An unprecedented biography, drawn from the author's exclusive access to high-ranking defectors, intelligence officials, and even Saddam's own relatives -- fully illustrated with photos from his early life to the present
Two weeks before September 11, 2001, Saddam Hussein placed his troops on their highest military alert since the Gulf War. As al-Qaeda terrorists set their attacks on America in motion, the Iraqi dictator was prepared to go to war for a second time with the United States. How did an illegitimate child from Tikrit become the West's greatest adversary, and one of the most dangerous and murderous dictators of modem times?
Saddam: King of Terror is the most insightful and illuminating portrait of the Iraqi president to date-and a fascinating study of the making of a tyrant. Con Coughlin, executive editor of London's award-winning Sunday Telegraph, has covered the Middle East for decades -- on the front lines, narrowly escaping kidnapping and violence. He has cultivated exclusive contacts among the Western intelligence community and numerous defectors from Saddam's inner circles -- including former generals, political associates, and bodyguards as well as childhood friends. Coughlin knew immediately that American and British declarations of war against terrorism after the September 11th attacks would sooner rather than later encompass Saddam Hussein as well as Osama bin Laden. Coughlin shows that any operation against terrorism will be incomplete as long as Saddam remains in power -- that international policies will have to change from cautious tolerance to active intervention, a change that is already becoming a reality.
Coughlin also provides the first complete portrait of Saddam's childhood ever published, compiled from the author's inter-views with Saddam's contemporaries and relatives who have never before spoken publicly about him According to Coughlin, Saddam has a younger sister no one knew about, and he idolizes his mother, although his childhood was deeply marred by his shame about being fatherless. From his earliest years, he looked to his mother's brother as a father figure, and Coughlin tells how it was this uncle who first introduced Saddam to a life of crime and political rebellion. Saddam: King of Terror meticulously traces Saddam's bloody rise to power, from Saddam's first murder and his time in prison, to an eyewitness account of Saddam storming Iraqs presidential palace in a tank, to his almost feral ruthlessness in disposing of his opponents, even dose friends and relatives, to create his regime -- a complex mechanism in which family and tribe are central, held together by Saddam's carefully orchestrated reign of fear.
In Saddam: King of Terror, we see both the bizarre, almost pathological behavior of an international pariah and the unshakable power of a tyrant who has defied the world's censure and holds a nation in his grasp.

Saddam: King of Terror

Biographies & Memoirs

Coughlin, Con

Historical

Ecco

Insightful, penetrating, and shocking, the defining biography of Iraq's deposed tyrant 
Drawing on an unparalleled network of sources, contacts, and firsthand testimonies, Con Coughlin takes us to the center of Saddam Hussein's complex, bewildering regime -- and beyond. Fully updated and revised, Saddam: His Rise and Fall meticulously describes how Hussein took power and immediately set about controlling every aspect of Iraqi life. 
Coughlin examines Hussein's regime both before and after its fall, exploring the contradictions of Saddam's private life: his sponsoring of Islamic fundamentalism while whiskey drinking and womanizing as well as his reliance on and celebration of family negated by his violent and temperamental treatment of them. With evidence from family members, servants, and staff, Saddam: His Rise and Fall is unique in its close-up representation of this elusive and secretive world. 
In all-new chapters and an epilogue, and with shocking new disclosures, Coughlin also vividly recounts the last few months of Saddam's reign and his eventual capture by American forces.

Saddam: His Rise and Fall

Community & Culture

American Ally is the definitive account of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's support for the United States in the War on Terror. Drawing on his exclusive access to the key players at the White House and Downing Street, Con Coughlin explains what led Blair to risk his political career for a cause that he truly believed in. Just as Bob Woodward called on insiders to analyze George W. Bush in Bush at War, Coughlin now calls on his own experience and sources to offer a critical analysis and account of Tony Blair at war.
Here is an in-depth, probing look at the man who has become America's first ally in the post-9/11 world. Tony Blair's staunch support for the United States since 9/11 has confirmed his position as one of the most important and controversial world leaders of the twenty-first century. In the aftermath of terrorist attacks in London and with Iraq in turmoil, the relationship between Britain and the United States will be critical in determining how future international crises are resolved. American Ally is an essential read for those wishing to make an informed opinion.

American Ally: Tony Blair and the War on Terror

History

Middle East

An unprecedented biography, drawn from the author's exclusive access to high-ranking defectors, intelligence officials, and even Saddam's own relatives -- fully illustrated with photos from his early life to the presentTwo weeks before September 11, 2001, Saddam Hussein placed his troops on their highest military alert since the Gulf War. As al-Qaeda terrorists set their attacks on America in motion, the Iraqi dictator was prepared to go to war for a second time with the United States. How did an illegitimate child from Tikrit become the West's greatest adversary, and one of the most dangerous and murderous dictators of modem times?Saddam: King of Terror is the most insightful and illuminating portrait of the Iraqi president to date-and a fascinating study of the making of a tyrant. Con Coughlin, executive editor of London's award-winning Sunday Telegraph, has covered the Middle East for decades -- on the front lines, narrowly escaping kidnapping and violence. He has cultivated exclusive contacts among the Western intelligence community and numerous defectors from Saddam's inner circles -- including former generals, political associates, and bodyguards as well as childhood friends. Coughlin knew immediately that American and British declarations of war against terrorism after the September 11th attacks would sooner rather than later encompass Saddam Hussein as well as Osama bin Laden. Coughlin shows that any operation against terrorism will be incomplete as long as Saddam remains in power -- that international policies will have to change from cautious tolerance to active intervention, a change that is already becoming a reality.Coughlin also provides the first complete portrait of Saddam's childhood ever published, compiled from the author's inter-views with Saddam's contemporaries and relatives who have never before spoken publicly about him According to Coughlin, Saddam has a younger sister no one knew about, and he idolizes his mother, although his childhood was deeply marred by his shame about being fatherless. From his earliest years, he looked to his mother's brother as a father figure, and Coughlin tells how it was this uncle who first introduced Saddam to a life of crime and political rebellion. Saddam: King of Terror meticulously traces Saddam's bloody rise to power, from Saddam's first murder and his time in prison, to an eyewitness account of Saddam storming Iraqs presidential palace in a tank, to his almost feral ruthlessness in disposing of his opponents, even dose friends and relatives, to create his regime -- a complex mechanism in which family and tribe are central, held together by Saddam's carefully orchestrated reign of fear.In Saddam: King of Terror, we see both the bizarre, almost pathological behavior of an international pariah and the unshakable power of a tyrant who has defied the world's censure and holds a nation in his grasp.

Con Coughlin, the New York Times bestselling author of Saddam, returns with Khomeini’s Ghost, the definitive biography of Ayatollah Khomeini and his Islamic revolution. More than thirty years after Khomeini’s return to Tehran and the subsequent rebirth of Iran as an Islamic Republic, Khomeini’s Ghost offers an intimate, richly detailed portrait of the fundamentalist leader and architect of Iran’s adversarial relationship with the West—a man whose legacy has influenced history and policy, and will continue to do so for generations to come.

Khomeini's Ghost: The Iranian Revolution and the Rise of Militant Islam

From the bestselling author of Saddam comes the definitive biography of Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic revolution and how his fundamentalist legacy has forever influenced the course of Iran's relationship with the West. 
In February 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Tehran after nearly fifteen years in exile and received a hero's welcome. Just as the new world order sought to purge the communist ideologies of the Cold War, the religious doctrine of Islamic fundamentalism emerged to pose an even greater threat to post–Iron Curtain stability—and Khomeini would mastermind it into a revolution.
Khomeini's Ghost is the account of how an impoverished young student from a remote area of southern Iran became the leader of one of the most dramatic upheavals of the modern age, and how his radical Islamic philosophy now lies at the heart of the modern-day conflict between Iran and the West. Con Coughlin draws on a wide variety of Iranian sources, including religious figures who knew and worked with Khomeini both in exile and in power.
Both compelling and timely, Khomeini's Ghost is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand what lies at the center of many of the world's most intractable conflicts.

On 1 February 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran to a tumultuous welcome and the Iranian revolution that he masterminded has become one of the defining moments of the modern age. Today the challenge of radical Islam represents the greatest threat to world peace seen since the darkest days of the Cold War, and the legacy of Khomeini's Islamic Revolution lies at the heart of many of the world's most intractable conflicts."Khomeini's Ghost" is the definitive biographical account of how an impoverished young student from a remote area of southern Iran came to be the political and the spiritual leader of his country. Drawing on a wide variety of Iranian sources, including religious figures who knew and worked with Khomeini both in exile and in power, Con Coughlin examines in detail the principles of Khomeini's Islamic Revolution and the impact of his legacy today, whether it is in Iran's support for radical Islamic groups or Iran's commitment to developing an atom bomb. Frighteningly topical, compellingly readable and written with authority and profound understanding of the subject, this is political biography at its best.

Khomeini's Ghost: Iran Since 1979

Military

Macmillan

Churchill's First War: Young Winston and the Fight Against the Taliban

A Golden Basin Full of Scorpions: The Quest for Modern Jerusalem

Little,Brown & Company

Saddam: The Secret Life

Drawing on an unparalleled network of sources, contacts, and first hand testimonies, Con Coughlin takes us to the centre of Saddam`s complex and bewildering regime. In 1979 Saddam took power and immediately set about controlling every aspect of Iraqi life. The Kurds and Shiites have been subjected to horrendous genocidal attacks, thousands of political prisoners taken, many tortured for Hussein`s own gratification. Even his own two sons-in-law were murdered on Saddam`s direct orders. More than this, Coughlin takes us behind the palace gates to view Saddam and the contradictions of his private life. His sponsoring of Islamic fundamentalism is at odds with his whisky drinking and womanising; his reliance on and celebration of family negated by his violent and temperamental treatment of them. With evidence from both family members, servants and staff, Saddam: The Secret Life is unique in its representation of his illusive and secretive world. Insightful, penetrating and shocking, Con Coughlin has written the defining biography of one of the most dangerous men in the world. `Excellent and disturbing... the case for getting rid of this terrifying madman as soon as possible is overwhelming` William Shawcross, Sunday Telegraph

Reference

Pan Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Coughlin, Con. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Coughlin, Con

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Coughlin, Con. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Saddam: King of Terror

Saddam: His Rise and Fall

American Ally: Tony Blair and the War on Terror

Saddam: King of Terror

Khomeini's Ghost: The Iranian Revolution and the Rise of Militant Islam

Khomeini's Ghost: The Iranian Revolution and the Rise of Militant Islam

Khomeini's Ghost: Iran Since 1979

Churchill's First War: Young Winston and the Fight Against the Taliban

A Golden Basin Full of Scorpions: The Quest for Modern Jerusalem

Saddam: The Secret Life