Rating: 
Summary: Tired, repetitive, badly written; of marginal interest
Review: Bob Woodward figured he needed a hook for his new, quickie book on the Clinton impeachment, but the field was already crowded. So he cashed in on his "All the President's Men" fame and managed to tie it in (by a real long stretch) to "the legacy of Watergate". This is sloppy, top-ten commercial journalism pretending to be serious analysis. I don't necessarily dispute his account of events in the book, but, really, how could anyone dispute his account? He never bothers to name any of his sources, or even so much as actually state whether he is actually quoting them or rearranging what he claims they told him into his own words. Another problem is that Woodward's history (and thus much popular history) ends up being the account of those who (allegedly) decided to speak to Bob Woodward. Do you think we're presented with both sides of an issue? Not unless someone on the other side also decided to leak. I am reasonably familiar with Washington and some of the players and institutions. It is reasonably easy to make a good guess as to who his principal sources are for each chapter: whoever seems to come out as heroic, selfless, untiring in defense of (fill in the blank), etc.This kind of book concerns me for the effect it has on the historical record; I have no doubt it will be referred to in the future as an accurate account of what happened. It does not deserve that status. In addition, his style is rather tiresome and not terribly original; his assistant probably wrote a good chunk of it. I hope he got some of the royalties at least. Ok, my last complaint: I agree with one of the other reviews that I read which stated that the book is very, very weak on the pre-Clinton presidencies. This only adds to my belief that it is just an attempt to cash in on the impeachment, dressed behind a lot of grand theorizing. Enough of Bob Woodward's massive ego.
Rating: 
Summary: A must for any student of history or politics
Review: Woodward's "Shadow," was, indubitably, the best book I have read in several years. It examined, with incredible detail and authority, the sundry effects of Watergate on the American presidency. Since Nixon's resignation, Woodward shows, the American public has viewed every leader as thoroughly corrupt and intent only on serving their own self interests. With painstakingly accurate and unbiased facts, Woodward convinced me that most of the post-Watergate presidents were victims rather than villians. President Reagan, for example, likely had little if any awareness of the Iran-Contra operation at the time it was executed; President Clinton has been plagued incessantly by unvalidated insinuations and malicious investigators hoping to serendipitously stumble upon some wrongdoing, e.g. Whitewater, where none existed. Overall, Woodward seems to suggest that the expiration of the independent counsel statute was overwhelmingly positive and that, in the future, the public should cease its endless cynicism and regain its erstwhile sentiments of respect for our leaders. Regardless of your views of my interpretation, I believe "Shadow" is one the most informative, and simultaneously engrossing, reads you are likely to find.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, disturbing, and frustrating.
Review: I have to commend Bob Woodward for his research and informative work (story) on how "We the People" have suffered and been humiliated, used, betrayed and lied to by so many of our Leaders. Although he treated them all with kid gloves, I suppose that was his intention. It is true that as a result of the Watergate incident the fallout has yet to settle. And that every President immediately upon entering into office and power has been a target for a corrupted law (the Independent Counsel Law). Which has been misused and misapplied by incompetent administrators in the Justice Department and Congress. And excessive Independent counsels as well. Not to mention that it was entirely too sweeping in its authority and scope. It is a shame that the Senate failed in their duty to remove Bill Clinton for the good of the country and once again insist on honesty and virtue in the Oval Office. It is a wound that will never heal. They could not see past their own self-interest. It is also my opinion that in the far underlying currents of this book Bob is trying to make the Presidents after Nixon, particularly Clinton, victims (and Hillary as well) of the political system, and by that I mean all of them not just one party but all of them. But let's face reality here, they brought it upon themselves, due to incompetence, guilt, dishonesty and/or stupidity. There is in my eyes both a vast left wing and a vast right wing conspiracy at work here in America and the philosophy from both sides is "Too Hell with the American People", "either they get on our train or they are worthless". They believe that average Americans are just too naive to understand their extreme views and fanatic causes and so they hold on to their simple-minded party, gender, racial, single issue madness and extremely volatile views. But what this book really shows, is the utter incompetence of the Presidents, First Ladies (or should we now say first persons) and their Administrations. They regard the American people as ignorant, simple-minded sheep that need to be led and who cannot add one and one and get two. Unfortunately too many people actually believe they get the truth from the major news networks papers and polls. Perhaps they are sheep. So politicians will not come clean with the American People when an error or problem is discovered or occurs. Instead they build up elaborate teams of yes men and women who will go out and deceive the public and bastardize the political branches of government and corrupt the justice system. These men and women refuse to put the country and "We the People" first above their Party, partisan politics and personal pride or self-interest. Bob Woodward has told us about the failures of the five Presidents he depicts in this book and says it is all about Watergate. And that may well be. Every President since Kennedy has allowed himself to be corrupted in some personal way either due to action or inaction on their part, or on the part of their staff. And they were certainly not loyal to America and it's people, I. E. Betty Curry, Mike McCurry, Madeline Albright, Cohen and so many others. These are people who gave Nazi like loyalty to their party and certain individuals, but never to the country, the Constitution, or the people. And if by chance there were some that came in with genuine patriotic philosophies, they were quickly manipulated or forced into corrupting themselves. They were too foolish to get out and "just say so" and then tell the American People the truth. Bob Woodward conclusively proves that politics is corrupt. And corrupt all the way down to the bone and that the first lady, is just as bad as all the rest. Which is why the founders were so adamant about virtuous people being put in power. We have lost the will or intelligence to do that. If we had it Alan Keyes and/or Gary Bauer would be the front runners right now in the GOP. We have been brainwashed to fear religious and principled men and women. Clinton's staff was a comedy. A Company of "loyal to the death" people forgetting what loyalty really is, but most importantly whom that allegiance is really owed to. The American People! We see in this book that politics is not longer about forming a more Perfect Union, establishing justice, insuring domestic Tranquillity, providing for the common defense, promoting the general welfare and securing the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. No, it is about whom can maintain power regardless of what is best for the future of America. It is about false and fake and manipulated polls. And it is about lying and cheating and forcing Americans to accept a Federal Government that has become exactly what our founders did not want it to be. It is about a Supreme Court that has become just as insane and unconstitutional in its deliberations and decisions. They are also just as guilty of Ignoring the founders blue prints. Thank God and God Bless Allen Keyes, Gary Bauer, Pat Buchanan, and. Finally someone who will speak the truth and look America in the eye and say there is a better way. Wake up, America! The Presidency has become nothing more than who can recruit the most and best lying lawyers to get away with their failures. One ups-man-ship is all they care about. It matters little to them about good, evil, right, wrong, duty, honor, integrity or virtue, just winning at any and all cost. Thanks Bob for the review of history, now write a book that give the people a guideline on how to fix this tragic and pathetic mess.
Rating:
Summary: Too light on non-Clinton post-Watergate Presidencies
Review: In general, I enjoyed this book. I was a bit disappointed at the emphasis on the Clinton Debacle...er, I mean Presidency...at the expense of more in-depth discussion of the other post-Watergate presidents that I remember less well. I also found I had to take Bob Woodward on trust for much of the detail in this book: the overwhelming majority of the quotes and other information in thes book were contributed by "a knowledgeable source." Deep Throat all over again.
Rating:
Summary: Not Woodward's best work but good nonetheless
Review: Call me smart or arrogant but I feel as if I knew most of the details in Woodward's book, especially in reveiew of the Clinton administration. But Woodward disguises his lack of new information with his clever prose (fact or fiction? who knows?) and his solid analysis, especially of the impeachment episode. What particularly strikes you is the lunacy of the whole independenct counsel law. We had deliberately surrendered our government to a crop of lawyers. This naturally climaxed into the outrageous Starr team which was both politically-inspired and as Woodward says "pathetic."
Rating: 
Summary: Good brief history of post watergate presidencies.
Review: Mr. Woodward's book gives a brief history of scandal's and the presidency since watergate. He also does a good job of showing that good scandal management requires disclosure of the facts, and allowance of an outside investigation (these are the "two fundamental lessons of watergate") But, the book focuses too much on the President Clinton scandals, only to conclude that they were of a totally different essence than Watergate was. He spent too little time discussing Monicagate, and too little time discussing Iran-contra. Good book, just not a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Another Monicagate Tale In Guise of Serious History
Review: Although I, like many other readers, tend to regard Bob Woodward's overblown books as semi-fictional potboilers, I picked up this book by the promise of a serious analytical discussion concerning the effects of Watergate and the Independent Counsel statute on the Presidency. Unfortunately, Woodward falls short on this promise and the most of the book ultimately turns into yet another lurid tale of President Clinton's sordid and sorry Monica scandal, which may be of mild interest to those obsessed with Monicagate and the sleazy unethical insider doings of the White House. In the first half of the book, Woodward does make a half-hearted effort to address the impact of Watergate on the presidencies of Ford, Carter, and Reagan. After presenting some salient facts toward this theme, he quickly, true to form, descends into the crass relevations Woodward specializes in and takes delight in attempting to portray our national leaders in less than admirable terms. Thus the end result resembles a National Inquirer type of historical narrative with focus on expletives and other unsavory details of these presidents' administrations. I did find it interesting, however, that Woodward's analysis of the Reagan Administration seemed to acknowledge President Reagan's innocence. This is a far cry from the hysterical liberal press of the 80s, but perhaps after exposure to the present administration, it has become clear even to the most virulent liberals that the ethical climate of the Clinton Administration makes Reagan's look positively saintly by comparison. The second half of the book is almost exclusively focused on the seemingly never-ending scandals and ethical lapses of the Clinton Administration, with particular emphasis on the Lewinsky scandal which led to Clinton's impeachment. Nothing new is revealed in this part, other than some revealing quotes by the main players associated to 'inside sources,' a favorite Woodward ploy. Certainly, the supposed main thesis of the effect of the post-Watergate climate is almost drowned amid Woodward's obession with the salacious details of the scandal and the Administration's attempts to contain it. Woodward does deserve credit, in my opinion, for positing an important political theme in US politics: the way in which Watergate and the Independent Counsel statute has impacted the presidency and policy making. However, Woodward has done a less than satisfactory job of addressing this theme and indeed this theme at times seemed merely a cover for writing yet another political work designed to titillate rather than inform. I would hope that this important theme could better be addressed by a more serious writer than Woodward in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Another classic by a classic
Review: Many negative comments have been written about this book, and yes, some of them are valid: too much on Clinton and too little on the previous presidents; rehashing of old news that we knew anyway; too many unnamed sources; a bias against Starr. But I must say that I am very content about buying this book because as a college student, I was still confused about the scandals that have plagued administrations after Nixon. This book explained them in a great narrative way, and it was interesting to see the conversations that happen in these smoky rooms we are always hearing about. Of course there has to be unnamed sources -- anyone who admits to saying most of the convo pieces in this book would be castigated or ever fired. Woodward's style of interviewing appeases the source and allows them to open up. I have more respect for Starr and Lewinsky after reading this book, and a lot more negative thoughts of Clinton and his clan after reading this. Kendall comes out looking strong while Bennett is seen as a loner who can never see what Clinton is exactly thinking. I am so glad that America has a Woodward to write these kinds of narratives.
Rating:
Summary: Very good overview of Independent Counsel Law
Review: Though some reviewers have disparaged the device, Woodward's work in tracing the Independent Counsel Law through five presidents is well done, if not deep or scholarly. He shows how the law spun out of control, yet typically does not place the blame where it lies, in a generation of post-Watergate legislators determined to undo the excesses they perceived were inherent in the system. It was this sort of sanctimony which spawned the partisan infighting from which the nation still suffers to this day. This failure is consistent with Woodward's style. He is quick to point fingers in the direction of Jimmy Carter and George Bush for excesses in their managerial style, yet he refrains from making judgments during the Reagan Administration regarding the former president's conduct during Iran-Contra. This choice of offering analysis at some moments and refraining from it at others is exasperating, as evidenced when the book moves to the Clinton section, which consumes more than the second half of the narrative. One interesting and enjoyable facet is the continuing appearance of Richard Nixon in each presidency, not only as a shadow of illegal activity but also as a dark angel of reconciliation. It is in the most recent section that Woodward makes a compelling, if not altogether believeable case, that most of the mystery which drove Whitewater was the distrust and subterfuge of a paranoid White House. Yet he withholds judgements on the multiple conflicts of interest and questionable practices of that same White House which made the investigations necessary. The book also omits important moments from the narrative for suspect reasons. At one moment, the 1998 mid-term elections seem to scotch impeachment; the next, Kenneth Starr is ready to testify. Woodwood omits a critical moment, when the White House overplayed its hand and gave insulting and patently absurd answers to the series of interrogatories posted by the Judiciary Committee following the election. It was this, more than anything, which drove the vote to impeach. This ommission is so conspicious that one wonders if it was intentional. "Shadow" does avoid the trap that many fell into, in condemning the impeachment as a partisan witchhunt. Indeed, Woodward shows how very close Clinton was to losing not only his presidency, but his staff and his party. Woodward's book, in short, is a good attempt at an overview, though it suffers from obvious haste and Woodward's usual practice of shading the facts to suit a suspect perception. Still, it is a must for any student of the scandal culture of Washington, and an indespensible guide to sorting out the truth behind "the politics of personal destruction."
Rating:
Summary: Excellent depth- fair coverage but w/ negative slant
Review: Bob Woodward generally does an excellent job of exposing the scandals/challenges which have faced all president's since Nixon. He does well to point out the press'es zeal for sensationalism but falls flat on his face by portraying President Carter in a negative light (ie Woodward doesnt recognize Carters contributions to Habitat for Humanity, etc...)
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