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 enlarge | Author: Bob Woodward
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $28.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  223 reviews
Sales Rank: 364078
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 0743204735
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931
EAN: 9780743204736
ASIN: 0743204735
Publication Date: November 19, 2002
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| Customer Reviews:
 Bob Woodward- Administration stenographer August 23, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Bush at War" takes us inside the Bush Cabinet's decision making process after the 9/11 attacks. It's a fascinating look at how and why the Emperor and his paladins (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, et al)decided to do what they did...if this account is true. This book is not investigative journalism or a legitimate history. It makes no attempt to provide a broader picture of events or verify the assertions made by the subjects being interviewed. In a surprising and disappointing role for the man who brought down Nixon, Bob Woodward plays the part of obedient scribe, unquestioningly taking down the retrospective accounts of the Administration's VIPs. Basically, "Bush at War" is a book-length and better-written version of the New York Post.
While I question the value of reading such a one-sided account, and the propriety of a journalist acting as stenographer for such one-sided accounts, I don't necessarily think the book is a complete snowjob. After all, it deals with relatively noncontroversial events that few would have much cause to lie about. After all, there was almost universal consent for the overthrow of the Taliban and the invasion of Afghanistan. So, if you enjoy reading about high level meetings, the technical details of how the Administration supported the Northern Alliance or decided on its war strategy, then I think you can put a lot of credence in this book, even if its uncritical report forces you to take it with a grain of salt. One aspect that piqued my personal skepticism though is the disconnect between the bumbling frat boy Bush we see on the news every night, who has incompetently mismanaged our government for 7 years and who has not yet mastered the English language, and this book's portrayal of a President who was humble and mindful of the limitations of his foreign policy and military experience, whose understanding of problems was subtle and keen, and who chaired these war meetings with authority and intelligence. Decide for yourself whether to believe this book or your own eyes and 7 years of the public record. In any case, the book doesn't deal with the important issues that are at the heart of widespread accusations of incompetence and malfeasance against this Administration: namely the failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks, despite myriad warnings and indications, and the neoconservative manipulation and invention of intelligence to justify the war against Iraq.
To be sure, Woodward tells us that people like Wolfowitz and Cheney were pushing to attack Iraq along with Afghanistan in the days after 9/11, but that's hardly a revelation. It was well known that the neoconservative cult was publicly calling for war on Iraq throughout the 1990s. What was even more interesting was Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's assertion, in his own book, that Bush was planning for war with Iraq from the first days of his_administration_. In any case, "Bush at War" tells us that the President overruled his neocons and put Iraq on the back burner_for the moment_. What was surprising, and disgusting, was that even people like Powell, who were opposed to any attack on Iraq, merely tabled the Iraq War for tactical reasons (e.g. it would hurt the Coalition, let's deal with one enemy at a time, etc.) rather than openly opposed it because of its inherent insanity and injustice. That kind of pusillanimous dissent perfectly captures the character of the good soldier Powell and other Bush loyalists, who preferred to serve their President rather than their nation.
My opinion of the value of this book is on the low side of the scale, but if you must read it, supplement it with books that will give you a larger picture of the America that Bush created.
 Tremendously Interesting and Well Read! August 9, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Author Bob Woodward has succeeded in letting President George Bush and his cabinet tell their story of the 9-11 attacks on the United States and the decision to go to war in Afghanistan. I was surprised with the amount of information Bush and his cabinet willingly provided to Woodward, making this book stunning in its level of detail and insight on every aspect of the war.
James Naughton, who reads the book, does great job and is at his best when reading the portions of the book attributed to Bush.
Might Have Been the President's Memoirs April 16, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Bob Woodward could have just as easily ghost-written President Bush's memoirs of the 100 days post-Sept. 11.
There are almost no critical questions asked in this book, no opposing viewpoints presented and very little context provided. These aren't bad qualities in somebody's memoirs--afterall, you want their perspective--but its a dangerous quality in something that purports to be a history of a key moment in the Bush Administration.
At a few particularly disturbing points, Woodward verges on patriotic machismo: "There was a television antenna on top of a small hill in Kabul that had been a favorite target of the Soviets though they had never succeeded in hitting it. The Northern Alliance had also tried and failed. An American jet streaked in and, with one bomb, the antenna was gone. Word spread through the capital: The Americans are going to win, this is over." (p. 312). Wait a minute, am I reading Tom Clancy or an investigative reporter?
Interesting book, but read between the lines & be sure to check out some of Noam Chomsky's or RAWA's writings on Sept. 11th, Afghanistan and the Northern Alliance for a point of view that actually questions the motives and actions of the United States.
 An Alternative View February 6, 2007
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
The product came as described and is a good alternative view to the Bush spin.
Confirmation of Bush Whitehouse's power structure January 4, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This Bob Woodward's account of behind-the-scene policy making process is nothing less than a vivid portrait of Bush administration's power constellation. As is always described in media circuit, Cheney is the mastermind of American bullish undertaking while Powel tries to maintain the US policy in the context of international system. It shows Bush is a leader with a heart of tolerance to open discussion but not to foot-dragging. He puts utmost importance in quick action rather than mulling over potential setbacks.
Woodward tries to keep this book a narrative of events in the circle of the Whitehouse decision making rather than adding his own perspective. Readers can easily figure out each player's role in the process. This book's bottom line: Bush in charge, Rice at the top of coordination, Cheney as a hardliner unilateralist, Powell as an internationalist-minded pure diplomat, Rumsfeld as a stubborn but determined leader of his Department. The reality certainly has many more layers of input attempting to divergent directions of American foreign policy. This setting may not be the perfect, but certainly has a necessary decisiveness. It is readers who draw what is the Woodward's message.
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