Fiasco

The American Military Adventure in Iraq

By: Thomas E. Ricks

Narrated by: James Lurie

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post senior Pentagon correspondant Thomas E. Ricks' Fiasco is masterful and explosive reckoning with the planning and execution of the American military invasion and occupation of Iraq, based on the unprecedented candor of key participants.

The American military is a tightly sealed community, and few outsiders have reason to know that a great many senior officers view the Iraq war with incredulity and dismay. But many officers have shared their anger with renowned military reporter Thomas E. Ricks, and in Fiasco, Ricks combines these astonishing on-the-record military accounts with his own extraordinary on-the-ground reportage to create a spellbinding account of an epic disaster.

As many in the military publicly acknowledge here for the first time, the guerrilla insurgency that exploded several months after Saddam's fall was not foreordained. In fact, to a shocking degree, it was created by the folly of the war's architects. But the officers who did raise their voices against the miscalculations, shortsightedness, and general failure of the war effort were generally crushed, their careers often ended. A willful blindness gripped political and military leaders, and dissent was not tolerated.

There are a number of heroes in Fiasco; inspiring leaders from the highest levels of the Army and Marine hierarchies to the men and women whose skill and bravery led to battlefield success in towns from Fallujah to Tall Afar, but again and again, strategic incoherence rendered tactical success meaningless. There was never any question that the U.S. military would topple Saddam Hussein, but as Fiasco shows, there was also never any real thought about what would come next. This blindness has ensured the Iraq war a place in history as nothing less than a fiasco.

Fair, vivid, and devastating, Fiasco is an audiobook whose tragic verdict feels definitive.

©2006 Thomas E. Ricks (P)2006 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Critic reviews

"Staggeringly vivid and persuasive...absolutely essential reading." (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

"The best account yet of the entire war." (Vanity Fair)

Informative, well argued, but highly biased

This is a well researched case against the current campaign in Iraq. The words of many witnesses are brought to bear. But for the most part the voices are heavily filtered, only keeping those that describe mistakes or personal conflict, ignoring almost any successes and areas of general agreement. I had the clear impression while listening to this book that the author first thought of the title, then wrote the book to fit that title precisely.

The only F word to describe the current situation

The tile of my review is not mine, it is a quote from the author's interview from "The Daily Show". This is a must read book for anyone who is interested in the current state of affairs. I was hoping the author would divulge the motives for the individuals involved in the decision making. The author hinted to the personal motives for the individuals involved, but never clearly stated it. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book and it is definitely one I would listen to again in few years when the dust settles.

fiasco

A first rate battlefield history. I confess to be disposed to read about the Bush administration's failure, but in spite of that I thought this was a balanced narrative. One wonders, with the relative current stability in Iraq, if the author's conclusions would still be the same. But, to me this remains a classic treatment of an ill-planned strategically dubious adventure somewhat reminiscent of Anzio.

Great listen

Detailed and engaging exploration of hostilities in Iraq. Reads like a sequel to another book, Pretext, regarding the build up to these events. Excellent narration.

Book Presents alot of information

I found it hard to follow at times because a lot of names being dropped., howevergreat account of what happend in iraq.

History not Politics

Given the number of books designed for conservatives or liberals this book is refreshing in that it is not a bunch of political cheap shots - despite its harsh title. Anyone, who is truly familiar with the current military situation in Iraq and regardless of party affiliation must conclude that things are very bad for our troops. This book explains with the dispassionate tones of a history book (like "1776" which I also downloaded) relies on quotes, e-mails, interviews, newspaper columns/articles to relate the facts & opinions that brought us to this unfortunate point. I noted that President H.W.Bush is not mentioned in an inflammatory manner. Tellingly several people refused to make any comments to the author in defense of their actions. My favorite quote from the book was, "I don't want to be a Guinea pig for Rumsfield's new kind of war!" This book explains how war planners ended up making more enemies than friends by making assumptions, their lack of understanding of Iraqi culture, and having no plan to win and keep the peace. You come to realize that war is not easily won even by pros. I thought officers who could quote verbatim from ancient & modern war books was a figment of fiction writers, but they exist in our forces! There is also common sense. "Sir, what is the battleground?" asked one insightful soldier after the insurgency was in full swing. I won't spoil your listening by giving you the answers both by the officer or by the soldier. Expect many negative reviews by the very conservative due personal political agendas. I support our troops 100%. I only wish that they were not in this mess due to poor judgement, lack of a *complete* plan, and the plain ol' hubris outlined by the author of those who sent our beloved soldiers into harm's way with no plan to lead them back out. We have now rotated a total of about 300,000 troops in & out of Iraq. If we had gone IN with 300,000 the outcome might have been different.

lots of content, well narrated

Scary, convincing, tightly written and so efficiently packed full of content that not a word is superfluous. Whoever thinks that Bush is simply a bumbling fool needs to listen to this--although Ricks never comes out and says he's dangerous (or does he?), you know he is after listening/reading this book. I'm surprised that none of the other reviewers so far have mentioned the fine narration: A dry style with a twist of irony, absolutely perfect for this book, the narrator sounded like he was sitting across from me, telling me something he himself had witnessed and quoting the players as if he'd been right there when they said it.

In short, important subject, well written and well narrated. I'd give it six stars if I could.

Wow

Ricks wears his biases on his sleeve, and this is on occasion annoying, but there are facts galore about the conduct of the war, and he hammers them home over and over until you're forced to concede the rightness of his cause.

great

I love it it was great very good book yes good good good good very good

Dated

Good story, consistent with the title. Unfortunately the précis was ałready taken. Enjoyed it tremendously.