Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War
by Michael Isikoff
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 189)
A bit tedious, and there's way too much ink spent on the Valerie Plame affair, but still a useful primer on how a majority of the American populace (me included) was duped into supporting the military intervention in Iraq. From the dubious rationale for the invasion (aluminum tubes + yellowcake from Niger = mushroom clouds!) to the early days of the botched occupation, the authors provide staggering detail from government officials and other witnesses that reveal an administration all too gung-h...more
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Read in January, 2007
This is an amazing expose of the events and decisions following 9/11 that ended with the invasion of Iraq. I read this book because it was written by not one, but two investigative journalists of opposing political viewpoints. The authors researched and wrote in a cooperative effort to get at the unbiased truth. And the truth is extremely enlightening and amazing. In fact, after reading this book you will be very mad at the men and women who now run this country.
A very well-written, fact...more
A very well-written, fact...more
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
political junkies
I read this book because my boss wrote it (David Corn). I think it started to lag in the second half-- just got too nitty-gritty, I guess-- but it's worth reading if you want to understand as best as anyone can how we ended up at war in Iraq. It's pretty crazy; you really can't make this stuff up. A good example of muckraking. A lot of the questions that democratic congressmen have just started to ask are already answered-- in this book. Needless to say, given I am such a slow reader, this book ...more
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Read in March, 2008
An excellent chronicle in absolute terms, although after Woodward's plan of attack a lot of it feels familiar (except for this book's in-depth discussion of the valerie plame affair, with which woodward was loosely involved). And I've read enough on Iraq lately that it becomes hard to keep everything straight. I think I'm going to take a break from this topic for a while so my blood pressure can recover. Although it was fun to read the book's rather blunt condemnations of judith miller.
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Read in November, 2007
A strong account of the idiocy which has led us into the Iraq war. It does stay pretty much to the narrative of what the two authower were able to uncover on their own, and doesn't make too many leaps with the evidence into motives. However the evidence they are able to uncover is damning enough. If you are looking for the deeper reasons of "why", there are probably other books which would be of more interest (e.g Greg Palast's work).
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Read in October, 2007
This book presents overwhelming evidence that the Bush and Cheney decided to go to war in Iraq a long time ago, even before 9/11, and details exactly how they strong-armed intelligence officials into delivering any scraps that could be distorted into evidence in favor of the predetermined decision to invade. They lied, they covered up their lies, they got away with it, and it is happening again.
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Read in December, 2007
This is a great and very detailed account of the intelligence failures of the Bush Administration leading up to the war as well as a step by step time line of where, when and how. I don't think anyone reading this book can ignore the complete and udder arrogance this administration processes, and well as their complete failure and attempts to hide that failure.
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
those interestested in background of CIA, Whitehouse, & Media's influence in atttacking Iraq.
I thought it was a good read, but it may not be for everyone. I found myself daydreaming through parts only to have to re-read the section. The author pieces together information that I have heard from separate sources into one book. If you know the key players then you may really enjoy the book, but there may be others out there that do a better job.
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Read in August, 2007
Seems like a number of books I read have to do with "what happened." (I have a bunch of engineering disaster books I have yet to add here.) I think my curiosity in that way led to reading this. It has a ton of detail, maybe too much for those not riveted by the subject, but it was strange and scary trip I found mesmerizing.
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Read in August, 2007
This book was informative but at the same time it was depressing. I have never really seen a more appropriate title to a book other than the dictionary. I was upset that people could be so blinded by their own beliefs that rational objective thinking is ignored because it doesn't mesh with what they believe.
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Read in August, 2007
It you're a Bush supporter, you probably don't want to read this book. The rest of you will find confirmation in this book for what you've suspected and feared all along. It fills in many of the details behind some of the news stories that we've been hearing over the past several years about the Iraq War.
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Richard Armatage was the outer of Valerie Phlame. George Bush probably really believed there were WMDs in Iraq but it didn't really matter to him anyway. Dick Cheney and Carl Rove are really dangerous people who don't listen to facts.
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Read in December, 2006
recommended to Don by:
Professor Jacobs, AMUrecommends it for: Those who are interested in Government and Politics
Michael Isikoff and David Corn are two of my favortie writers. They have done a terrific job of bringing out the events that transpired during the build-up to the war in Iraq. Very interesting and noteworthy of a must read.
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Read in August, 2007
The first half is really quite riveting. But the author gets bogged down in too many esoteric details towards the middle and end. It was an interesting read, but tough to finish.
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Read in September, 2007
Wanting to know more about how and why Bush's team took us to war in Iraq, this treatise fills the bill. Some of the detail(s) probably were more than I needed.
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956.7044 I The title tells it all. Written by two well known journalists. What was interesting is that Isikoff leans right and Corn is liberal.
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Really hard to ignore that the author is one of the many reasons the war was successfully sold by the mainstream media to the American public.
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The real problem with books like this, no matter how well crafted, is how it builds one's cynicism toward national leadership in general
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone interested in politics
A good book that gives an insight into the leadup to the 2003 Iraq war.Gives excellent details about the Valerie Plame affair.
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This country went to war based upon very sketchy intelligence. Those in the Bush administration knew it but didn't care.
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