A Time of Our Choosing: Americ's War in Iraq by Purdum, Todd S - 2003

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Henry Holt & Company, 2003. Book. Fine. Hardcover. First Edition. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Like-New copy - NO remainder marks or price clippings - Price inside dustcover: $25.00 - Stated First Edition - 319 pages - Illustrated - It was a war like no other the United States had ever fought. It began with the bombing of Saddam Hussein's bunker and ended with statues of the Iraqi dictator being toppled in downtown Baghdad, and it marked a turning point in America's relations with its enemies, its allies, and its sense of itself. Yet most Americans experienced the war as impressionistic and often confusing -- the story of one battle here, one unit there, a report from one city, then another, without the larger context we so urgently needed. Each reporter had his "slice" of the war, it seemed, but no one had the whole story or the broad view. A Time of Our Choosing fills that gap brilliantly, drawing on the resources and reportage of The New York Times. Todd S. Purdum, one of the paper's most gifted writers, traces the war in Iraq from the first rumblings after 9/11, to the diplomatic recriminations at the United Nations, to the battles themselves and their aftermath. He deftly rolls out the whole canvas, showing how the individual "slices" fit together into a single, gripping drama. As the war's narrative unfolds, Purdum also introduces us to the men and women who waged it. Finally, Purdum explores the complex legacy of America's near-unilateral action -- in the Middle East, among our allies in Europe, and in the halls of power in Washington. President Bush has vowed that the United States would confront its enemies at "a time of our choosing," and Purdum shows in vivid terms what this choice has meant for our now transformed world..