No Good Men Among the LivingNo Good Men Among the Living
Score Modern
What it's about
Anand Gopal, a journalist, tells the story of America's war in Afghanistan through three Afghans: a Taliban commander, a warlord backed by the United States, and a village housewife caught between them. He shows how, after the Taliban were defeated in 2001, American mistakes and local feuds brought them back.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. It's a revealing, ground-level account of the war.
You'll love it if you liked
The Forever War
The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
A Thousand Splendid SunsGood to know
It describes torture and killings.
By the numbers
- Readers98 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics51 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz3 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
On our reserve shelf: it doesn't have enough readers yet for us to rank it alongside the Must-Read 50 pool. We check again every month, and it can still turn up in your 50 once you've read most of our ranked books.
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story, Dark
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Quick answers
Is No Good Men Among the Living worth reading?
It was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Its Must-Read Score is 80.1 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is No Good Men Among the Living about?
Anand Gopal, a journalist, tells the story of America's war in Afghanistan through three Afghans: a Taliban commander, a warlord backed by the United States, and a village housewife caught between them. He shows how, after the Taliban were defeated in 2001, American mistakes and local feuds brought them back.
How long does it take to read No Good Men Among the Living?
About 8 hours (319 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after No Good Men Among the Living?
If you liked it, try The Forever War by Dexter Filkins, The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright or A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.