Skip to Main Content (Press Enter)
A Pretext for War by James Bamford
Add A Pretext for War to bookshelf
Add to Bookshelf
Read An Excerpt

Look Inside

Read An Excerpt
Read An Excerpt

A Pretext for War

By James Bamford

By James Bamford

By James Bamford

By James Bamford

By James Bamford
Read by Ray Childs

By James Bamford
Read by Ray Childs

By James Bamford
Read by Robertson Dean

By James Bamford
Read by Robertson Dean

Best Seller
Paperback $17.00

May 10, 2005 | ISBN 9781400030347

Ebook $13.99

May 10, 2005 | ISBN 9780307275042

Audiobook Download $12.95

Jun 08, 2004 | 296 Minutes

Audiobook Download $19.95

Feb 09, 2004 | 716 Minutes

All Formats
+
    A Pretext for War by James Bamford
    Paperback $17.00
    May 10, 2005 | ISBN 9781400030347

    Buy from Other Retailers:

    See All Formats (3) +

    Paperback
    –

    • Paperback $17.00

      May 10, 2005 | ISBN 9781400030347

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook

      May 10, 2005 | ISBN 9780307275042

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Audio (2)
    +

    Buy the Audiobook Download:

    About A Pretext for War

    A Pretext for War reveals the systematic weaknesses behind the failure to detect or prevent the 9/11 attacks, and details the Bush administration’s subsequent misuse of intelligence to sell preemptive war to the American people. Filled with unprecedented revelations, from the sites of “undisclosed locations” to the actual sources of America’s Middle East policy, A Pretext for War is essential reading for anyone concerned about the security of the United States. 

    Acclaimed author James Bamford–whose classic book The Puzzle Palace first revealed the existence of the National Security Agency–draws on his unparalleled access to top intelligence sources to produce a devastating expose of the intelligence community and the Bush administration.


    About A Pretext for War

    A Pretext for War reveals the systematic weaknesses behind the failure to detect or prevent the 9/11 attacks, and details the Bush administration’s subsequent misuse of intelligence to sell preemptive war to the American people. Filled with unprecedented revelations, from the sites of “undisclosed locations” to the actual sources of America’s Middle East policy, A Pretext for War is essential reading for anyone concerned about the security of the United States. 

    Acclaimed author James Bamford–whose classic book The Puzzle Palace first revealed the existence of the National Security Agency–draws on his unparalleled access to top intelligence sources to produce a devastating expose of the intelligence community and the Bush administration.


    About A Pretext for War

    The bestselling author of Body of Secrets and The Puzzle Palace presents his most hard-hitting book to date—a sweeping, authoritative, and fearless account of the failures of America’s intelligence agencies and the Bush administration’s calculated efforts to sell a war to the American people.

    In The Puzzle Palace, James Bamford revealed the existence of the NSA, the largest, most secretive, and best-financed intelligence organization in the world. In Body of Secrets, he took readers inside the ultrasecret agency, charting its deeds and misdeeds from its founding in 1952 to the end of the twentieth century. Now Bamford applies his relentless investigative drive and unparalleled access to intelligence sources to produce a headline-making book about the most pressing issues of the present day.

    From the mishandling of the pre-9/11 threat to the unproven claims about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, Bamford argues that the Bush administration has co-opted the intelligence community for its own political ends, and at the expense of American security.  Bamford makes the case that the Bush administration’s Middle East policy decisions, from overthrowing Saddam to ignoring the situation of the Palestinians, are driven by long-held beliefs and goals of an elite group of conservatives inside and outside of government.

    A Pretext for War     homes in on the systematic weakness that led the intelligence community to ignore or misinterpret evidence of the impending terrorist attacks of 9/11—a failure rooted in the refusal to acknowledge the central role of the Palestinian cause in igniting Arab rage against the United States.  Compounding the errors, the Bush administration’s immediate response to 9/11 was to call for an attack on Iraq, and it subsequently invented justifications for the preemptive war that has ultimately left the United States more vulnerable to terrorism.  

    A Pretext for War     is an unprecedented, utterly convincing exposé of the most secretive administration in history.  

    About A Pretext for War

    In A Pretext for War, acclaimed author James Bamford–whose classic book The Puzzle Palace first revealed the existence of the National Security Agency–draws on his unparalleled access to top intelligence sources to produce a devastating expos? of the intelligence community and the Bush administration. A Pretext for War reveals the systematic weaknesses behind the failure to detect or prevent the 9/11 attacks, and details the Bush administration’s subsequent misuse of intelligence to sell preemptive war to the American people.

    Filled with unprecedented new revelations, from the sites of “undisclosed locations” to the actual sources of America’s Middle East policy, A Pretext for War is essential reading for anyone concerned about the security of the United States.

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Also by James Bamford

    The Shadow Factory
    Body of Secrets
    The Puzzle Palace
    See all books by James Bamford

    Also by James Bamford

    The Shadow Factory
    Body of Secrets
    The Puzzle Palace
    See all books by James Bamford

    Also by James Bamford

    The Shadow Factory
    Body of Secrets
    The Puzzle Palace
    See all books by James Bamford

    Also by James Bamford

    The Shadow Factory
    Body of Secrets
    The Puzzle Palace
    See all books by James Bamford

    About James Bamford

    James Bamford, the author of the bestsellers Body of Secrets and The Puzzle Palace, has written extensively on national security issues, including investigative cover stories for the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Formerly the Washington investigative producer for… More about James Bamford

    About James Bamford

    James Bamford, the author of the bestsellers Body of Secrets and The Puzzle Palace, has written extensively on national security issues, including investigative cover stories for the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Formerly the Washington investigative producer for… More about James Bamford

    About James Bamford

    James Bamford, the author of the bestsellers Body of Secrets and The Puzzle Palace, has written extensively on national security issues, including investigative cover stories for the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Formerly the Washington investigative producer for… More about James Bamford

    About James Bamford

    James Bamford, the author of the bestsellers Body of Secrets and The Puzzle Palace, has written extensively on national security issues, including investigative cover stories for the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Formerly the Washington investigative producer for… More about James Bamford

    Product Details

    Category: 1950 – Present Military History | World Politics | True Crime

    Paperback | $17.00
    Published by Anchor
    May 10, 2005 | 480 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9781400030347

    Category: 1950 – Present Military History | World Politics | True Crime

    Ebook | $13.99
    Published by Anchor
    May 10, 2005 | 480 Pages | ISBN 9780307275042

    Category: 1950 – Present Military History | World Politics | Audiobooks | True Crime

    Audiobook Download | $12.95
    Published by Random House Audio
    Jun 08, 2004 | 296 Minutes | ISBN 9780739312551

    Category: 1950 – Present Military History | World Politics | Audiobooks | True Crime

    Audiobook Download | $19.95
    Published by Random House Audio
    Feb 09, 2004 | 716 Minutes | ISBN 9781415904848
    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    Praise

    “Probably the best one-volume companion to the harrowing events in the war on terrorism since 1996.” –Time“Highly readable and well-researched. . . . Bamford does a superb job of laying out and tying together threads of the Sept. 11 intelligence failures and their ongoing aftermath, using original research, the public record and a light, fast-paced writing touch.” –The Washington Post Book World “A damning portrait of the country’s intelligence agencies. . . . Bamford unearths new details . . . to create a vivid, unsettling narrative. . . . Highly persuasive.” –The New York Times"Not only contains significant new information, but also combines that information with previously known material to make . . . sense of Sept. 11 and its aftermath. . . . A vital book." –Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    Looking for More Great Reads?
    21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
    Get the latest updates about James Bamford
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    By clicking “SIGN UP”, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. You can opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information anytime.
    Dismiss
    Thanks!
    Something awesome is on its way.
    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Raise kids who love to read

    Today's Top Books

    Want to know what people are actually reading right now?

     An online magazine for today’s home cook

    An online magazine for today’s home cook