My Share of the Task

Stanley McChrystal's memoir sets out to explore frankly the major episodes and controversies of his career, from his first day as a West Point plebe to his last day as a four-star general. Its organising claim is that leadership is best understood where history, command and personal experience intersect. McChrystal joined a troubled post-Vietnam army, and he describes the outstanding leaders he served with alongside the handful of poor ones he learned not to emulate. He traces how a traditional military establishment turned itself, within a single generation, into the adaptive and resilient force later tested in Iraq, Afghanistan and the wider War on Terror. Much of the book covers special operations, including the Joint Special Operations Command, which he led from 2003 to 2008 and which gathered large amounts of intelligence in order to find the most influential and dangerous figures in Al Qaeda in Iraq. The hunt for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi drives some of the most gripping passages, involving tricky interrogations, scarce technology, weeks of unbroken surveillance and agonising decisions. His account of Afghanistan draws on close relationships with Afghan leaders. McChrystal writes that what he will remember most are the leaders.

Written from the open Library catalogue description of the book.

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