<p><b>From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of <i>Black Flags</i>, the harrowing true story of the mission to find and destroy Syria''s chemical weapons and defeat ISIS - only to lose control of both.</b><br><br><b>''Presents [the story] sharply and compellingly'' <i>Washington Post</i></b><br><b>''Excellent'' <i>Independent</i></b><br><br>In August 2012, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was clinging to power in a vicious civil war. Concerned that Assad might resort to chemical weapons, the international community warned that any such use would cross "a red line", warranting a military response. When a year later Assad bombed the Damascus suburb of Ghouta with sarin gas, killing hundreds, global leaders were torn between living up to their word and becoming mired in another unpopular Middle Eastern war. So when Russia offered to store Syria''s chemical weapons, the world leaped at the solution.<br><br>So begins a race to find, remove, and destroy 1,300 tons of chemical weapons in the