Rating: 
Summary: Provocative
Review: It's thorough, it's provocative, and it's written by someone who has insight, experience and knowledge that most of us lack about the inner workings in our nation's capitol. Agree or disagree? We can all voice our opinion at the polls, but certainly anyone should give this and other books - equally well written and qualified but from the opposite perspective - a careful reading as knowledgeable citizens. Worth the money.
Rating: 
Summary: John Dean is soooo yesterday
Review: Okay, reviewers state this book is so compelling because it comes from John Dean - "a man who should know about corruption". Of course he should, he was part of it. To get out of it, he ratted on everyone to save his own skin. And he just can't stop. For all we know John Dean is "Deep Throat". The duplicity and spinelessness of John Dean is truly astounding. The only mentally-suspect equivalent I can think of is David Brock. Two peas in a pod.
Rating:
Summary: Watergate Redux
Review: Not a bad book, and clearly Dean is a compelling figure from the Nixon Administration. Whether Bush is worse than Nixon is an open question; I believe that he is, but that those surrounding him are far more fanatical than Nixon's henchmen.
Rating:
Summary: not that I needed convincing, but this is a GREAT indictment
Review: For the first time in my life, I feel true fear for the future of American democracy, and it was this book that made me look this question in the face. Dean argues that Bush and his minions are systematically undermining the institutions and practices that we have taken for granted since at least the early 1950s: American politics, we believe with ardent complacency, are inherently self-correcting and will eventually eliminate the rare excesses like the McCarthy era or the Nixonian dirty-tricks campaign. It ain't necessarily so, Dean argues with great, great power. Dean makes a compelling case that this administration, through a combination of arrogance and demagogy in the political advantage it has taken of the terrorist crisis, is unprecedented in its attempts to subvert the constitution. This could change the very structure of American institutions, restricting our civil liberties in perhaps fundamental and permanent ways. At the very least, this argument deserves serious consideration by all of us rather than uncritical acceptance by Bush haters or casual dismissal by Bush lovers. Other reviews have covered the details of his arguments so I will not reiterate them here. While acknowledging the dangers, Dean is relatively sanguine about the future of American democracy. Bush has made so many enemies, he argues, that once a scandal truly breaks, Bush's fall could be extremely brutal. And a scandal, in his view, is an inevitable accompaniment to the mediocrity and sloppiness that the excessive secrecy of the Bush Administration nutrtures. I hope he is right. Recommended for anyone concerned with the direction of the country. One very good thing about this book is that it is written at a most inclusive level, so many basic things about American history and how our institutions function are explained clearly and succinctly, which should stimulate appetites for more. This is a great service, in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Do your own research
Review: As a former Nixon staff member, John Dean has been ostracized by Republicans ever since he testified against Richard Nixon and other staff members during the Watergate hearings. As retribution, Dean has criticized Republicans every chance he gets, even during the Clinton impeachment hearings. So you have to take this book with a grain of salt. If you're a Democrat, you'll like this book. If you're a Republican, you won't like it. If you're an independent, do your own research. Or you can be like most people and believe everything you see in print.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling and shocking - a must-read before Nov 2004
Review: I could not put this book down. I was a Bush supporter and believed in the original cause for this Iraqi war. But now that 700 American solders have died and I have noticed how our President has handled Post war Iraq without any credible communications to either the American people or to our Congress; I am re-evaluating the job that this presidency has done since the war began. John Dean, a brilliant man and author, who has absolutely no political axe to grind, writes beautifully and movingly while substantiating all his facts, about the secrecy of this administration, its lies about going to war, and its unbelievabale arrogance in an unchecked, unbalanced presidency. This book opened up my eyes and resonated with suspicions that I have had all along but could not put my finger on about the Cheney/Bush presidency. He clearly and compellingly outlines the dangers we now face because of the Bush/Cheney "worse than Watergate" secrecy. As a result, I believe that our democracy is at stake, that we are now more than ever, vulnerable to the war against terrorism and that the unmitigated gall of Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney have truly hurt our nation in the eyes of our own democracy as well as the international community. Mr. Dean's articulate , fast reading book should be read by everyone before making a decision in November.
Rating:
Summary: Historical accuracy
Review: John Dean has written a hum-dinger of book. I could not put it down. It is the best read I have had in a long time. If anyone knows a crook and a crooked administration, it is John Dean.
Rating: 
Summary: Just the facts?
Review: As a point of reference, never trust a book review that goes out of its way to mention the word "fact" or "fact based" in each of its inclusive sentences. Should be a red flag for anyone looking for, well, facts. Speaking of which, the fact is (I'm making my predecessors error?), this guy has none. The book itself is not bad - its well written, almost logical discourse attacking our nations acting president. Thats all fine and well. Its important to understand, however, that this is one mans opinion. Often, what is purported as fact in the text is little more than base assumption, a probable (at best) conclusion drawn from factual premises. One must understand the distinction. If you're interested in an insiders account of the Bush presidency from as arbitrary a source as feasable, stick with "Bush at War." Regardless of where you stand on the issue, if your interested in hearing a liberal perspective on the Bush presidency, then read "Worse than Watergate."
Rating:
Summary: If you care about America, read this book
Review: This book is an absolute page turner. I read it in one day. It is much more readable than either the Richard Clarke or Paul O'Neil book. John Dean is an excellent writer because his prose flows so smoothly that you never even think about the words, you just focus on the ideas, which come one after another like a row of nails being pounded into a plank. Like someone else said, it reads like a massive op-ed piece with hundreds of footnotes. It is a must read for anyone with a brain who cares about America. With the death toll mounting in Iraq, the WMD issue, or lack-thereof, is obviously the most disturbing thing in this book. Dean goes into deep detail toward the end of the book basically tearing apart the Presidents January 2003 State of the Union address. The Bush administration not only decieved the American people, he decieved Congress and this is valid grounds for impeachment (certainly more valid grounds for impeachment than entrapping Clinton into lying about sex - hold the presses! Someone actually lied about sex!) Equally disturbing is how John Dean describes the rollback of environmental protection laws, which this book states is over 200 laws rolled back since Bush took office. This book is richly footnoted and almost all this information can be verified with a computer and internet access.
For me personally there is one line toward the beginning of the book that I personally find the most disturbing. It is on page xvi of the preface: "Equally worthy of attention is their hidden agenda to end federal entitlement programs by running up budget-busting deficits while hiking military spending, which is bleeding the federal treasury and will ultimately result in there simply being no money available to pay for social programs after this administration is gone. These, of course, are programs - such as Social Security and Medicare - that they dare not eliminate." So now it becomes clear the reason for the massive Bush tax cuts, which disproportionately go to the super rich.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Fast read and oh so truthful! It compares Nixon but yet, it is nothing compared to what we have now! Showed the secrecy and definitely showed the mistakes this administration has made..makes me want to definitely vote the right way!! lol!
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