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  • Left of Boom

  • How a Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
  • By: Douglas Laux, Ralph Pezzullo
  • Narrated by: Mike Dawson
  • Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (34 ratings)

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Left of Boom cover art

Left of Boom

By: Douglas Laux, Ralph Pezzullo
Narrated by: Mike Dawson
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Publisher's Summary

The explosive New York Times best seller!

On September 11, 2001, Doug Laux was a freshman in college, on the path to becoming a doctor. But with the fall of the Twin Towers came a turning point in his life. After graduating, he joined the Central Intelligence Agency, determined to get himself to Afghanistan and into the center of the action. Through persistence and hard work, he was fast-tracked to a clandestine operations position overseas. Dropped into a remote region of Afghanistan, he received his baptism by fire.

Frustrated by bureaucratic red tape, a widespread lack of knowledge of the local customs and culture, and an attitude of complacency that hindered his ability to combat the local Taliban, Doug confounded his peers by dressing like a native and mastering the local dialect, making contacts, and building sources within several deadly terrorist networks. His new approach resulted in unprecedented successes, including uncovering the largest IED network in the world, responsible for killing hundreds of US soldiers.

Meanwhile, Doug had to keep up false pretenses with his family, girlfriend, and friends - nobody could know what he did for a living - and deal with the emotional turbulence of constantly living a lie. His double life was building to an explosive resolution, with repercussions that would have far reaching consequences.

©2016 Douglas Laux (P)2016 Douglas Laux

What listeners say about Left of Boom

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great book but...

The number of redacted parts in the early stages of the book lead to a very disjointed listening experience had me wondering if I'd finish the book or not. Understandably frustrating to the author (and listener alike) the number of redactions illustrates the censorship hoops authors have to go through to get a book like this to print and suspect this is why they remain in tact n this audio book version (covered over by classical music). This is my only negative on what is a well written and insightful book. I enjoyed it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good read, shame about redacted bits

Really enjoyed this book, it was a shame about the redacted bits, those missing but with a true story. Certainly did a great job for his country. Real character, Shame the bureaucracy let him down.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible

There is no story line to follow, it's all classical music where the storyline has been deducted

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The beeps make you crazy

Great story but the blocking out of works and the rest drove me crazy. Other wise would of been a brilliant book

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

One of the worst books ever written

Hated the context though nothing surprises these days. I needed grit and determination to finish it. Reinforced the notion that leaving would have been best. The Narrator did a good job with a bad story line.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

excellent, gripping , informative and funny.

excellent, gripping , informative and funny.

that pretty much sums this book up. Well worth the listen.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Left of Boom no happy

Well I brought my first audiobook being a book named Left of Boom about a CIA operative in Afghanistan.
Being a big fan of this type of book I was excited about my first audiobook.
Was completely shocked to find the audio had been censored by a heavy handed CIA. Audio voice would be cut and filled with classical music, very frustrating.
I would like my money back as this is a complete rip off.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating true story

Amazing true story, great mix of spies, war and love. Well narrated, easy to listen

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