Reviews

"In the midst of a war that has raised thousands of questions, George Packer has given us a brilliant, moving, and essential book with answers. Packer, who was an up close witness to the pre-war debates and the wartime carnage, cuts past the simplistic recriminations and takes us on an unforgettable journey that begins on a trail of good intentions and winds up on a devastating trail of tears. If you want to understand how Iraq became a quagmire, and who the human beings are who suffer its consequences, you must read this book." --Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide "The Iraq debate has long needed someone who is both tough-minded enough, and sufficiently sensitive, to register all its complexities. In George Packer's work, this need is answered . . . Packer shows himself once more to be the best chronicler...that the conflict has produced . . . He makes an impressively intelligent guide . . . Packer has a genuine instinct for what the Iraqi people have endured and are enduring, and writes with admirable empathy. His own opinions are neither suppressed nor intrusive: he clearly welcomes the end of Saddam while having serious doubts about the wisdom of the war, and he continually tests himself against experience." --Christopher Hitchens, "Publishers Weekly" Praise for "Blood of the Liberals":
"I was fascinated and touched by ["Blood of the Liberals"], which can be described as 'memoir plus, ' part personal recollection, part essay about subjects seldom treated as reverberating with such intimate meanings." --Scott Turow, "The Washington Post Book World"
"A remarkable story . . . This book belongs on the shelfnext to "Angela's Ashes, The Liars' Club, "and "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius."" --Jack Hitt, "The New York Times Book Review"