 |
|
|
Apparel Baby Beauty Books Classical Music DVD Electronics Gourmet Food Jewelry Kitchen & Housewares Magazines Music Musical Instruments Office Products Outdoor Living PC Hardware Personal Health Care Photo Software Sporting Goods Tools & Hardware Toys VHS VideoGames |
by: Bob Woodward List Price: $16.00 Amazon.com's Price: $11.68 You Save: $4.32 (27%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931 EAN: 9780743244619 ISBN: 0743244613 Label: Simon & Schuster Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 416 Publication Date: 2003-07 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Release Date: July 01, 2003 Sales Rank: 57370 Studio: Simon & Schuster Accessories:
Editorial Review: Product Description: Bush at War reveals in stunning detail how an untested president with a sweeping vision for remaking the world and war cabinet members often at odds with each other responded to the September 11 terrorist attacks and prepared to confront Iraq. Woodward's virtual wiretap into the White House Situation Room is the first history of the war on terrorism. Amazon.com Review: Bush at War focuses on the three months following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, during which the U.S. prepared for war in Afghanistan, took steps toward a preemptive strike against Iraq, intensified homeland defense, and began a well-funded CIA covert war against terrorism around the world. The narrative is classic Woodward: using his inside access to the major players, he offers a nearly day-by-day account of the decision-making processes and power battles behind the headlines. Woodward's information is based on tape-recorded interviews of over a hundred sources (some unnamed), including four hours of exclusive interviews with the president, along with notes from cabinet meetings and access to some classified reports. Woodward's analysis of President Bush's leadership style is especially fascinating. A self-described 'gut player' who relies heavily on instinct, Bush comes across as a man of action continually pressing his cabinet for concrete results. The revelation that the president developed and publicly stated the so-called Bush Doctrine--the policy that the U.S. would not only go after terrorists everywhere but also those governments or groups which harbor them--without first consulting Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, or Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is particularly telling. Other principals are examined with equal scrutiny. Though National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice emerges as soft-spoken and even tentative during group meetings, it becomes clear that Bush is dependent on her for candid advice as well as for conveying his thoughts to his cabinet. The relationship between Powell and Rumsfeld (and to a lesser degree Powell and Cheney) is often strained, exposing their differences regarding how to deal with Iraq and whether coalition building or unilateralism is most appropriate. Woodward also describes how CIA director George Tenet prepared a paramilitary team to infiltrate Afghanistan to set the groundwork for invasion, and how this ushered in a new era of cooperation between the defense department and the CIA. A worthwhile and often enlightening read, this is a revealing and informative first draft of the Bush legacy. --Shawn Carkonen Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Bush made strangely vulnerableFor all the conservatives who give this book one star because it's "filled with lies," I feel compelled to point out that I am a moderate liberal who enjoys reading these Woodward books because they help me empathize with the Bush administration more, not because I want to demonize them or make fun of them. This book, like his most recent one, is one that will have you forgetting your other responsibilities. As busy as I am, I found myself finishing this near-400-page book at just under ... Read More Rating: - First Rough Draft of HistoryI suppose you can draw whatever conclusions you want from Mr. Woodward's "Bush At War" depending on your political slant. For those considering the book, I ask you to look at it impartially - it is a fascinating study into presidential decision making, and can be considered a primary source for research purposes. The decision making portrayed here are those of President Bush, and despite attacks from either end of the spectrum directed at Mr. Woodward, he has, as always, turned a reporter's eye to ... Read More Rating:  - Hollow Gossip with a Neo-Conservative EchoFor those who give any credibility to Bush and his Neo-Conservative Administration, this will be an enjoyable dosage of literary pornography-you will be informed on nothing you are not already aware of, but may be provided with a warm feeling of admiration for those you consider to be decisive heroes. For the rest of us, who are now only too aware that the war in Afghanistan was a pitiful necessity for the Bush Administration, and who understand that the primary focus was constantly on ... Read More Rating:  - Matter-of-fact Transcript of First 100 DaysThis book is not an opinion piece--it's nearly a minute-by-minute matter-of-fact transcript of what transpired in the Bush administration in the first 100 days after 9/11, up to the capture of Kabul. There are no sweeping judgments here, just the facts, in an accessible and readable style. If you're after a wholesale condemnation of the Bush administration, this book won't satisfy you. But if you want a kind of step-by-step chronology of what happened and when, with explanations along the ... Read More Rating:  - Wish he had turned his notes over to a real historianThe book recounts the basic events that we've all read in the newspapers at greater detail and while adding some original information based on meeting transcripts and interviews. The main thing we get is some sense of the personalities and their struggles amongst themselves and to deal with events. But we still don't get a GOOD look at them, that really gives deep insights. The reportorial style does a disservice to the story. We get neither insightful analysis NOR detailed sourced history. ... Read More |
