THE CATCH-22 OF THE IRAQ WAR:
HOCUS POTUS
a novel by
Malcolm
MacPherson

“A hilarious yet passionate antiwar satire that centers
on the US search for a WMD to justify invasion and a
con man's ingenious plot to supply one.
MacPherson's breakneck narrative—redolent of
Carl Hiaasen’s exuberance and Elmore Leonard’s cynicism—
is an irresistible portrait of greed and incompetence run amok.”
—The Boston Globe

“With Congress out of town and President Bush on vacation,
[we] suggest listeners and policy makers prepare for
next month's assessment of the war in Iraq
by reading [this] new comic novel.”
—Robert Siegel, “All Things Considered”

“An insider’s view of the national confusion, corruption, idiocy
and pathos produced by the early days of the Iraq War...
These are the kind of laughs that make you want to weep.
Hocus POTUS showcases black humor of the most exquisite variety—
or, as you may think of it after reading this nervy novel, ‘Green Zone humor.’”
—Alan Cheuse, National Public Radio

“Grand, rip-roaring...MacPherson has a fine time getting the anger out,
but a warning’s in order: in between the laughs,
you just may find your own  anger ratcheting up.”
—San Diego Union-Tribune

“This rollicking political farce from former
Time and Newsweek correspondent
MacPherson…effectively portrays the
Green Zone as a zoo of ambition,
backbiting and incompetence.”
—Publishers Weekly

What’s driving the ultra-dedicated State Department staffers nuts in the former
Republican Palace in Baghdad’s Green Zone? Is it the rising insurgency? The lack of
power and water? The tide of utter chaos? The sinking feeling that the adventure is
going south?

No.

What bothers them is WMDs. Without one, how can their beloved POTUS
(security shorthand for President of the United States) justify this mess? Not finding
a single WMD to justify it all is making POTUS look bad. Real bad.
Enter Rick Gannon, Ambassador Goodhair’s advisor-turned-war profiteer, recently
imprisoned but now on the lam. Little does the Ambassador and his staff know that
Rick––along with his pickup band of brigands, including a homesick Air National
Guard pilot, a sourpuss Defense Intelligence agent, a jaded TV cameraman, and an
aging Iraqi soccer star––may hold the key to POTUS’ salvation.
Written by the man who covered Ambassador Paul Bremer in Iraq for Time
magazine, Hocus POTUS is a novel rich in real-life details and thinly veiled portrayals.
It's also a hysterically irreverent—and masterfully crafted—antiwar satire that will
keep you guessing to the end.