With a secondhand motorcycle, the support of a few powerful tribesmen and a good friend in the CIA, the unknown Hamid Karzai willed himself to power as the new hope of Afghanistan. Acclaimed journalist Bette Dam chronicles the astonishing rise of Afghanistan's U.S.-backed leader from obscurity to one of the most influential figures in the global war on terror. Following the 2001 toppling of the Taliban, a fragile...

With a secondhand motorcycle, the support of a few powerful tribesmen and a good friend in the CIA, the unknown Hamid Karzai willed himself to power as the new hope of Afghanistan. Acclaimed journalist Bette Dam chronicles the astonishing rise of Afghanistan's U.S.-backed leader from obscurity to one of the most influential figures in the global war on terror. Following the 2001 toppling of the Taliban, a fragile Afghanistan was on the brink. Karzai, armed with a recipe for victory came within inches of helping the U.S. declare victory in the war on terror. But sentiments run high in post-9/11 America, and the desire for revenge derailed an early chance at peace. As U.S. troops leave Afghanistan, and power is handed to a new president, Karzai's legacy remains one of betrayal, mistrust, and missed opportunities.