Best nonfiction book on international affairs
AWARD YEAR: 2005
AWARD NAME: The Cornelius Ryan Award 2005
RECIPIENT: George Packer
AFFILIATION: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
HONORED WORK: “The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq”
This remarkable piece of journalism on the Iraq war combines analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and superlative storytelling in a compelling narrative. Packer gets close to his subjects — whether they be Administration officials, U.S. soldiers, or Iraqi officials — and allows them to tell a powerful story of ineptitude, frustration, and failure.
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