Rating: 
Summary: Great read on political strategy
Review: This is a great book for anyone wanting to learn about the strategy of winning elections against
the odds. In both Bush's first run for governor and in his run for presidency, any candidate should
have lost, but he didn't. Why? Because of the forward looking and long term strategy of Karl
Rove. When you read this book, you really get a since of the genius that is Karl Rove.
Some people may be looking at this book as "proof" the Bush is dumb and politically shallow, but I saw just the opposite. I believe when you read this book it will be clear, without Rove there would be no Bush, but without Bush there is no Rove.
I also want to add, that while some people in these reviews demonize Karl Rove for his strategies on the campaign trail and with legislation, they forget that Clinton too, had his advisor, Dick Morris, who helped Clinton in both areas. I recommend any one interested in politics to study read up not only on Rove but on Morris, and you will get to know some of the most fascinating
men in modern-day politics.
Rating: 
Summary: Remember September 11th?????
Review: Al (hillary lover) Franken and all the other liberal liars can go to hell. I bet they like this book. Yeah lets ruin our nation liberal dummys. This book says Bush is stupid. Its the liberals that are the stupid. Guess what? BUSH IS PRESIDENT! PRESIDENT BUSH IS A GODLY MAN AND IS TAKING THE FIGHT TO THE ARABS AND IT DRIVES THE LIBERALS CRAZY! THEY ARE CRYBABYS. BOO HOO HOO POOR MINORITYS!! Wah wah ATHESTS babys crying!! I LOVE IT. How about this: HANDS OFF MY TAX MONEY! The whiney liars can vote for Hillary and wreck our nation over MY DEAD BODY! I hope they get attacked by the terrorists . Buy a better book Ann Coutlers book.
Rating: 
Summary: Even more timely information on the sleaze of Karl Rove
Review: Anyone who wants to know whether Karl Rove is petty
and political enough to out Joe Wilson's wife as
a CIA agent needs to read this book.The claim has been made that this outing served
no "purpose", coming after the fact of Wilson's
op-ed piece and supposedly gaining nothing
(others have pointed out that the attack may
have been aimed at deterring other potential
administration critics). But Rove, for all his political calculations,
has shown a viciousness and a disregard for any
element but the political throughout his career.
Moore and Slater present the details of Rove's
political and personal history in this excellent
book. Read it, and then ask why Bush is where
he is today, and why we should have a person
such as Rove as the closest person to the ear of
the person making momentaous decisions about war
and peace, life and death.
Rating:
Summary: valuable tool for understanding how our country is being run
Review: First of all...this is a book. People are allowed to let their personal opinions come through in a book. It isn't a news channel that's supposed to be neutral. So anyone that complains about liberal or conservative bias in a book can only be unhappy that the author's views do not match their own. Karl Rove's and George W. Bush's personal views are what's governing the country, give authors a break. That applies as much to Moore and Slater as it does to Bill O'Reilly by the way. Given the fact that there is next to no information about Karl Rove out there right now for the masses, this is an extremely well-needed book. You're not going to fully understand Bush or Rove after reading it, but there's no way that any one book could completely capture the genius that is Karl Rove. I came away with this book with a much better understanding about how decisions are made in the Bush administration because of Rove. Slater is also an ideal person to be writing on the subject as he was a reporter on the campaign trail with Rove and Bush. Karl Rove had every opportunity to clear up any misunderstandings about his past with the author, but he almost always contradicts himself. If Rove can't get the story straight when he knows what he says will be published, you shouldn't confuse bias from an author with unpleasant realities that make your party look bad.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read, Great Research, Sad Story
Review: I am a political consultant who has worked in Texas for almost a decade, roughly the same period chronicled in this terrific book, and I am surprised on many fronts. One, there's a lot of stuff in this book that I knew that I can't believe they got people to talk about. Two, there's stuff in this book that I never knew. And three, there's some very sad stories about the lives that Karl Rove has ruined in his single-minded rise to the top of the heap. It's like Robert Caro stopped being repetitive and wrote this book.
Rating:
Summary: Bush's Brain
Review: I didn't realize that they would put a more appropriate title on a book of blank pages.
Rating:
Summary: This is your Brain on Stand By
Review: I do not know if the authors set out to make Karl Rove out to be such a dark, evil man with the book or that is just where the research took them, but I doubt too many readers will come away thinking that Karl Rove is anything but. I think the first thing that struck me is that the authors portray Rove as more then just your run of the mill political consultant. They want you to leave with the impression that Rove is the man behind the curtain pulling all the strings of the Bush presidency. They detail how Rove's influence goes beyond just the political front to be an all-encompassing review of anything Bush does. I think we have all heard how President Clinton seemed to take the pulse of the country via polls and then choose his direction based on the polls. Well the authors want you to think that Bush basically has substituted the polls and maybe even an individual thought process with whatever King Karl wants to do. The book provides some background on Karl, how he started in politics and his life before GW. I found the section detailing the work he did for the first President Bush too limited and the detail about Rove's non-Bush work too detailed. The authors get into the weeds to prove a point that Rove is a rather mean player in the world of politics and I think they could have edited some of it out. This background and the detail on his work with Bush all point to some interesting things that do seem to be playing out today. They state that Rove is the kind of man that has to win and by winning it means really making the opponent lose and lose big. They also point out that Karl is a very good player at the down and dirty art of nasty politics. He would make the Nixon team take a step back. The one area you always have to be on the look out for in books like this is down right bias based on a dislike for the President. To be fair I think the authors steered clear of this for the most part. I felt there were plenty of opportunities for the authors to take more shots at President Bush and they did not. That is not to say that President Bush gets away scott free. They do lay a few jabs at him for seaming to let Karl play the game so nasty and for enabling this winner take all approach Rove has taken. They state clearly that Karl is a great political operator, but if he is your only close confidant there could be extreme pressures to let him and his slash and burn style take over for your own. Overall I found the book very entertaining. It offers and insight into a man we do not get a lot of information about and a process that does not see the light of day much. If you are interested in politics or the Bush Presidency you will be interested in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: I got this book to read on vacation instead of the usual novel. It was really great! It opened my eyes to a world that exists behind the news headlines. As a cynical person who distrusts politics, I was still amazed at the power an unelected person could wield and at times, abuse.
I couldn't stop talking about it. An absolutely fascinating read!
Rating:
Summary: Karl did his part...Bush did his.
Review: I had a hard time believing that George W. was just a sock-puppet on Rove's hand. And this book confirmed that I was right. It definitely gives you an understanding of the relationship between Rove and W. and why some people believe W. is a creation...and others simply believe he is his own man and was just well-promoted. Everything in here makes you think. I have to recommend it...whether you love W. or hate him...the book helps explain him. Kudos to Moore and Slater for a well-written, well-supported piece of work. I love biographies and this is a good explanation of a couple men's lives. The only thing I've read lately that I like better is "Angry Chair" about a rock star who got wrapped up in heroin and isolation, then died last year.
Rating: 
Summary: Not At All What I Had Hoped
Review: I had hoped that this book would provide a comprehensive overview of Karl Rove, the man behind Bush. Alas, Moore and Slater's work came up short. Very short. For two journalists, the writing is surprisingly poor. Awkward sentences, bizarre similies, and repetetive prose make for a generally unpleasant read. Also, the authors confusing use the third person to refer to Slater (one of the authors), whose interviews provide much of the material for the book. The book contains a few revealing stories about Rove, and it's clear that the authors have gone to lengths to accumulate a variety of sources. Unfortunately, the authors' presentation of the material is, like their prose, repetetive and not particularly well organized. Many of the descriptions of Rove's semi-secret meetings read like something out of a Grisham novel, and seem oddly out of place in this expose on an important political figure. Again, "Bush's Brain" is not completely devoid of interesting and entertaining Rove anecdotes--but if what you are looking for is an intelligent, well-written overview of the man, look elsewhere.
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