Rating: 
Summary: Good--but denying the bias is naive
Review: Ron Suskind is a lovely writer. After finishing his book, that is the first thought that comes to mind. THE PRICE OF LOYALTY is well-written, seamlessly carrying the story from the day Paul H. O'Neill was asked to be the Secretary of the Treasury by George W. Bush to late 2003, a year or so after his firing. While due to the nature of O'Neill's job there is much talk about finance, THE PRICE OF LOYALTY is remarkably clear and readable. It would make an excellent novel; all the characters are perfectly in place. There's the distant, inscrutuable man who heads the country; his Vice President, a man senior Cabinet members thought they knew but are now finding unreadable; Alan Greenspan, the old and trusted friend, a brilliant economic mind himself; Donald Rumsfeld, also an old friend but now in the President's "inner circle"; the "Triumvirate" of sorts, that is so often left out despite their public respect because of centrist views: Christine Todd Whitman, Colin Powell, and, of course, our hero, Paul O'Neill, a nonpolitical man who wants to deal with facts and seek truth. Finally, there is Lawrence Lindsey, O'Neill's advesary, who in the end was fired as well.The problem, however, lies in the book's extreme readability: its truth is easily questioned. Despite O'Neill's claim that, "I'm an old man, and I'm rich [so I have nothing to fear from telling the truth]", THE PRICE OF LOYALTY also states that Paul H. O'Neill had never before been fired. Despite his claims that he doesn't take the firing personally, it is extremely hard to believe that this is entirely true. It is a rare man who does not feel the humiliation of being publically forced from such a position as Treasury Secretary. While Suskind claims to have spoken with others in the research of this book, the fact remains that it is the story of Paul O'Neill and he is the contributor. Therefore, it stands completely to reason that it is slanted, almost so severely that anyone who disagrees with our "hero" is painted as one who does not wish to look out for what is true and the welfare of the people, but rather his own ideals and in the end, politics. This may be true; however it is far from likely that one is either in agreement with Paul O'Neill or wrong. An even larger problem is the book's timing. O'Neill may claim that unfaltering personal loyalty is not loyalty at all, but the fact remains that he is largely responsible for an expose painting his former boss in an extremely unflattering light while that former boss remains in office. While it is ridiculous to expect the Presidential Cabinet to agree on everything--in fact, that would more likely be a detriment than a success--it is not unreasonable to expect them to publicly support each other. Allowing for a "transparent" government, one in which the personal opinions of high-ranking governmnet officials are made public, though apparently a goal of O'Neill's, would also allow for easy pitting of officials against each other and the appearance of instability. While, for example, the (hypothetical) Secretary of State may not agree with the (hypothetical) Secretary of Defense, stating so publicly would undermine authority, therefore causing distrust of the government by the people. THE PRICE OF LOYALTY, despite its noble claim of "telling truth", seeks to do exactly that to President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Lawrence Lindsey, among others. It is hard to get past the fact that this book remains quite one-sided, and no matter what Paul O'Neill says to the contrary, vindictive.
Rating: 
Summary: An Eye-Opener
Review: I have found the slew of anti-Bush books either depressing or boring; "The Price of Loyalty" is one of the few books in this catagory that I finished. It kept my attention even with the long descriptions of economic policy. O'Neill confirmed what has been stated already: Bush has little understanding of the issues of our country. And he does not seem interested in learning. I trust this account due to O'Neill being a Republican and being witness to what went on at the White House. If one of his own "people" can reveal all this, Bush is hopefully in a lot of trouble. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: well worth the read
Review: A very insightful must-read look at the inner workings of the Bush administration. What makes this book unusually valuable is the amount of detail it's able to provide since O'Neill is a meticulous note taker with an outstanding memory, who has a deep self-professed commitment to the 'truth'. Will confirm the worst fears of those opposed to this administration, and provides an account that will be very hard for Bush supporters to dismiss given the source. All of the documentation used in the book are posted on the author's website. The accounts and portrayals are one-sided since it's all from the perspective of O'Neill, but he's arguably one of the few insiders who can provide a reasonably objective account of the Bush presidency. This book that will surely haunt the administration in the upcoming election. On a more general level, this book is a vivid demonstration of the absolute necessity of having a knowledgable, open-minded and intelligent leader at the head any complex organization. It will likely prove to be invaluable as a detailed account of a deeply flawed presidency.
Rating:
Summary: It Confirms Our Worst Fears - And Signals The End Of Bush
Review: There are two ways to view this book. One can say it is a naïve portrayal of a cabinet member that worked on the fringes or it is an accurate record of what Bush-Cheney are doing wrong. There is a third view which I think is more accurate and perhaps more damming - and maybe more people have slowly come to accept. Just so that I am honest - I am a "conservative" and previously supported Bush. But now he seems to have no agenda or core values. The book tends to reinforce these ideas. here is what I think has happened - reinforced by the book. (1) The president like his democrat opposites lusted after power and having gained power help their friends - a concept as old as government itself (2) The administration has no financial plan or idea on how to balance the budget and live within their income - so he is not a financially responsible conservative. (3) The government has simply ignored huge domestic problems such as 10 million illegal Mexicans streaming across the borders. (4) The US government is not interested in being a responsible citizen of the world, and the administration dismissed the Kyoto protocols essentially out of hand, spurns the vetoes at the UN by its European allies accompanied by derogatory remarks and much anti old Europe propaganda, continues to path of lawless action outside of norms of international laws and invades Iraq on a pretense that now appears quite false - killing thousands of Iraqi's and perhaps thousands of Americans at a cost of hundreds of millions - the jury is still out. (5) Government propaganda is the norm and the "war on terrorism" a cover for more reckless actions including expansion of the budget adding hundreds of thousands of permanent government employees - a big spending liberal dressed in the clothes of a "good old boy" conservative. In any case the book probably signals the end of Bush, but will the dem's do better job at management? Probably not. But at least there will be grid lock in the government and spending will stop and maybe it will be a better world citizen. My humble opinion. Jack in Toronto
Rating:
Summary: Those dashes drive me crazy
Review: Though I think this is an important book and anybody in America who is planning to vote should read it, I want to address something else. Mr. Suskind has a profound love of the punctuation "dash" (--). My rough estimate is that he uses on average 2 pairs per page, and on some pages 4.5 pairs! They interupt the flow of the sentances and drive me crazy! So a suggestion to the author: if you want more people to get through your book, take your hands off those dashes!
Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: This is without a doubt one of the most revealing and breath taking accounts of how the Bush Administration works. O'Neill and Suskind has done a great job making this a fantastic book that you cannot put down. Amazing insights into the way Bush works as well as into some of the finer details of Tax legislation and politics in general. O'Neill was and is clearly one of a kind and it is a shame that Bush did not have the courage to let him do his job. For sure some of the prominent cabinet members as well as White House staffers will have glowing red ears when they read this.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing Insider's Perspective
Review: "The Price of Loyalty" is an insider's perspective on an inside fight -- inside the Republican Party and particularly inside the Bush '43 White House. Suskind's book articulates the view of former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill that the ideological wing of the Republican Party has ascended. O'Neill, representing the pragmatic wing, is appalled. Democratic and Republican pragmatists may be perturbed by what they read. Politics inevitably influences policy, and that may even be a good thing. But science should not be enslaved to ideology, as it was in the Bush '43 White House's Kyoto Protocol deliberations. Tax cuts should not be enacted to please the Republican base at the price of a huge deficit, when responsible counsel (Alan Greenspan) points to an economy already on the mend and to long-term disastrous effects of that deficit. American soldiers should not be sent to foreign lands to fight and die without compelling reason. "The Price of Loyalty" makes the case that all of these unhappy occurrences transpired. This book is more memoir than policy tome, but it articulates convincing positive positions that thoughtful members of both major parties could endorse, but which never saw legislative daylight. For example, fiscal prudence. For example, a paltry twenty-five million dollar foreign aid investment in an African country's water system that would have provided all its water needs, saved lives and exponentially advanced that country's economy -- creating a reservoir of good will that would have payed dividends far into the future. This book gives credit where credit is due. O'Neill admired some members of the administration -- for example, Christine Todd Whitman (now gone), Colin Powell, and Condoleezza Rice (whom O'Neill praises as an "honest broker" of divergent viewpoints). Karen Hughes he compliments as pragmatic. "The Price of Loyalty" raises questions for the reader to answer. O'Neill admired President Ford's amazing grasp of issues and rigorous thought process. Ford did not win re-election. O'Neill also admired George H.W. Bush. Bush '41 did not win re-election. So, for a book that extols pragmatism and denigrates the opposite, the question arises: is the Bush '43 White House in its own way more pragmatic than its immediate Republican predecessors? Isn't it smart for politics to trump policy? The answer lies in the attentiveness of the American voter and the kind of leader they want. Personally, I think O'Neill is prophetic, but time will tell whether he is a prophet of the Cassandra variety.
Rating:
Summary: O'Neill hits the nail on the head..
Review: For anyone that thinks this book is not accurate is way off base. O'Neill has first hand knowledge of meetings and provided Suskin with over 19,000 pages of documentation. He has minutes from meetings with the president and is one of the most respected businessmen in the country. Of all of the executives in 43's White House only O'Neill has transformed a company. Bush has never been a great CEO and Cheney left Haliburton in a mess from acquisitions of company's that have left Haliburton in litigation on asbestos.
For anyone to say this is not an objective review does not know O'Neill's history in Washington or running a Fortune 500 company. As far as Woodward's account of the President I am not sure of the last policy meeting he has sat in or access to any NSC meetings. He is a great writer, but not one that can refute any of O'Neill's claims.
Rating: 
Summary: A rant not to be taken seriously.
Review: I have been recently reading several books about President Bush's administration, including this one. Unfortunately, there is not much here for those interested in objective views and factual information on the topic. This book is merely a venue for Paul O'Neill to rant about how he was pushed out of the administration because his policy initiatives were rejected. He didn't want to work as a team with other members of the administration, thinking he was better than everyone else, and got cut out for it. Now, he is looking for payback. O'Neill's portrayal of Bush as a passive participant in policy meetings and lacking thoughtful input does not correlate with more objective sources. If one wants to examine such an objective source, one should look at Bob Woodward's Bush at War. For anyone who knows Woodward's work, they know that he is certainly not a patsy for anyone. This is the man who exposed conflicts in George Bush, Sr.'s administration over the Persian Gulf War of 1991 in his book The Commanders, and also produced his classic work on Watergate, All the President's Men. Woodward presents a picture of Bush as being a quite proactive participant in policy meetings, guiding the direction of the policy with input from his advisors. CIA officials interviewed by Woodward commented on how impressed they were with Bush's informed questions when they first briefed him after winning the Presidential election in 2000. In the face of such contrary reports from a respected author like Woodward, O'Neill's comments look like pure fiction from a bitter ex-employee. This book should not be given much weight in the search for factual information on Bush's conduct as Commander in Chief.
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes Candor Doesn't Win
Review: Note: My wife and I knew Paul and Nancy O'Neill very well when they lived in Washington during the period from 1965-1977, and we've seen them a number of times since; we also received a copy of the "Price of Loyalty" from them on the day of publication. The "Price of Loyalty" is pure Paul O'Neill, a man who is problem-oriented, wants all of the facts and where analysis of them leads. The answers are sometimes "liberal," sometimes "conservative." In other words he is results oriented, regardless of the political slant or consequences. When he returned to Washington in 2001, he apparently expected the collegial days of the past when he, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Greenspan were working in the Nixon-Ford Administrations during which time policy issues were hammered out. Both Nixon and Ford were well informed of the policies that were being proposed; both entered in and led discussions as to how policies should shaped and implemented. Times did change. Cheney and Rumsfeld's views had solidified; new ideas were not welcomed, particularly by Cheney whose stint as head of Halliburton seems to have caused him to believe that only the Rich and Powerful should inhabit the earth. And as the O'Neill memoranda made availalbe to Suskind show, plus interviews with others in the Administration, George W. Bush is not one to engage in details-oriented discussion nor does he do "nuance" or, apparently, much heavy thinking at all. The book reads as someone wrote like a mystery where the naive protagonist is telling his problems to a presumed confidant, Dick Cheney, who turns out to be the mole, thus putting the protagonist in great danger. In short this is a revealing book about Paul O'Neill, particularly to those who didn't know him, of this Administration's mindsets and philosophy, and of the chilling way that policy decisions have been sacrified on the alter of political ideaology--and damn the consequences. Perhaps the most important part of the book is the account of the frequent meetings between O'Neill and Greenspan, their common views as to the wisdom of the taxcuts without some assurance that the surplusses would in fact materialize, and their agreement about the need for real corporate reform at the top--and of the wish-washy product that came out instead. Not all things are mentioned in the book. The O'Neill relunctance to close down the off-shore banking loopholes enjoyed by corporations is one. And although mentioned, it is strange that O'Neill with his previous Washington experience and presumed knowledge of the sensitivity of financial markets and the weight of statements by US Treasury Secretaries would blurt out often "truths" that would cause adverse reactions--and clarifications the next day--at home and abroad. But congratulations to Paul O'Neill for allowing someone like Suskind to take his record as Treasury Secretary and to produce a book that gives ordinary citizens a close-up view of how this Administration works. It's good for American democracy, even if the current inhabitants of the White House and Executive Office buildings adjacent are undoubtedly unhappy.
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