"A remarkable detective story by two of the nation's best reporters. With meticulous research and fine storytelling, "Counterstrike "reveals who, what, when, where, and why in describing the long campaign by the United States government to demolish Al Qaeda and ultimately to kill Osama bin Laden." - Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "An Army at Dawn" "Counterstrike" lays bare the provocative new ideas that are driving the war on terrorism. Generals often talk about changing the hearts and minds of people in faraway lands, but Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker reveal the importance of changing the hearts and minds of America's defense strategists. This is a groundbreaking intellectual history that is also a great read." - Jessica Stern, author of "Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill"

Eric Schmitt is a terrorism correspondent for The New York Times,and has embedded with troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Pakistan. Schmitt has twice been a member of Times reporting teams that were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in the Washington, D.C., area.

Thom Shanker, Pentagon correspondent for The New York Times, routinely spends time embedded with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shanker was formerly a foreign editor and correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, based in Moscow, Berlin, and Sarajevo. He lives in the Washington, D.C., area.