Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of Michael Ames's books

6 ratings | 1 review | avg rating:5.00

Michael Ames’s Followers (3)

Michael’s Bookshelves

to-read (2)
currently-reading (1)
read (5)
did-not-finish (0)

Michael’s Friends (6)

Richie

1,555 books | 74 friends

Nicholas MacInnis

117 books | 64 friends

Scott A

193 books | 10 friends

Ben Rashkovich

1,151 books | 33 friends

Danielle Travers

324 books | 90 friends

Lauren Diemar

1,204 books | 46 friends

Michael Ames

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

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

Twitter

mirkel

Genre

Nonfiction, Biography, History

Member Since

January 2014

edit data

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.
...more

Combine Editions
Michael Ames’s books

Average rating: 4.23 · 453 ratings · 73 reviews · 5 distinct works

	American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan by Matt Farwell, Michael Ames (Goodreads Author) 4.26 avg rating — 433 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

More books by Michael Ames…

Michael is Currently Reading

Michael Ames is currently reading

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

by Matt Farwell

bookshelves: currently-reading

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

Nov 14, 2021 08:04AM

rss
Michael’s Recent Updates

Michael Ames liked McCall Sinclair's review of American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan: "Truthfully I just think Matt’s cool. Shout out to coauthor too tho. Can’t vouch for him but he also wrote the book. "
Sep 28, 2026 10:54AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of American Cipher by Matt Farwell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — American Cipher by Matt Farwell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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 · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of American Cipher by Matt Farwell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — American Cipher by Matt Farwell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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 · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of American Cipher by Matt Farwell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — American Cipher by Matt Farwell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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 · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of American Cipher by Matt Farwell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — American Cipher by Matt Farwell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">