American Cipher
One Soldier's Nightmare in the Afghanistan War
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American Cipher
Buy Now for $25.49
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Narrated by:
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Christopher Ryan Grant
About this listen
The explosive narrative of the life, captivity and trial of Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier who was abducted by the Taliban and whose story has served as a symbol for America's foundering war in Afghanistan.
In the early hours of June 30th, 2009, Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl walked off his platoon's base. Since that day, easy answers to the many questions surrounding his case have proved elusive. Why did he leave his post? What kinds of efforts were made to recover him from the Taliban? And why, facing court martial, did he plead guilty to the serious charges against him?
In American Cipher, journalists Matt Farwell and Michael Ames persuasively argue that the Bergdahl story is as illuminating an episode as we have as we seek the larger truths of how the United States lost its way in Afghanistan. Telling the parallel stories of an idealistic, misguided young soldier and a nation stalled in an unwinnable war, the book reveals the fallout that ensued when the two collided, and in the process, provides a definitive corrective to the composite of narratives - many simplistic or flawed, unfair or untrue - that have contributed to the Bergdahl myth.
Based on years of exclusive reporting drawing on dozens of sources throughout the military, government, and Bergdahl's family, friends, and fellow soldiers, American Cipher is at once a meticulous investigation of government dysfunction and political posturing, a blistering commentary on America's presence in Afghanistan, and a heart-breaking chronicle of a naive young man who thought he could fix the world and wound up as the tool of forces far beyond his understanding.
©2017 Michael Ames, Matt Farwell (P)2017 Penguin Random House AudioShocking
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by Matt Farwell & Michael Ames
(also published as American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan)
American Cipher sets out to untangle one of the most controversial military stories of the post-9/11 era: the disappearance, captivity, and eventual release of U.S. Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl.
The book opens with the now-infendiary events of June 30, 2009, when Private First Class Bergdahl walked away from his post in eastern Afghanistan. He was almost immediately captured, sold to the Taliban, and held for nearly five years—the longest-held American POW since Vietnam. His 2014 release, exchanged for five Taliban detainees from Guantánamo Bay and marked by a Rose Garden ceremony with President Obama, was swiftly followed by fierce backlash. Former platoon mates accused him of desertion, reigniting a national debate: traitor, hero, or something far more complicated?
While the book promises to answer that question, Bergdahl’s story often feels only partially centred. Large sections are devoted to the authors’ broader critique of the Afghanistan war, U.S. military leadership, and government dysfunction. At times, these digressions feel unbalanced, pulling focus away from the emotional and psychological core of Bergdahl’s experience. I went into this hoping for a deeper understanding—and perhaps some empathy—for Bergdahl himself. Instead, the narrative frequently shifts outward, diluting what could have been a more intimate and devastating portrait.
When the book does focus on Bergdahl, the depiction is deeply unsettling. It becomes clear that he was profoundly ill-suited for military service, something many around him appeared to recognise well before his deployment. His failure to complete Coast Guard training, rigid worldview, and naïveté raise uncomfortable questions about how he was allowed into the Army at all, let alone sent to a combat zone. One of the most striking revelations is that few who knew him were truly surprised by what happened—an indictment not just of Bergdahl, but of the systems that placed him in that position.
Structurally, the book jumps frequently between timelines, locations, and an overwhelming number of names and subplots, many of which are introduced briefly and then abandoned. The result is a narrative that feels expansive without always being cohesive. I often wished the authors had either gone much deeper into Bergdahl’s personal story or tightened the scope considerably. Sitting awkwardly between biography, war critique, and political analysis, the book sometimes feels unfocused.
The political framing is another weak point. The authors repeatedly position the Bergdahl case as a major factor in the 2016 U.S. election, which felt overstated. While the case was undeniably politicised and influenced public discourse around his trial, it never carried the same electoral weight as other major issues of the time. That insistence rang hollow.
That said, American Cipher does succeed in capturing how complex, tragic, and morally grey the Bergdahl story truly is. I ultimately agree with the outcome of the trial and firmly believe he should never have been deployed in the first place. His decisions were catastrophically poor—but they also reflect failures far beyond a single individual. In that sense, Bergdahl’s story raises deeply troubling questions about U.S. military screening, leadership accountability, and the broader purpose and conduct of the Afghanistan war itself.
I was particularly interested in the sections involving Jason Amerine, having previously read The Only Thing Worth Dying For by Eric Blehm, and those moments added valuable context to the wider conflict.
Overall, American Cipher is ambitious and often thought-provoking, but it struggles with balance and focus. Bergdahl’s story is compelling enough on its own—it didn’t need quite so much editorial expansion to make its point.
An Important Story Undermined by a Lack of Focus
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