Josh Tarling

Josh Tarling is a post-graduate student researching the way the U.S. went to war during the second Bush administration.

Readers fascinated by politics and the law will want to pick up this book, which features edited trial transcripts from the federal case against I. Lewis ""Scooter"" Libby, who was convicted of obstruction of justice and making false statements in the the alleged outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Murray Waas begins with a detailed chronology of events, setting the scene nicely for the trial of Libby and the run-up to war with Iraq., and how intelligence was manipulated to those ends.The bulk of the book is composed of trial testimony from various witnesses, some minor celebrities among them. Murray Waas interjects from time to time within his meticulous book background information or analysis, and introduces each witness with a short biography explaining his or her connection to the case. While this holds limited appeal for all but the most diehard politicos and legal types, it makes for an excellent resource for anyone who wants to understand the scandal in general and Libby's case in particular.