Stephenson, James, Losing The Golden Hour, An Insider’s View of Iraq’s Reconstruction, Potomac Books, Inc., 2007
The “Golden Hour” is the time after a war has ended when rebuilding and reforms can be carried out in a country before the public turns against them. James Stephenson was the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) chief in Iraq from 2004-2005. In his Losing The Golden Hour, An Insider’s View of Iraq’s Reconstruction he argues that America failed to rebuild Iraq because of lack of planning, experience and bickering.