Jawbreaker - by Gary Berntsen & Ralph Pezzullo (Paperback)

About the Book

Berntsen, until recently one of the CIAUs most decorated officers, comes out from under cover for the first time to describe his no-holds-barred pursuit of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

Book Synopsis

The Book the CIA Doesn't Want You to Read

Gary Berntsen, the CIA's key commander coordinating the fight against the Taliban forces around Kabul, comes out from under cover for the first time to describe his no-holds-barred pursuit--and cornering--of Osama bin Laden, and the reason the terrorist leader escaped American retribution. As disturbingly eye-opening as it is adrenaline-charged, Jawbreaker races from CIA war rooms to diplomatic offices to mountaintop redoubts to paint a vivid portrait of a new kind of warfare, showing what can and should be done to deal a death blow to freedom's enemies.

Review Quotes

"A thrilling read . . . Berntsen did his best to try to get bin Laden; many in Washington have yet to do theirs."--The Washington Post

"Gripping . . . this honest account doesn't do the president any favors."--The New York Times

"The hunt for Osama bin Laden is the story of courageous CIA officers, like Gary Berntsen, repeatedly finding him and U.S. political and military leaders refusing to kill him. Jawbreaker--which CIA leaders tried to suppress to protect America's bipartisan political elite and its military sycophants--precisely describes the eleventh such opportunity since 1998, and again shows that uniformed bureaucrats masquerading as U.S. generals let bin Laden escape."--Michael Scheuer, author of Imperial Hubris and Through Our Enemies' Eyes

"Jawbreaker is a real page turner . . . Berntsen was the CIA's 'go to guy' when it came to leading in Afghanistan, owing to his exceptional operational and leadership skills in situations involving the threat of immediate danger. Berntsen is brave and bold and a true American hero."--Cofer Black, former Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's Counterterrorism Center

About the Author

Gary Berntsen spent more than twenty years as an officer in the Clandestine Service and served in an array of Field Command assignments. He has been awarded both the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the Intelligence Star.

Ralph Pezzullo is a former journalist, award-winning playwright, and screenwriter, and is the author of At the Fall of Samoza, Plunging into Haiti, and the mystery novel Eve Missing.