Kyle Harrison
to-read
First In
First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan
- Author
- Gary C. Schroen
- Published
- 2005
- Pages
- 400
- Recommended
- Once
Why it’s on the list: Schroen led the first CIA team into the Panjshir Valley after September 11 with cash and satellite phones — a first-person account of the weeks before the conventional military arrived.
Where I saw it: In the reply thread to @typesfast’s question, “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 5, 2025) — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved to his Apple Note “Books To Read”; the full set of replies lives on What’s the best history book… (tweet). It was listed there as “First In: An Insider’s Account of the CIA”.
Connections
- Foreign Policy — The policy the operation was the leading edge of.
- Terrorism — The war it opens.
- What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this recommendation came from.