On 19 March 2003 the United States invaded Iraq. The President and his advisors expected a quick, inexpensive conflict. It turned out to be one of the costliest mistakes ever made.

This devastating reckoning of the true costs of the war holds them to account. Here renowned economists Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes expose the gigantic expenses that never made it into official calculations- From bloated private contracts to staggering interest payments, from the soaring price of oil to the long-term care of veterans and damage to the world economy as a whole.

This clear-eyed, angry and chilling account shows how we will all pay the price for a disastrous conflict for many years. Offering tough reforms for the future, it will change the way you think about the cost of war.