Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. I was just entering high school in the

beginning of the Iraq War. Generally more concerned with playing Final Fantasy 10 and getting all

the hidden items than in war and world politics. But as the war dragged on, you know, I learned

more and more about our side of things.

And I think it's pretty fair to say two decades later the mess we made.

But to this day, I never really learned much about Saddam Hussein himself.

I mean, who he was as a person and just what kind of strategic play he was making back then.

Journalist Steve Call answers those questions in his new book, The Achilles Trap, Saddam Hussein,

the CIA, and the origins of America's invasion of Iraq.

And he told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about getting access to hours and hours of Saddam Hussein's

own recordings of himself and, get this, his other career as a novelist, that's ahead.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

How did the U.S. get it so wrong in the run-up to war in Iraq?

Insisting that then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was

hiding secret stashes of weapons of mass destruction. And why didn't Saddam set the record straight?

Especially as it looked increasingly certain in the months after 9-11 that the U.S. and its

allies were about to start a war he was likely to lose.

Well, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steve Kahl takes on those questions in his new book, The Achilles Trap, Saddam Hussein, the CIA, and the origins of America's invasion of Iraq.

Welcome back to all things considered.

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