“Plan of Attack”

Bob Woodward

This is an inside account of the decision to attack Iraq. As usual, Woodward seems to have a backstage pass to the White House and there’s plenty of detail. However, there is little insight, and no real answer to the question, “how did we get into the mess we’re in in Iraq?”

In sharp contrast to the Bush that Woodward portrayed in “Bush At War”, the Bush in “Plan of Attack” is stubborn, almost a bully, not the masterful manager of the earlier book. In Woodward’s latest tale Colin Powell is loyal, but the reader is left wondering why he went along with a course of action he clearly didn’t believe in.