This is a major biography of a pivotal figure in the road to war with Iraq.A plump, quiet man with a sly and gentle smile, Ahmed Chalabi literally changed the world. If anyone were to get the most credit for pushing America to war in Iraq, Chalabi, a wealthy exile who spent most of his life out of Iraq, would certainly be a leading contender. When the US marched to war against Saddam, to a remarkable and indisputable degree, it stepped to Chalabi's drumbeat.A convicted felon and a fugitive from justice in Jordan, Chalabi managed to charm and influence the top leaders of the United States. Those leaders funded him with US government money which he would use in turn to lobby them. He managed to ride America's immense power, harnessing it towards his interests. More so than George W Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney, Chalabi and his followers somehow steered the United States towards its fateful invasion of Iraq.This is an extraordinary investigative biography by brilliant young Emmy award-winning journalist Aram Roston. The book, which reads like a thriller, tells the story of Chalabi from his days as a young MIT mathematician, through his misadventures in the Middle East, to the invasion of Iraq. Rostom travels to London, Baghdad, Amman and Beirut in search of the elusive Chalabi, talking to people close to him, friends as well as foes and unlocking revelatory secrets along the way.This is more than just a biography of an individual. It is a biography of an obsession. Chalabi was far more than an impassioned exile: his purpose in Iraq had the drive of passion, of religion, of addiction. And in the same way, he inspired fervour in both his supporters and his enemies.