Remember Shuffle Podcast| Iraq War Series: Parts I - VI

Description: Part I: E73 The Iraq War Part I - The Achilles Trap by Steve Coll (recommended in the strongest possible terms) - Debriefing the President by John Nixon (solid recommend, CIA analyst that spoke to Saddam) Part II: E78 Manufacturing NeoCon-sent - Fiasco by Thomas E. Ricks - Plan of Attack by Bob Woodward Part III: E79 The Bonfire of the Necessities - Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran (highest recommendation, read this) - Baghdad Burning by Riverbend (young Iraqi woman who was a computer programmer that ran a blog documenting life inside Baghdad, strongly recommend) - The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein (chapters on the Iraq War, highly recommended book in general) Part IV: E80 Insurgent Friends - A Stranger in Your Own City by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad (travelogue through Iraq, powerful, strongly recommend) Part V: Civil War: E83 Sheiking Things Up - The Gamble by Thomas E. Ricks (inferior sequel, second half not so bad) - Surge: My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War by Peter R. Mansoor (recommend) - Ghost Riders of Baghdad by Daniel A. Sjursen (U.S. Army lieutenant, frontline experience, liberal) Part VI: E86 Iraq Obama - The Endgame by Bernard E. Trainor and Michael R. Gordon (super long book, only ending used for episode) - A Promised Land by Barack Obama (long book, not much to say about Iraq, mostly generic Wikipedia entries) Note: Some books were read for multiple episodes.

Rank Title Author Added

The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq

by Steve Coll

211 members

2 reviews

½ 4.4

Member: Palpitate6194
Explanations: Palpitate6194: Recommended by the hosts in the "strongest possible terms". Main source for Part I. Talks about CIA, Saddam, Saddam's family, and Iraqi nuclear scientists. Author collected information via interviews with national security officials as well as FOIA requests and sifting through and making sense of documents captured during the Iraq War.

Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein

by John Nixon

117 members

6 reviews

Member: Palpitate6194
Explanations: Palpitate6194: CIA analyst who spoke with Saddam Hussein in 2004 before Saddam was executed. Good book. Shorter read.

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq

by Thomas E. Ricks

2,262 members

31 reviews

4.1

Member: Palpitate6194
Explanations: Palpitate6194: Thomas E. Ricks was the main Pentagon correspondent for the Washington Post. A guy that believes in the role of the US military, generally speaking. And even he realized how bad the Iraq War was.

Plan of Attack

by Bob Woodward

1,963 members

12 reviews

½ 3.5

Member: Palpitate6194
Explanations: Palpitate6194: Author and investigative journalist Bob Woodward is granted access to the White House and interviews with top administration officials. Part of a series by Woodward on the war in Iraq. This book looks at the behind the scenes decisions by those in power that led to the invasion of Iraq.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone

by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

1,723 members

44 reviews

Member: Palpitate6194
Explanations: Palpitate6194: Recommended very strongly. Book by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq

by Riverbend

287 members

5 reviews

4.1

Member: Palpitate6194
Explanations: Palpitate6194: A young Iraqi woman and computer programmer from a mixed Sunni and Shia family, writes a blog about her experience living in US occupied Baghdad during the war.

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

by Naomi Klein

6,223 members

140 reviews

4.2

Member: Palpitate6194
Explanations: Palpitate6194: Read for the chapters on the Iraq War. Highly recommended book in general.

A Stranger in Your Own City: Travels in the Middle East's Long War

by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad

70 members

3 reviews

Member: Palpitate6194
Explanations: Palpitate6194: Travelogue through Iraq during the war. A very powerful read. Highly recommended.

The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006–2008

by Thomas E. Ricks

665 members

9 reviews

3.9

Member: Palpitate6194
Explanations: Palpitate6194: Sequel to Fiasco by Thomas E. Ricks. First half is a lot of meetings, kind of dry. Second half is a bit better.

Surge: My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War

by Peter R. Mansoor

41 members

1 review

½ 4.3

Member: Palpitate6194
Explanations: Palpitate6194: Peter Mansoor was General David Petraeus's executive assistant. Shared a home with Petraeus during the war. Best book about The Surge, and daily life living with General Petraeus.

Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge

by Daniel A. Sjursen

38 members

7 reviews

½ 4.6

Member: Palpitate6194
Explanations: Palpitate6194: American soldier from a big city that loves Jon Stewart. Chosen for his experience on the ground and his interesting political views.