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Michael Ames

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://www.michael-ames.com/

Twitter

mirkel

Genre

Nonfiction, Biography, History

Member Since

January 2014

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Ames is an investigative reporter and contributor to The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine and Newsweek. He has also reported for The Atlantic, Slate, The Daily Beast, and The Believer. Prior to moving to New York City, he worked for nine years in southern Idaho as a newspaper reporter and magazine editor. In 2015, his cover story for Newsweek on the Bergdahl scandal was the first journalistic investigation to establish that the Pentagon had buried intelligence about Bergdahl’s location in Pakistan and used the missing soldier crisis as a strategic battlefield opportunity. In 2016, Ames teamed up with former Army infantryman Matt Farwell to write the definitive history of the case for Penguin Press.
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Combine Editions
Michael Ames’s books

Average rating: 4.22 · 436 ratings · 69 reviews · 6 distinct works

	American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan by Matt Farwell, Michael Ames (Goodreads Author) 4.26 avg rating — 416 ratings — published 2019 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The World Beard and Moustache Championships: The First Official Book 3.47 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2004 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	American Cipher: One Soldier’s Nightmare in the Afghanistan War by Matt Farwell, Michael Ames (Goodreads Author) 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cruisers 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2009 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Auster: Nearly All You Wanted to Know by Michael Edward Preston, Michael Ames (Goodreads Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Michael Ames is currently reading

American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan

by Matt Farwell

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Nov 14, 2021 08:04AM

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Michael Ames liked Sneaky Dan's review of American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan: "I don’t know why I have no recollection of this stuff. I was definitely keeping up with the news back then. Anywho. Amazing book written by an amazing writer with more credibility than most on the topic. Impossible to zoom in on any single fraction o" Read more of this review »
Mar 20, 2026 07:34PM · see review
Michael Ames liked Amberly Dzimira's review of American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan: "One word: tea. "
Mar 20, 2026 07:31PM · see review
Michael Ames liked Mark's review of American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan: "American Cipher explores the failures of the bureaucratic U.S. military and government through the experiences of 23-year-old POW, Bowe Bergdahl. Private Bergdahl spent nearly 5 years in Haqanni (Taliban-adjacent) captivity. Farwell and Ames take a d" Read more of this review »
Mar 20, 2026 07:31PM · see review
Michael Ames liked Kat Noble's review of American Cipher: One Soldier’s Nightmare in the Afghanistan War: "Farwell served in the US Army infantry for five years and spent sixteen months in Afghanistan. He is now a freelance writer for magazines such as Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and Playboy. Ames has worked as a news reporter and magazine editor, and is a " Read more of this review »
Mar 20, 2026 07:31PM · see review
Michael Ames started reading American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan by Matt Farwell	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 07, 2025 07:03AM · like