Manhunt

DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!

Do not miss this one! I followed George W. Bush’s war on terror and the new policies of Barack Obama through news reports and through many of the books published over the years. The books ranged from excellent to slanted political rants. Peter Bergen’s thoughtful, well written and well sourced book is one of the best. It is outstanding!

He takes the listener along from the beginning to end of Operation Neptune Spear after ten long years of searching for clues as to the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden. Familiar names of politicians and political appointees turn up in new roles and positions to make decisions about whether new information is accurate enough to risk deadly action. How much risk, diplomatically, internationally, and politically are we willing to take to remove the head of the organization that inflicted 9/11 us.

I gained a greater understanding of and sympathy for people in the planning process at the highest level of government when decisions have life and death consequences. As the planning progressed and what seemed like an infinite number of “what if” scenarios were raised and analyzed trying to reduce the odds of failure one more point, I found myself wanting to scream “Just do it. You cannot get to zero risk when people are involved.” Maybe if the people are Navy SEALS there is a better chance to reach zero risk than we know. There is suspense. There is action. There are scenes in the White House and in Bin Laden’s bedroom. I am neither in the military nor in politics, but I can highly recommend “MANHUNT.” The narration and the writing are excellent.

It is a great listen.

A true "page turner"

Would you consider the audio edition of Manhunt to be better than the print version?

Bergen's detail account loses no momentum from beginning to end. Researched, documented and well written, the docudrama pulls the "reader" forward toward a very satisfyingly suspenseful conclusion. Mark Deakins narration adds zest and pace and his voice impressions are mostly in character.
All in all, a very worthwhile investment of time and money/

Exciting And comprehensive

Any additional comments?

Liked the narration very much EXCEPT for the accents Deakins tried to adopt when quoting someone, they are comical, sometimes painful to listen to.

Not great, but it is is good

I buy many of my books because of the reviews and this is why I bought Manhunt. The reviews were very good so my expectations were very high. I enjoyed the book but was actually disappointed a little. It was interesting but did not live up to the five star reviews.
I would actually give it a 3.5 to 3.7 as it is better than average but certainly not a 5 star book.

Fascinating! Don't miss this one.

This is great storytelling, with just the right amount of detail and well told. I hadn't really realized how interesting each part of it would be, peeking behind the scenes at every stage of the process. I found the coverage balanced, not favouring any particular outlook or presidency. It IS a great success of the Obama presidency and, even though I don't support him overall, we all can celebrate successes by any president, hopefully. After all, we're all Americans! (I'm actually Canadian, but you know what I mean).

Women especially, haven't you wondered how his wives fit into all of this, what kind of people they were, how they lived? In this book, you find out.

In the epilogue of the book, he relates the other threats of militant Islam besides Al Qaida, which by this point in time, after he wrote the book, have proved to be very troubling indeed. Bergen doesn't see the whole movement as a threat overall to the West, comparable to Communism or Nazism, and I hope he's right. Time only will tell. I think it's better to take it seriously though and I think the real story is NOT that Bush screwed up in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that there aren't easy answers to this threat and no president would likely have been able to 'fix' it. I think it should be clear it's a long struggle, dating perhaps from 1979, and obviously still with us.

But this book is a riveting account of every stage of this particular mission and for anyone even slightly interested, a very enjoyable book!

A good look at high level decision making

Where does Manhunt rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is an important book. Mr. Bergen had extensive access to very senior level people in writing 'Manhunt', including Presidents Clinton, Bush, and especially President Obama.

Many senior cabinet officers and senior military and intelligence leaders are quoted. I believe this book to be about as authentic account of the hunt for OBL as any civilian could write.

On the downside, I had one quibble and one serious problem with 'Manhunt':

Quibble: The author, as one would expect of a NYT reporter, worships at the church of Obama. Everything Obama is portrayed in the most positive possible light. Long boring paragraphs are devoted to praising our President. Given the recent terrorism directed against our diplomats in the middle east, Bergen's glowing tributes to Obama's diplomatic skills seems very outdated.

To be fair to Bergen, while his tone towards President Bush is fairly negative, Bergen does explain why so many senior officials (including Senators Clinton and Kerry) believed that Iraq had WMD's prior to the invasion of that country. This was important information that Bergen puts on the record.

Substantial problem: There is way too much detailed information about classified intelligent sources and methods reveled in this book. I can't blame Mr. Bergen, he's reporting what creditable senior people told him, but I do blame glory seeking politicians for putting their short term political ambitions ahead of the long term good of the country.

'Manhunt' is an excellent companion to 'No Easy Day' by Mark Owen. Mr. Bergen takes you into the high level decision making process that lead up to the raid.

Mr. Owen's book is written from the point of view of the grunt on the ground.

Together one gains an excellent appreciation of the skill required to pull off an operation like 'Neptune Spear'.

Net/net 'Manhunt' should leave any reader impressed with how effective our governmental leadership can be when they really work together on a difficult problem.

Recommended.

Have you listened to any of Mark Deakins’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Mr. Deakins does an excellent job with this narration. The production quality of this audio book is excellent.

I had to give Mr. Deakins only four stars, because (like so many American narrators) he can't really 'do' foreign accents, he sounds silly when he tries.

Enlightening

The book is a glimpse into the past that helps us understand the present. It is neither dry nor boring. It reads more like a novel than a history book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and had difficulty pushing "stop" at times. If you like politics and current affairs/news, you will like this book.

A Real Live Thriller

Would you listen to Manhunt again? Why?

Yes because there is lots of information that needs to be absorbed and because it is a story about a significant subject that has consequences now and in our country''s and the world's future.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Manhunt?

The detail about the planning that went into the raid and killing of Bin Laden

Which character – as performed by Mark Deakins – was your favorite?

I had no favorite character -- the story itself was fabulously interesting.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No - I liked prolonging the read so that I could absorb the content - I will probably will reread it. Next time I made actually read it and not listen to it.

Any additional comments?

I loved this book and I loved the detail with which the story unfolded. One criticism I did not like the reader imitating women's voices and the dialect of people who were Muslim or Arabic. That felt condescending.. I would have preferd the reader just using his own voice without changes in his voice.

fact is better than fiction

What did you like about this audiobook?

I thought this book might get slow or or be slanted one way or the other.

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

It's just the facts. It really gets into how the terrorists work and how the CIA works.

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

Just how the structure of both the terrorists and the CIA are so different than anything you read in fiction.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

How risky the hit on Bin Ladin's compound was. There were a number of other outcomes from that situation that could have spun US foreign relations in vastly different directions.

Do you have any additional comments?

I'm not much for politics but this was a quick read and a great look in at how decisions, for good or bad, are really made with regard to foreign policy, as well as the role the president played in everything.

Holds your attention

Would you listen to Manhunt again? Why?

I liked the book and will probably listen to it again sometime because there are a lot of details in the book. I did enjoy the book, but the author is not totally objective. I like the insights into how difficult the decision was for President Obama. .