Tony Blair said that history would judge his decision to invade Iraq. Former Baghdad bureau chief for The Daily Telegraph, Jack Fairweather gives a comprehensive account of this extraordinary, controversial period in British foreign policy in his new non fiction book, A War of Choice. A blend of on-the-ground reporting and extensive research—including more than 400 interviews-- Fairweather takes readers from besieged British outposts and insurgent hideouts in southern Iraq, to the intense debates inside 10 Downing Street and the White House. This is the first full analysis of the cost of Blair's decision to take the country to war. Leaving Iraq proved far harder than invading. When the military sought a quick exit in order to send troops to southern Afghanistan they found themselves in a war on two fronts, in a desperate battle for survival.
Brilliant... by far the best of its kind”
– Robert Fox, the Evening Standard
A War of Choice, a roller-coaster narrative of heroism, mismanagement and disaster, is as gripping as any novel. I only hope that lessons will be learned from it.”
– Robert Irwin
We have needed to have a detailed and dispassionate book on Britain’s bitterly controversial war in Iraq. At last we have it with this sweeping, powerful account.”
– Anthony Seldon
An award-winning war reporter, Fairweather travelled with the British troops from Kuwait into Southern Iraq, and spent the next six years in the Middle East, including Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Jordan. Most recently, he covered the war in Afghanistan for the Washington Post.
Available October 27th from these sellers:
