The author of Imperial Life in the Emerald City (a finalist for the National Book Award) now gives us the startling, behind-the-scenes story of the struggle between President Obama and the military to remake Afghanistan.

In this extraordinarily insightful, illuminating book, Rajiv Chandrasekaran focuses on southern Afghanistan in the year of Obama's surge, and reveals the epic tug of war that occurred between the president and a military that, once on the ground, increasingly went its own way. This political battle's profound ramifications for the region and the world are laid bare through a cast of fascinating characters--disillusioned and inept diplomats, frustrated soldiers, headstrong officers--who played a part in the process of pumping American money and soldiers into Afghan nation-building. What emerges is a detailed picture of unsavory compromise--warlords who were to be marginalized suddenly embraced, the Karzai family transformed from foe to friend, fighting corruption no longer a top priority--and a venture that has become unsustainable in every way: politically, financially, and strategically.