Pay Any Price

A New York Times Notable Book: A look at the hidden costs of America’s war on terror from “the finest national security reporter of this generation” (Newsweek).

Since 9/11, the United States has fought an endless war on terror, seeking enemies everywhere and never promising peace. In Pay Any Price, Pulitzer Prize winner James Risen reveals an extraordinary litany of the hidden costs of that war: billions of dollars that went missing from Iraq only to turn up in a bunker in Lebanon; whistleblowers abused, including a staffer on the House Intelligence Committee persecuted by the FBI for expressing her concerns about the NSA spying on US citizens; and an entire professional organization, the American Psychological Association, forced to investigate its own involvement with the government’s use of torture.

In the name of fighting terrorism, our government has perpetrated acts that rival the shameful historic wartime abuses of generations past, and it has worked very hard to cover them up. This “important and powerful book” brings them into the light (The New York Times Book Review).

“A wide-ranging look at consequences of the so-called war on terror [that] includes stories of shocking thievery during the U.S. occupation of Iraq.” —U.S. News & World Report

"Risen's fast-paced, accessible prose and his finely drawn detail make the book read like an implausible thriller. The tragedy is that, however implausible, it all appears to be true . . . enormously impressive. . . . This is an important and powerful book that should be read by anyone who believes it is time to take stock after 13 years and re-evaluate the nature of the threat the country faces and its response to the atrocity of 9/11." --New York Times Book Review "At long last we can retire Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as the icons of investigative reporting. With his second book probing the dark tunnels of the so-called war on terror, James Risen has established himself as the finest national security reporter of this generation, a field crowded with first rank talent." --Newsweek "A memorable chronicle of the long-range consequences of the panicky reaction of top American officials to the Sept. 11 attacks...Mr. Risen certainly makes the case in this book that America has lost much in its lashing out against terrorism, and that Congress and the people need to wake up and ask more questions about the political, financial, moral and cultural costs of that campaign." --Tom Ricks, New York Times daily review "A wide-ranging look at consequences of the so-called war on terror and includes stories of shocking thievery during the U.S. occupation of Iraq." --Steven Nelson, US News & World Report "A no-holds-barred tarring and feathering of the past 13 years of the U.S. national security system. At times frightening, Risen's book is a strong reminder of the importance of a free press keeping a powerful government in check." --William O'Connor, Daily Beast "James Risen's Pay Any Price: Greed, Power, and Endless War is a book every member of Congress and every candidate for president in both political parties should be forced to read." -- Michael Goldman, Lowell Sun