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This rollicking political farce from former Time and Newsweek correspondent MacPherson is set between the fall of Baghdad and the capture of Saddam.
Melville House
August 2007
On Sale: August 7, 2007
ISBN: 193363328X
EAN: 9781933633282
Hardcover
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Fiction
Baghdad just after the invasion: a chaotic scene of nervous soldiers, cowering civilians, prowling profiteers, and insurgents blowing up everything they can. Meanwhile, headquartered in the former palace of Saddam Hussein, the American diplomats trying to control it all are in a frenzy: Where are the WMDs? Enter Robin Slate, a charming consultant for the US rebuilding effort, with an idea: How much would those bureaucrats pay to preserve the reputation of their beloved POTUS (security shorthand for President of the United States)? That is, how much would they pay for a fake WMD? And so begins the biggest scam of them all, as Slate assembles a mismatched band of co-conspirators, including a jaded CNN reporter, a disgruntled weapons inspector, and an Iraqi soccer star. Together, they navigate the wartime insanities: Saddam's stockpiles of his unsold romance novels; his son Uday's secret love nest, complete with Michael Jackson costumes; the ambassador-he's unqualified but looks good on TV-and his ambitious assistant, who will stop at nothing to deliver WMDs to her hero, POTUS. Written by the man who covered Ambassador Paul Bremer in Iraq for TIME magazine, Hocus POTUS is rich in real-life details and thinly veiled portrayals. It's also a hysterically irreverent-and masterfully crafted-antiwar novel that will keep you guessing to the end.
 Media BuzzAll Things Considered - August 13, 2007
Fresh Air - NPR - August 8, 2007
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