Rating: 
Summary: The Worst President
Review: John Dean's "Worse than Watergate" is an insightful look at the Bush administration's obsession with secrecy, and an ongoing comparison with the Nixon "imperialist" presidency that resonates at many levels. Dean, having been Nixon's counsel during his presidency and instrumental in the Watergate hearings, draws upon his vast experience and knowledge to first introduce the reader to both administrations before sketching his parallels. The title of the book is profoundly accurate, underscoring that as devious and ruthless as Nixon had been in his time, he is an altar boy in comparison to the Bush administration. For those without a decent knowledge of political players in the '70s, it will be a bit of a shock to see that Cheney and Rumsfeld featured prominently in Nixon's administration. Dean gives the impression that Cheney, as chief of staff then and maligned by the press as incompetent, grew preoccupied about controlling information. This has culminated into the present obsession that defines this presidency. Dean also portrays Cheney as a "co-president" rather than vice president, and supplies ample proof to make the label stick. Humorous passages reinforce this idea: one analogy states that if Bush is the equivalent of a chairman of the board, then Cheney is certainly the CEO; another remarks that if Cheney's health condition ever becomes fatal, then Bush might become president.
Dean details no less than eleven different areas where the administration has been unnecessarily secretive, and any one of these, should information leak out, could become a full-blown scandal capable of destroying this presidency. Among these items are Cheney's energy task force (soon to be before the Supreme Court); both Bush and Cheney's earlier business dealings (both with implications much worse than Martha Stewart's misconduct); Bush's pre-9/11 approach to terrorism, now being approached by the commission; and most especially, the vindictive leaking of Valerie Plame's CIA status in revenge against Joseph Wilson's contradiction that Saddam received uranium from Niger.(...)Dean helpfully responds to several major claims with documented evidence all but disproving each bold statement made by Dubya. The research in general that Dean has done to produce this book is impressive, and his endnotes are a reading all their own. The latest in a series of Washington insiders to denounce this presidency, this book is a must-read for those interested in the clandestine activities of this White House.
Also of note: Dean separates his facts and his opinions wisely, and to his credit, he refrains from theorizing what the Bush agenda truly is; if they win a second term, he predicts that, like Nixon, Bush will show his true colors if and when he achieves his second term.
Rating:
Summary: True is True
Review: Finally, a book that describes this corrupt regime in the truest and most complete terms. The American people, or at least 50% of them have been duped. This book is written by someone who knows! From stealing the white house through a set of illegal maneuvers directed by Jeb Crow (Bush, I mean), to shedding America's blood for oil in Iraq, this President has surpassed Nixon in lies and corruption right from the get go. And, he has no conscience. What a joke. Most of the folks supporting him are either in the top 1%, oil interests, or just not well informed, or too bright. Unfortunately, the dumbing down of America has worked for this puppet President, who has absolutely no skills, intelligence, or experience to be president. He had not a thread of Foreign Policy experience and paid or had Daddy help him to get out of Vietnam. Iraq is all about OIL, power, and empire,NOT TERRORISM, and this President is an embarrassment. Watergate was nothing next to this. Come on people, READ, LEARN, and start thinking!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Reviewers miss the point
Review: The people who dismiss this book as "short on facts" are missing the point of the work. John Dean did not set out to write a fact-heavy, specific-heavy treatise - so many others are doing that (Craig Unger, Richard CLarke and the many sources he cites at the end of his book). Dean is in a unique position to speak about Presidential secrecy and the potential disasters it entails, having seen the detrimental effects of such a culture first-hand as White House Counsel during the Nixon years.This book, then, is about the culture of this White House and the dangers of secrecy to the President, and even more than that, the dangers to our very way of life. What are we, what about America separates and elevates us from so many other countries, without transparency in government? How are we to begin to choose which worldview we wish to employ (through elections), if that worldview can be hidden behind misinformation, fearmongering and careful control of every public appearance? To those Bush supporters bashing this book, I ask one simple question: how can you not be furious that Valerie Plame Wilson, a CIA operative, was outed by high-ranking administration officials? How can you not be furious that the White House has stalled what should be a very simple investigation (given that administration officials were reportedly calling around to various media outlets, seeking a source for their leak)? This is not Bush-hating; it is a clear violation presented right before our eyes, a terrible abuse of the power of the Executive. It has nothing to do with the liberal vs. conservative war in the US, and nothing to do with Democrat vs. Republican. If, as all evidence suggests and conservative columnist Robert Novak expressly admitted, someone in the Bush White House outed a CIA operative, we have a clear and serious violation of the law, and more than that, an insight into a level of viciousness from the Executive Branch not seen in my lifetime, including the Presidency of Richard Nixon. That's the most obvious and simple of the abuses that Dean correctly questions - and in the end, what he is doing here is questioning and begging for transparency more than anything else. Does the Valerie Plame Wilson scandal reach to the highest levels, involving illegal activities all the way to the Vice-President or the President himself? I don't know, and neither do you; I would think that Americans, who so pride themselves on Democracy, would demand that we be able to find out.
Rating:
Summary: Between the lines
Review: I found it quite interesting that most who panned this book chose to do so by attacking liberals and defending Mr Bush with gross generalities rather than dealing with the book's specific points. I would appear that jingoism has experienced a revival of frightening proportions, and that scares me as much as anything.
Rating:
Summary: Should be Required Reading - FANTASTIC
Review: I read this book from cover to cover in one day. Dean has an incredible knack for drawing the appropriate parallels between the secrecy of the Nixon administration and the almost absolute secrecy of the Bush II administration. Even the footnotes are fascinating. I recommend this book to anyone with a brain capable of letting go of their obsessive partisan loyalty long enough to digest its truths. It will make you look at your messiah differently. And if you are one who has seen through the lies and deception since they began over three years ago, it will confirm your worst fears.
Rating: 
Summary: Nonsense
Review: It's a very opinionated book that is filled with nonsense. It just tells me that anyone can write a book and get it published these days, especially if they're on the liberal elitists' side.
Rating:
Summary: Garbage!!!!!!
Review: The book is for people who hate Bush, other words for democrats who sit and wait for a moment to jump on PRESIDENT's throat. People buy it because they know it is going to support their views... The book is a complete garbage, full of nonsense and without facts.
The book is written for DEMOCRATS!!!! If you have your own brain don't waste your money and time reading it. Spend this money for something more valuble...My rating is not 1 star,but O stars.
P.S. I hope Bush wins in 2004, because he knows what he is doing and goes for what he really believes, not like democrats who don't have their own opinion and go only with what the rest of the world thinks about them!!!
Rating:
Summary: False Premise
Review: To be honest I did not think I would like this book so rather than buy it I borrowed it from a coworker. After getting about halfway through it I had enough. Mr. Dean's premise is that the administration deceived (i.e. manipulated intelligence on WMDs) this country into going to war. The problem I have with this theory is that our Intelligences agencies provided the President and Congress with the same information and based on this same information Congress voted to give Bush authority to use military force. Too, British, French, and German Intelligence all believed that Iraq had WMDs, hence the reason for the UN resolutions that were broken 17 times. Therefore, I found it foolish to continue a book whose premise I found badly flawed.
Rating:
Summary: A Book Without Purpose
Review: Why did John Dean write this book? What tie does he have to the events the book is about? None. So what does the book contain? Pure opinion. And how does Dean get someone to publish his opinions, which are based upon NO direct involvenment with the matter at hand whatsoever? By artificially tieing it back to Watergate in the title, for no other reason than to have potential readers say "John Dean - Watergate... He knows what he's talking about!" Only, the actual subject matter is in NO WAY even tangentially related to Watergate at all. For one thing, there's nothing even remotely "covered up" here at all. There's not a single fact in evidence saying that ANYONE did ANYTHING underhanded. So why is Dean trying to attach himself to events he has no more personal knowledge or insight into than you or I? Money, of course. This book is blatantly crass, and when you read it, you'll realize you've spend hours reading hundreds of thousands of words that say nothing at all.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Reminder - A Little Repetitive
Review: While the book is interesting in itself, it doesn't offer much new information. If you keep track of the news, then you could figure it out yourself that the Bush administration is one of the most secretive administration of the U.S. history. The Plame case is already out for months and anyone with a sense know that anyone who leaked the info has done a criminal act that is utterly dangerous. In all of the chapters, the same conclusion is reached - that the Bush administration is dangerously secretive with hidden agendas, which became almost boring at times. A new insight offered by Dean is that this administration's secrecy is far worse than Nixon's. The book is a reminder for us all who amazingly have a very short term memory and very forgiving. With so many secrets, unprecedented power grab by the executive branch, and even outright vendetta and vengeance (Dean listed 11 major transgressions), it is amazing to see that there are still so many people (half of the United States of America???) who adamantly believes that the Bush administration is innocent and is speaking honestly (insistence of WMD in Iraq, Scalia's duck hunting trip, etc.). Bush-hater or Bush-lover, this is an interesting book to see. There are many other books that are more entertaining, perhaps shocking to many, but not to those already following their daily news. To other reviewers: read the book before you even review it. We don't want to know what you think when you see the cover/first 10 pages only.
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