{"product_id":"book-avju","title":"Curveball","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“A crucial study in the political manipulation of intelligence, understanding how Curveball got us into Iraq will arm us for the next round of lies coming out of Washington.”\u003cb\u003e—Robert Baer, author of \u003ci\u003eSee No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eCurveball \u003c\/i\u003eanswers the crucial question of the Iraq war: How and why was America’s intelligence so catastrophically wrong? In this dramatic and explosive book, award-winning \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e reporter Bob Drogin delivers a narrative that takes us to Europe, the Middle East, and deep inside the CIA to find the truth—the truth about the lies and self-deception that led us into a military and political nightmare.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eCurveball\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Just when you thought the WMD debacle couldn’t get worse, here comes veteran \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e national-security correspondent Drogin’s look at just who got the stories going in the first place. . . . Simultaneously sobering and infuriating—essential reading for those who follow the headlines.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e“In this engrossing account, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e correspondent Drogin paints an intimate and revealing portrait of the workings and dysfunctions of the intelligence community.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “An insightful and compelling account of one crucial component of the war's origins . . . Had Drogin merely pieced together Curveball's story, it alone would have made for a thrilling book. But he provides something more: a frightening glimpse at how easily we could make the same mistakes again. . . . The real value of Drogin's book is its meticulous demonstration that bureaucratic imperative often leads to self-delusion.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eWashington Monthly\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Drogin delivers a startling account of this fateful intelligence snafu.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e“By the time you finish this book you will be shaking your head with wonder, or perhaps you will be shaking with anger, about the misadventures that preceded the misadventures in Iraq. This book is so powerful, it almost refutes its subtitle: The man called Curveball did not cause a war; he became a pretext—one among many.”\u003cb\u003e—George F. Will \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49340575940912,"sku":"BDavju","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/320738-avju-Square.jpg?v=1734045352","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-avju","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}