PLAN OF ATTACK

This is investigative journalist Bob Woodward’s (ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN) account of the whys and wherefores leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It benefits from interviews with numerous insiders, including President Bush. Woodward writes clearly and intelligently, and arranges his information and analyses to make both as easy to follow as possible. Like a good reporter, he leaves the reader to decide what is noble, knavery, realpolitik, foolishness, or wisdom in our country’s investment of lives and money. Narrator Richard Poe never “nods.” He stays in control of the writing throughout. Further, he uses his fine-tuned ear and vocal technique to imbue the quotes with a sense of their authors’ personalities, as revealed on TV and radio news. Always within the bounds of good taste, Poe never draws attention to himself at the book’s expense; he just gives us a sense of time and place and persons, pulls everything coherently together, and stays both interested and interesting. Y.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE/JULY 05]