William Cooper is the author of the new novel The Trial of Donald H. Rumsfeld. His other books include How America Works...and Why It Doesn't. He is also a lawyer and a columnist.
Q: What inspired you to write a novel based on an alternative story of the late defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld (1932-2021)?
A: I have long been fascinated by his unique personality and his experience over many decades in American politics. For example, he was famous for recognizing the limits of human knowledge, yet didn't see his own limits when it came to Iraq.
Q: How did you research the book, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?
A: I read a number of books and lots of articles and watched his famous press conferences on C-SPAN. I was surprised to learn of his friendships across the political aisle, including with Larry Summers.
Q: What did you see as the right balance between fact and fiction as you wrote the novel?
A: It's about 50-50. Lots of real facts; lots of imagined stories. The aim for the mixture was to entertain readers.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: An understanding that famous political figures are human, like everyone else, and that great historical events are often driven by everyday human factors much more than we think.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m considering making this a series. Next up, either The Trial of Donald J. Trump or The Trial of Elon R. Musk.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: The mysterious narrator is likely not who you think it is.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with William Cooper.
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