Ian Fritz was an Airborne Cryptologic Linguist in the United States Air Force from 2008­–2013. He became a physician after completing his enlistment and is the author of What the Taliban Told Me.

"The war in Afghanistan ranks as America’s longest, a conflict that started with strong public support in 2001 but ended two decades later misunderstood, controversial—and unwon. Ian Fritz’s book illuminates not only the American side, the little-known polyglot world of U.S. military linguists in particular, but also that of the Taliban. Fritz has done something difficult and noteworthy. He is a blunt and thoughtful guide who brings the Taliban to us in their own words, beyond the caricatures, and helps us understand who they, “the enemy,” really are—their war zone comradery, motivations, and humor amid all the violence. And why, in the end, they won the war. In these pages, Taliban voices have lasting echoes because Ian Fritz is a good listener and compelling writer." —J. Kael Weston, author of The Mirror Test: America at War in Iraq and Afghanistan

Ian Fritz was an Airborne Cryptologic Linguist in the United States Air Force from 2008­–2013. He became a physician after completing his enlistment and is the author of What the Taliban Told Me.

"The war in Afghanistan ranks as America’s longest, a conflict that started with strong public support in 2001 but ended two decades later misunderstood, controversial—and unwon. Ian Fritz’s book illuminates not only the American side, the little-known polyglot world of U.S. military linguists in particular, but also that of the Taliban. Fritz has done something difficult and noteworthy. He is a blunt and thoughtful guide who brings the Taliban to us in their own words, beyond the caricatures, and helps us understand who they, “the enemy,” really are—their war zone comradery, motivations, and humor amid all the violence. And why, in the end, they won the war. In these pages, Taliban voices have lasting echoes because Ian Fritz is a good listener and compelling writer." —J. Kael Weston, author of The Mirror Test: America at War in Iraq and Afghanistan

Ian Fritz was an Airborne Cryptologic Linguist in the United States Air Force from 2008­–2013. He became a physician after completing his enlistment and is the author of What the Taliban Told Me.

"The war in Afghanistan ranks as America’s longest, a conflict that started with strong public support in 2001 but ended two decades later misunderstood, controversial—and unwon. Ian Fritz’s book illuminates not only the American side, the little-known polyglot world of U.S. military linguists in particular, but also that of the Taliban. Fritz has done something difficult and noteworthy. He is a blunt and thoughtful guide who brings the Taliban to us in their own words, beyond the caricatures, and helps us understand who they, “the enemy,” really are—their war zone comradery, motivations, and humor amid all the violence. And why, in the end, they won the war. In these pages, Taliban voices have lasting echoes because Ian Fritz is a good listener and compelling writer." —J. Kael Weston, author of The Mirror Test: America at War in Iraq and Afghanistan