Plan of Attack is the definitive account of how and why President George W. Bush, his war council, and allies launched a preemptive attack to topple Saddam Hussein and occupy Iraq. Bob Woodward's latest landmark account of Washington decision making provides an original, authoritative narrative of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, examining the causes and consequences of the most controversial war since Vietnam.

Based on interviews with 75 key participants and more than three-and-a half hours of exclusive interviews with President Bush, Plan of Attack is part presidential history charting the decisions made during 16 critical months; part military history; and part a harrowing spy story as the CIA dispatches a covert paramilitary team into northern Iraq six months before the start of the war.

What emerges are astonishingly intimate portraits: President Bush in war cabinet meetings and in private conversation; Dick Cheney, the focused and driven vice president; Colin Powell, the conflicted and cautious secretary of state; Donald Rumsfeld, the controlling war technocrat; George Tenet, the activist CIA director; Tommy Franks, the profane and demanding general; Condoleezza Rice, the ever-present referee and national security adviser; Karl Rove, the hands-on political strategist; other key members of the White House staff and congressional leadership; and foreign leaders ranging from British Prime Minister Blair to Russian President Putin.

Plan of Attack provides new details on the intelligence assessments of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction and the planning for the war's aftermath.

About the Author:

Bob Woodward, a reporter and editor at The Washington Post since 1971, has authored or coauthored ten New York Times #1 bestsellers, including Plan of Attack, Bush at War, Shadow, The Agenda, The Commanders, Veil, Wired, The Brethren, The Final Days, and All the President's Men.

About the Reader:

Boyd Gaines starred on Broadway in Contact (Tony Award), She Loves Me (Tony, Outer Critics Circle & Drama Desk Awards), The Heidi Chronicles (Tony Award), and the revivals of Company and Cabaret. Mr. Gaines' film credits include I'm Not Rappaport, The Grass Harp, Fame, and The Sure Thing. Television appearances include a leading role on One Day at a Time. He has read extensively for Simon & Schuster Audio.