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Fiasco (Abridged): The American Military Adventure in Iraq Audiobook
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(4.00) - 2,676 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
From the Washington Post's two-time Pulitzer-winning senior Pentagon reporter, the definitive military chronicle of the Iraq War-and a searing judgment of its gross strategic blindness-drawing on the accounts of senior military officers giving voice to their anger for the first time. Unabridged CDs - 20 CDs, 24 hours
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"Along with R. Clark's and B. Woodwards books on this subject, I now feel like I have a pretty good idea about what happened after 9/11 and during the march to war in Iraq. This book has great details about the real snafu in the Bush administration as well as in the military field. All three books show that although our forces tried to win the war, there was no plan for attacking an insurgency or for helping the country after the attack. It saddens me that, after losing so many innocent lives during 9/11, the tragedy was compounded by so many innocent lives being lost during this unnecessary war. This book ends in 2006...I would like to think that the lessons starting to be learned in 2006 were put to use in the years since then. Rumsfield, Wolfowitz, Cheney, Bremer, Rice, Powell, and Tommy Franks should be held accountable for this sham. Bush, unfortunately, is protrayed as an out-of-touch commander in chief in all three books."
— Donna (5 out of 5 stars)
Awards
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One of the 2006 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Nonfiction
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A 2007 Arthur Ross Book Award Honorable Mention
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Winner of the 2007 Ambassador Book Award for Current Affairs
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Finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
Fiasco Listener Reviews
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" Read if you want to be angry. "
— Dominique, 2/19/2014 -
" I just wish I had read this earlier. "
— Dan, 2/17/2014 -
" Hubris, and how policy can be hijacked by a few determined individuals. Even Republicans who took heart in Bush/Cheney statements regarding international interventionism are now sickened by their amateurism. I've never believed this was blood for oil, because at least I could respect the pure greed that would represent. "
— Coinboy, 2/15/2014 -
" The title says it all; and a devastatingly on-target book at the time. It had to be well-documented and sourced to fend off the neo-con criticism that would surely come its way. That "overreportage" got a little tiresome in the flow of the book, or it would have been 5-stars. "
— Don, 1/30/2014 -
" Ah. Should NOT have read this prior to deploying. All it did was make me angry! "
— Norine, 1/26/2014 -
" Great account from the military's perspective. "
— Benjamin, 12/24/2013 -
" While providing a good overview of the events leading up to OIF, the point of view is too politicized (as evidenced by the title). However, we probably won't have a neutral treatment until at least a decade from now. "
— David, 11/15/2013 -
" the book shows how willfully ignorant most of the bush administration and the army was in preparing to the war in iraq and how their poor planning helped create the insurgency. its stunning really. "
— Laith, 10/19/2013 -
" with the bush administration does this not surprise anyone................... "
— Greynomad, 10/16/2013 -
" The title is strident, but appropriate. "
— doug, 9/29/2013 -
" Great read,especially for those who have been living under a rock for the last decade. Mr. Ricks does an excellent job chronicling US involvement in the Middle East and the subsequent occupation of Iraq following 9/11. "
— Agent_M, 9/29/2013 -
" Excellent reporting, but if you have been paying attention the past 6 years there is little in the book that should surprise you. "
— Jarrod, 7/9/2013 -
" Makes an excellent companion piece to read with Cobra II. "
— Jimmy, 6/3/2013 -
" This book should make any American sick to their stomach regardless of party affiliation. To see how just a handful of people could lead a nation into war is very distrubing. "
— Brian, 5/9/2013 -
" My son, SSGT Nathan Brimmer, is right; somebody needs to go to jail. "
— Chris, 2/23/2013 -
" This is book one in a two part series. If you only read one book about how we got involved in the Iraq war, and where we are going, then this one should be it. Very well researched and documented. Do not read it without reading the second book, "The Gamble". "
— Reese, 12/20/2012 -
" For anyone who wants a detailed understanding of the war in Iraq. "
— Willie, 3/8/2012 -
" A thoroughly damning indictment of the Bush administration's foolish, ideologically fueled rush to war and the terrible consequences suffered by the Iraqi people and our military forces. Absolutely enraging. "
— John, 12/9/2011 -
" This was a fascinating book that really gives you good insights into the almost criminal lack of planning by the Bush administration for the war in Iraq. "
— Daniel, 9/4/2011 -
" A great look at the lead up to and the early years of the Iraq war. "
— Ryan, 6/21/2011 -
" This is a fascinating book not so much because of its condemnation of the conduct of the Iraq war (the incompetence is obvious to anyone who reads the news), but because of the details about individuals who have had a part to play. "
— Hank, 5/14/2011 -
" All about the surge. Interesting. "
— Cohee4, 3/28/2011
About Thomas E. Ricks
Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times bestselling author, is an adviser on national security at the New America Foundation, where he participates in its “Future of War” project. He was previously a fellow at the Center for a New American Security and is a contributing editor of Foreign Policy magazine, for which he writes the prizewinning blog The Best Defense. A member of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams, he covered US military activities in Somalia, Haiti, Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Kuwait, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He is the author of several books, including The Generals, The Gamble, and the number one New York Times bestseller Fiasco, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.