Chain of Command

By: Seymour M. Hersh

Narrated by: Peter Friedman

Publisher's summary

Since September 11, 2001, Seymour M. Hersh has riveted readers, and outraged the Bush Administration, with his stories in The New Yorker magazine, including his breakthrough pieces on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Now, in Chain of Command, he brings together this reporting, along with new revelations, to answer the critical question of the last three years: how did America get from the clear morning when hijacked airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to a divisive and dirty war in Iraq?

Hersh established himself at the forefront of investigative journalism 35 years ago when he broke the news of the massacre in My Lai, Vietnam, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. Ever since, he's challenged America's power elite by publishing the stories that others can't or won't tell.

In Chain of Command, Hersh takes an unflinching look behind the public story of President Bush's "war on terror" and into the lies and obsessions that led America into Iraq. With an introduction by The New Yorker's editor, David Remnick, Chain of Command is a devastating portrait of an administration blinded by ideology and of a President whose decisions have made the world a more dangerous place for America.

Don't miss Seymour Hersh with David Remnick at The New Yorker Festival.

©2004 Seymour M. Hersh (P)2004 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

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Critic reviews

• Audie Award Finalist, Short Stories/Collections, 2005

"Chain of Command is the best book we are likely to have, this close to events, about why the United States went from leading an international coalition...to fighting alone in Iraq and, in Abu Ghraib, to violating the very human rights it said it had come to restore....This book reminds us why tough, skeptical journalism matters so much: it helps to keep us free." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Mr. Hersh's work is necessary reading for anyone remotely interested in what went wrong and continues to go wrong in Iraq, and how the Bush administration came to take America to war there in the first place." (The New York Times)

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4 out of 5 stars

By Nancy on 10-31-04

Reporting as it should be

This book brings you information in a factual, specific manner. It would appeal to readers with a good undertanding of and interest in current events. It will supplement your understanding of our world and the politics that shape it but a reader who has not followed current events or relies on "Fox News" would be lost. However, the Fox news junkie is absolutely the person who should read this. But for all of you fact/ real news junkies it is a must read. You will develop a profound respect for a real news journalist.

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4 out of 5 stars

By Dean Carter on 09-09-05

journalistic coverage of Presidency gone bad

Hersh is a quality journalist who is documenting the travails of a sitting President who could very possibly go down in history as the most corrupt Presidency in history. A Presdent that is more concerned with showing his macho then with showing leadership. A single President that is doing more harm to political stability of the world then any President before him. Hersh documents everything but that is my problem wth the book, it is basically telling the story of Afganistan and Iraq by rehashing what he has already published, and adds very little analysis that gives us new insight into the problems that he talks about. Still all in all a quality listen.

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5 out of 5 stars

By Nicholas on 10-12-04

Absolutely Fantastic

It comes as no surprise that Seymor Hersh has written another well written and well researched book, and it comes as no surprise that it's as entertaining to read as it is informative. Unlike so many of the "election time" books (Unfit For Command on the right, The Family on the left) This book is more than just unfounded libel, innuendo or poorly sourced junk. This is a book written by a veteran journalist and his skill shines through in the way he sources his work, and explains the nuances of the subject matter. In short, this book is a MUST READ (errr listen). As a bonus, the narration is excellent, but then, we've come to expect that from any product on Audible.com and they do deliver handsomly.

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