Wag the Dog: A Novel

Wag the Dog: A Novel  
Author(s) Larry Beinhart
Original title American Hero
Cover artist Maria Elias
Country USA
Language English
Genre(s) Satire, Conspiracy
Publisher Nation Books
Publication date 1993, 2004
Media type Print (paperback)
Pages 392
ISBN 156025663X

Wag the Dog: A Novel is a 2004 satirical conspiracy theory novel, originally published as American Hero in 1993, written by Larry Beinhart. It speculated that Operation DESERT STORM had been scripted and choreographed as a ploy to get George H.W. Bush reelected to a second term (taking their cues from Margaret Thatcher's similar war in the Falkland Islands), while at the same time analyzing exactly why that conflict had been so popular. The book formed the inspiration and basis for the 1997 film, Wag the Dog.

See also