you shouldn't be asking that. I will now shut up and color.

I understand..sorry about that.

Very interesting interview....
 

A very detailed and in-depth interview (transcript) of Bernsten by PBS frontline:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl.../berntsen.html

I have not read his book, but after reading the interview I wanted to share it on this board. (I have used the search function to make sure that it had not already been posted).

Also, by using the navigation at the top of the linked webpage, interviews can be found of other key CIA figures involved in the same operations, such as Gary Schroen.

Form and outsiders perspective
 

I found it to be a good book, I share the annoyance with the blacked out are; but was pleasantly surprised that such a book would exists so soon after the engagement.

The more I read these types of books the more irritated I get with all Politicians and Bureaucrats. When will we learn that we must allow the Dogs of War off leash to do as they were trained to do?

I listened to the audiobook on a long flight and found it interesting, but as others have stated, not much new if you have read the previous books on US involvement in Afghanistan. And, yes, it needed an editor with an eye for pacing a narrative.

The one detail that I feel guilty laughing about is the thought of a laser designator being seen as a tank killing "death ray" by tribal peoples who are unfamiliar with the technology, laser-guided bombs & high flying aircraft.

It may be a character flaw, but I would be totally unable to resist propagating the idea because I find it hysterical.

I Thought it was a good read from a coordination side of things.