Rating: 
Summary: Clarity at last
Review: If, like myself, you've struggled to find answers to the mystery of what (mis)guides the Bush administration, this book provides the insight. For example: - The silence surrounding the Saudis and 9/11 (page 197)
- "The Saudi Dilemma" - Page 200
- Enron - Page 203
- "Sound policy colliding with political favor." page 220
- Greenspan's outburst of "the corruption of capitalism". Page 226.
- How idealogy is guiding the administration, as opposed to fact based analysis. So well stated on page 292: "I think an ideology comes out of feelings and it tends to be non-thinking. A philosophy, on the other hand, can have a structured thought base. One would hope that a philosophy, which is always a work in progress, is influenced by facts. So there is constant interplay between 'what do I think' and 'why do I think it'...Idealogy is alot easier, because you don't have to know anything or search for anything. You already know the answer to everything. It's not penetratable by facts. It's absolutism. (Then on page 294 O'Neill shows how this "absolutism" has had such bad effects on Afghanistan. Overall, this truely describes what should have been obvious to anyone following the news during this administration; It is not about doing what's right, it's about winning (politics). Please read this book before voting this November. The future of this country is at stake and we can't afford idealogues destroying our country for another four years.
Rating:
Summary: REVEALING. ASTONISHING. A MUST READ
Review: The author guides us through the revelations of an insider, exposing with artful and captivating style, the entrails of the controversial goverment of JW Bush.
It may seem unethical of O'Neil to have come with all this information to the public, but I thank him for doing so. I am sure it was not a light decission. Althoug it must appear as a disloyalty to his boss, it shows his greater loyalty to his boss' boss, the American People, from where Paul O'Neil grew out of.
For those of us who question before accepting, this book is a confirmation of what we already new, the lies about the need for war with Iraq, the record deficit after having had projected superavits, the preponderance of political benefits over national benefits. The constant rejection of opening White House records to the public even when requested by Congress.
The fact that interested me the most in buying the book on its launching day, was the swiftness of the desicion by the Justice Dpt. to initiate an investigation on Paul O'Neil, in contrast with the slow response to the blowing of the coverage of a CIA opperative whose husband had reported against the facts used to justify the Iraq war.
Paul O'Neil has made a huge service to the american people. And the book is a must read to understand how this government is functioning despite the president it has.
Rating: 
Summary: Received Thursday, reviewed Sunday; with 87 prior reviews!
Review: I'll keep this short. I bought the book from Amazon with overnight delivery because the O'Neill / Suskind interview on a national news magazine last Sunday led me to believe that the book might be the subject of litigation. Amazon shipped on Tuesday and I'd have had it Wednesday, save for a small delivery snafu. Good Work, Amazon! The book is the product of a team of people (see the acknowledgments beginning on p329). O'Neill has solid information and much of it is relevant to the workings of the executive branch under Bush, Rove and Cheney. The quality of the information, the writing and the presentation are worth the price. The index, alone, is worth the price of the book. The prior 87 reviews cover most of the subjects worth mentioning - but the overriding theme is clear: the present administration is "message-control" driven. This administration's policies always support their base - although the description of policy for the public (the spin) - is king. O'Neill fell for straying from the message de jour. Finally, there are a few issues of interest about the book and the review process: The book release was timed to make the most of the current election cycle. It will serve as a contemporary reference, but it does not have the depth that it could have had with more research and writing time. The early reviews here at Amazon contain statements that are clearly false. One reviewer states that they read this book in "the library", but this book was published five (5) days prior to this review. Libraries, generally, do not receive advance copies. I'm amazed at 87 prior reviews - I'm a fast read and reading this book over a 3 day period (I'm a lawyer and I have long hours) I thought was pretty quick. I wonder how many of the reviews are political? I've read all of them...many are valuable - but some are mere screeds.
Rating:
Summary: Let me guess, this Republican is now an unpatrotic American
Review: Interesting when a well know conservative comes out and tries to tell his own party and people the truth. Now he is being attacked by the same people who have embraced him since the first Bush Administration. When he says the President is like a blind man in a room full of deaf people, he is not telling us anything we didn't already suspect. He is reafirming our suspicions. The name of this book should be "The President has no clothes." If you are a thinking person, read the book for yourself and make up your own mind. Obviously there are some Americans who beleive in blind faith and will vote for a door knob if it has their party's label on it. Whether left or right these are the people that are "unpatriotic" and foolish. The arguement that he was fired and now he's upset only goes so far. I suggest you check into how many people have resigned or been fired under this administration. I guess they are all unpatriotic or maybe we should just call them "communist sypathizers" like we did back during the McCarthy days.
Rating: 
Summary: The Price Of Loyalty
Review: What a name for a book written by a fired idiot that couldn't make it in his office so decided to sell out his old boss. Nothing new here, just another get even type book for what he feels his old boss did to him by firing him. This man doesn't know the meaning of Loyalty and should be held on charges of taking secret material outside of the White House. This is a man to be watched and I can only hope we don't have any more like him in the white house now. The President did a great service to the country, finding this mans agenda out before it was too late and firing him. Any person buying this book only puts money into the pockets of a traitor of our great country. Even if you don't like bush and the job he's doing we just can not let people that would sell out the country for a buck and that would take secret material from the White House make money on what he is doing. Do yourself a favor and the country and pass on this book. Remember how can you believe what a person writes when he had a job given him and he stay until he was found out and fired. Larry Hobson-Author- "The Day Of The Rose"
Rating:
Summary: It's all there
Review: How an intellectually challenged president is being manipulated into blunting efforts to improve the environment, racking up massive deficits on our grandchildren's credit cards, and making our nation one of the most hated on earth. Thank you, Ron Siskund, for documenting the sorry state of the Executive branch.
Rating:
Summary: Less than Expectations
Review: Much has been hyped about this book being the "uncovering" of the current administration by one of its former insiders. And while the book is revealing, it delivers less than is expected. I am not going to review the truth, or lack there of, of the content of the book, there are plenty of reviews doing that already. Rather I am going to focus on the format of the book, which may take some readers by surprise. My first surprise is the form that the Author has used to relay the story, instead of a academic, fully cited essay, Suskind has used a Narrative Prose which uses Paul O'Neill as the main character and relates his story in a Fiction format. While I would agree that this format is more accessable to the mass reading public, for a book as important as Suskind wants to make it, it detracts from the overall impact of the book making O'Neills revelations more allegorical than true vetted and researched fact. There are also no references in the back of the book or footnotes to allow the reader to research the citations on their own and draw their own opinion from the 19,000 docuements that the government provided to Paul O'Neill on his departure from office. Otherwise the book is an interesting read, though sometimes disjointed and chapters tend to be overly long for one to read a full chapter prior to going to bed (my prefered reading time) though fortunately every chapter is divided into much smaller subsections. The composition of chapters is chronological, but the chronology is not well established leaving the reader with holes in determining exactly when one event occured in relation to others. Additionally, the chapter does not tend to focus on one idea or theme but rather just provide episodic moments in O'Neills tenure that may or may not have tie in with the rest of the chapter. In conclusion, the book is definately a must read for anyone interested in the Bush administration on ether side of the aisle. Unfortunately, the format of the book reduces it's overall impact making one wonder how much is thoroughly researched fact and how much is added to allow the story to flow along. The lack of a cohesive theme in each chapter along with the lack of citation documenation make this book more of an interesting read rather than a solidly researched review of the Bush Administration.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Revealing Book on The Bush Administration Yet
Review: I couldn't put it down. Absolutely fascinating. It places the reader inside the inner workings of the Bush Administration and shows how decisions are made. The book confirms my worst fears that the President is basically intellectually absent and just follows the directives of his top staff and handlers. Practiacally all decisions are based on the political benefits they generate instead on the policy they produce. The President is shown to contradict all of his campaign positions on the environment, the budget, and foreign policy and adopt a radical right wing agenda. If only 25% of the book is true, then we have a serious problem on our hands that needs to be corrected in Nov.
Rating:
Summary: Lies and treason from a man with plenty to hide
Review: I read this book in the library. Good thing I did not pay for such trash. To those who are looking for an honest account of the Bush administration, I offer this warning: Paul O'Neill has always been an amoral opportunist. But now, motivated by greed, and sour grapes, he's become a traitor, and another pathetic puppet for the two of the most evil, loathesome Americans in history: Bill and Hillary Clinton. It is not mere coincidence that Hillary held two meetings in Manhattan with O'Neill in August of 2003. Also keep in mind that O'Neill (as has been extensively documented on freerepublic.com and elsewhere) was fired for something a bit more scandalous than incompetence (which, by the way, he exhibited in spades). As children may have access to this review, I'll just say, think "Marv Albert". The Bush administration compassionately allowed O'Neill to slink back under his rock, without "outing" him. But the vipers Bill and Hill, as always, were waiting in the wings, ready to exploit a pathetic hack. Simply put, this fraudulent book is most likely the result of blackmail by Hillary's henchmen. To address the substance of O'Neills book is to take it's assertions seriously, so I won't bother. But know this: the book itself, in which an amoral egomanic and sociopath wallows in self-pity and hurls infantile lies, is full of classified information for the sole purpose of undermining national security and encouraging terrorist attacks. All in an effort to harm those that fired him, and further empower the Clintons. O'Niell is a traitor, in the strict legal sense of the word. His evil book is the tantrum of a raging child willing to burn down the house after being reprimanded. If you buy this book, you are supporting terrorism and treason.
Rating:
Summary: THE PRICE OF LOYALTY
Review: Shocking, revealing, and insightful; very well written and researched; thank God many people in this country can't read; otherwise it would have had significant rippling effects particularly in this election year, 2004.
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