The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq
Steve Coll
A New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book • Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker • Nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award in Nonfiction “Excellent . . . A more intimate picture of the dictator’s thinking about world politics, local power and his relationship to the United States than has been seen before.” —The New York Times “Another triumph from one of our best journalists.” —The Washington Post "Voluminously researched and compulsively readable." —Air Mail From bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Steve Coll, the definitive story of the decades-long relationship between the United States and Saddam Hussein, and a news-breaking investigation into one of the costliest geopolitical conflicts of our time.
Award History
0 wins · 5 total
| Award | Year | Result | Category / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lionel Gelber Prize: International AffairsMajor | 2025 | Shortlist | Secondary source |
| Kirkus Prize for NonfictionMajor | 2024 | Finalist | Official source |
| National Book Critics Circle Award for NonfictionMajor | 2024 | Finalist | Secondary source |
| PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction | 2025 | Finalist | Secondary source |
| Orwell Prize: Political Writing | 2024 | Shortlist | Secondary source |
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies
This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.
01 Central figures
- Saddam Hussein82%
02 Central places
- Iraq78%
03 Suggested argument
No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.
04 Reading orientation
35 / 100 academicSerious trade
An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.
Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 62%.