The Mercenary

The Mercenary is one of the most important books about America’s longest war. It is a story of two individuals from two different continents brought together by war, and their courage, absolute commitment, and sacrifices for each other will make you laugh, cry, rage, break your heart, then make you laugh again and again until you are healed. It reads like an immersive thriller, but it is more compelling because the events are true and riveting. Mr. Stern has managed to show how the levers of power in Afghanistan devastate ordinary Afghans who try to make a living. The Mercenary is a must-read.

It’s remarkable how little we understand about what really went on in America’s twenty-year war in Afghanistan. The Mercenary is not just a story about that war—it’s a story about the misunderstanding that defined it. At once heart-pounding and complex, personal and expansive, this book is full of guns and dust and fast cars, but also something key to great war reporting: heart.

A moving story full of humanity and great curiosity. A riveting and heart-pounding war story. The Mercenary is a special book.

This is an extraordinary account of friendship between a journalist and his driver in wartime Afghanistan. Mr. Stern's brilliantly written and unvarnished portrayal of his debut as a bumbling wannabe war correspondent and close friendship with his driver, a man with a shrewd eye for opportunity, provides an important window into the spiral of corruption and violence perpetrated by the West’s war. A must read for those seeking a first hand view into the business of war in Afghanistan and those caught up in the madness.
 

“An affecting story of the human costs of a war.”

"The Mercenary, by Jeffrey E. Stern, is ostensibly about a driver in Afghanistan, but again, it’s so beautifully told and riveting that it’s a page-turner even for people who don’t care about foreign policy. I haven’t stayed up reading this late in a long time."

"A gripping account of the terror and chaos of the Afghanistan war."

"Stern’s account of a bond he developed with a cab driver during the early days of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, has accomplished a tremendous feat inasmuch as every paragraph aims to tell the truth."