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008			220316s2022 nyu 000 0deng
010			_a2022007217
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043			_an-us--- _aa-af---
050	0	0	_aDS371.413 _b.A25 2022
082	0	0	_a958.104/745 _223/eng/20220316
092			_a958.1047 ACK
100	1		_aAckerman, Elliot,
245	1	4	_aThe fifth act : _bAmerica's end in Afghanistan / _cElliot Ackerman.
246	3		_aAfghanistan.
246	3	0	_aAmerica's end in Afghanistan.
263			_a2208.
264		1	_aNew York : _bPenguin Press, _c2022.
300			_a276 pages : _bphotographs, illustrations : _c24 cm.
336			_atext _btxt _2rdacontent.
337			_aunmediated _bn _2rdamedia.
338			_avolume _bnc _2rdacarrier.
505	0		_aAct I The convoy of 109 -- Act II The second convoy -- Act III The north gate -- Act IV The abbey gate -- Act V The fifth act.
520			_a"A powerful and revelatory eyewitness account of the American collapse in Afghanistan, its desperate endgame, and the war's echoing legacy Elliot Ackerman left the American military ten years ago, but his time in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Marines and, later, as a CIA paramilitary officer marked him indelibly. When the Taliban began to close in on Kabul in August of 2021 and the Afghan regime began its death spiral, he found himself pulled back into the conflict. Afghan nationals who had, for years, worked closely with the American military and intelligence communities now faced brutal reprisal and sought frantically to flee the country with their families. The official US government evacuation process was a bureaucratic failure that led to a humanitarian catastrophe. With his former colleagues, and friends, protecting the airport in Kabul, Ackerman was drawn into an impromptu effort alongside a group of journalists, and other veterans, to arrange flights and negotiate with both Taliban and American forces to secure the safe evacuation of hundreds. These were desperate measures taken during a desperate end to America's longest war, but the success they achieved afforded a degree of redemption. And, for Ackerman, a chance to reconcile his past with his present. The Fifth Act is an astonishing human document that brings the weight of twenty years of war to bear on a single week at its bitter end. Using the dramatic rescue efforts in Kabul as his lattice, Ackerman weaves in a personal history of the war's long progress, beginning with the initial invasion in the months after 9/11. It is a play in five acts, the fifth act being the story's tragic denouement, a prelude to Afghanistan's dark future. Any reader who wants to understand what went wrong with the war's trajectory will find a trenchant accounting here. And yet The Fifth Act is not an exercise in finger-pointing: it brings readers into close contact with a remarkable group of characters, American and Afghan, who fought the war with courage and dedication, in good faith and at great personal cost. Understanding combatants' experiences and sacrifices while reckoning with the complex bottom line of the post-9/11 wars is not an easy balance; it demands reservoirs of wisdom and the gifts of an extraordinary storyteller. It asks for an author willing to grapple with certain hard-earned truths. In Elliot Ackerman, this story has found that author. The Fifth Act is a first draft of history that feels like a timeless classic"-- _cProvided by publisher.
600	1	0	_aAckerman, Elliot.
610	1	0	_aUnited States. _bCentral Intelligence Agency.
610	1	0	_aUnited States. _bMarine Corps. _bMarine Regiment, 8th. _bBattalion, 1st.
650		0	_aAfghan War, 2001-2021 _vPersonal narratives, American.
650		0	_aAfghan War, 2001-2021 _xEvacuation of civilians.
650		0	_aAfghan War, 2001-2021 _xPeace.
650		0	_aDisengagement (Military science)
650		0	_aParamilitary forces _zAfghanistan.
655		7	_aPersonal narratives. _2lcgft.
776	0	8	_iOnline version: _aAckerman, Elliot. _tFifth act _dNew York : Penguin Press, 2022 _z9780593492055 _w(DLC) 2022007218.
999			_c522907 _d522907