Plan of Attack

By: Bob Woodward

Narrated by: Boyd Gaines

Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Plan of Attack is the definitive account of how and why President George W. Bush, his war council, and allies launched a preemptive attack to topple Saddam Hussein and occupy Iraq. Bob Woodward's latest landmark account of Washington decision making provides an original, authoritative narrative of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, examining the causes and consequences of the most controversial war since Vietnam.

Based on interviews with 75 key participants and more than three-and-a half hours of exclusive interviews with President Bush, Plan of Attack is part presidential history charting the decisions made during 16 critical months; part military history; and part a harrowing spy story as the CIA dispatches a covert paramilitary team into northern Iraq six months before the start of the war.

What emerges are astonishingly intimate portraits: President Bush in war cabinet meetings and in private conversation; Dick Cheney, the focused and driven vice president; Colin Powell, the conflicted and cautious secretary of state; Donald Rumsfeld, the controlling war technocrat; George Tenet, the activist CIA director; Tommy Franks, the profane and demanding general; Condoleezza Rice, the ever-present referee and national security adviser; Karl Rove, the hands-on political strategist; other key members of the White House staff and congressional leadership; and foreign leaders ranging from British Prime Minister Blair to Russian President Putin.

Plan of Attack provides new details on the intelligence assessments of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction and the planning for the war's aftermath.

Also, listen to Terry Gross' interview with Bob Woodward on Fresh Air.

©2004 Bob Woodward (P)2004 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"A serious book it is, instantly essential, matching America's most celebrated political reporter against the most secretive administration in our history. For once, a hyped product has lived up to its billing....Plan of Attack offers by far the most intimate glimpse we have been granted of the Bush White House, and, better still, a glimpse of the administration's defining moment: its war of choice against Saddam Hussein." (The New York Times)

Disjointed and analysis free

Woodward is a great reporter. He could put together a mean deck of Trivial Pursuit cards on politicals, but he can't tell a story. In many cases, he doesn't seem to grasp what he's actually recording. The White House recommended this book because Woodward often seems to miss the point of the facts he's reporting. And when he does, he assumes you will grasp the full thread of implications, too. As a result, the shocking things he does report about the malfunctioning executive branch fails to cohere into a truly telling narrative.

Serious political junkies will find some gems of insight that fill out other's adventures in Bushworld, such as Richard Clarke's or Paul O'Neil's books. For the average reader, the damning material falls flat. For the adoring fans of the president, they will see the resolute words and dote on the detailed unfolding of the war plan. By the time they get done saluting, they've forgotten the parts that might disturb their hero worship.

Useful as the last read on the subject of the Bush administration, useless as a primer.