Ricks, who has been the Washington Post's Senior Pentagon Correspondent since 2000, has written a devastating account of how both the civilian and political leadership of the United States government mismanaged the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. Drawing upon his extensive contacts both within the Pentagon and the armed forces at large, not to mention being able to access over 37,000 documents, Ricks is able to show, at times in painful detail, how the Bush Administration not only misused information to justify its invasion of Iraq but failed to grasp the complexities and challenges of occupation. In reading Fiasco, the readers will not doubt find themselves concurring with Ricks that invading Iraq was a colossal mistake. What may be harder for them to stomach is how poorly managed the occupation has been: an occupation that has included failure to understand the true nature of a homegrown insurgency and the cultural and social mores of Iraqi culture as well.

Though Fiasco is not comfortable reading, the book does have its heroes, ranging from seasoned military commanders who clearly saw a disaster happening from beginning and tried to stop it to the men and women fighting on the ground trying to make the best of a terrible situation. While Fiasco doesn't offer any clear cut solutions, Ricks concludes his book with an examination of past American military experiences that offer the reader some possible scenarios on how the Iraq War might play itself out.

Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times calls Fiasco a book that "gives the reader a lucid, tough-minded overview of this tragic enterprise that stands apart from earlier assessments in terms of simple coherence and scope."

Fiasco can be found on the basement level of the Library at call number DS 79.76.R535

Jonathan Coe wrote this Monthly Book Spotlight.