A useful reminder that America’s omniscience is just as likely to be overestimated as are the capabilities and intentions of most world actors ... A more intimate picture of the dictator’s thinking about world politics, local power and his relationship to the United States than has been seen before ... The Achilles Trap is occasionally weighed down by the giddiness of a journalist with a giant stack of previously unreported items ... Still, most of the story is vivid and sometimes even funny.
[The book] succeeds because of Coll’s willingness to reexamine the mutually reinforcing delusions of Hussein and four U.S. administrations ... Coll is less effective at contextualizing the incentives that made the CIA a willing partner in this deception ... Another triumph from one of our best journalists.
Absorbing and panoramic ... Readers hoping for a succinct accounting of the quid of American motivations for the 2003 invasion won’t find that here: rather than a hawkish conspiracy or revenge-plot, it’s the accumulation of unreliable intelligence assets, and a pervasive guilt over the failure to prevent 9/11, that gain momentum in Coll’s telling.
The story Coll presents is devastating, yet the presentation is so painstaking and low-key that there are relatively few gotcha moments ... The story of America and Iraq is epic in its dimensions, of which Steve Coll has provided the most comprehensive blueprint thus far.
Thanks to Steve Coll’s crisp and dynamic prose, what’s between the covers feels little like an academic tome ... Coll... has a special combination of mostly unrelated skill sets that eludes so many narrative nonfiction writers: He’s a groundbreaking reporter and researcher who is able to uncover new information in a tightly wound arena, but also a deft stylist with a natural gift for both narrative structure and fluent yet surprising writing.
A deep dive that illuminates previously unstudied and unexamined aspects of personalities, policies, events, and reactions of great consequence to both countries. Coll’s chronicle is powerful and compelling ... Expertly researched and written, the latest from Pulitzer Prize–winner Coll is a cautionary tale for the ages.
That the invasion ultimately proved disastrous has been well documented by others, but Coll’s unparalleled research into its background turns up a great deal of unfamiliar, illuminating information. Required reading for all conscientious citizens.
