Rating: 
Summary: An Extended Newspaper Column
Review: In _Bush at War,_ Bob Woodward has assembled an impressive account of the Bush Administration's reactions to the September 11th attacks. Based on a series of interviews with the principles, including the President, the book provides a number of fascinating details about how the administration chose to deal with the crisis. Internal politics, arguments, and the unexpected problems of the war all are brought to light.What Woodward fails to acknowledge, however, is that these accounts are all based on interviews, not from his actually being there. Even if human nature were not part of the equation, it's unlikely such recollections could be 100% accurate. When the fact that all of the people interviewed are members of a political administration that will be seeking reelection in a year, it's hard to believe they were fully candid with Woodward. What areas might have been over- or underemphasized cannot be known with any certainty, but it's probably safe to assume any major problems that would reflect poorly on the administration were not discussed as candidly as issues where the administration did well. Therefore, this work can hardly be considered the definitive work on the post-9/11 reactions of the Bush administration. That having been said, it is a fine read. Woodward's prose is clear and the work moves along rapidly from event to event. Descriptions are vivid, providing the illusion of the reader actually being present for the events being discussed. And while the reader is almost certainly not getting the whole story, the story provided includes enough details to cast a new light on the actions of the administration leading up to the Iraq War. Well worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: Stenographer to Power
Review: It will take years for historians -- the real guardians of truth -- to have the perspective for an honest recounting of this particular story. Unfortunately, Woodward seems to have traded independent analysis for access to the players -- never a good bargain. Could not help cringe as the self-serving comments were dutifully recorded. Is this really the same author who co-wrote "All the President's Men?"
Rating: 
Summary: A plethora of insider tidbits makes for a compelling read
Review: Just as he has never revealed the identity of the infamous Deep Throat, so to has Bob Woodward secured the wherewithal as to how he procured the classified dialogue of National Security Council meetings which he so prominently displays throughout Bush at War. A juicy example - Deputy Secretary of State conveying to Colin Powell, "They're eating cheese on you"(military for you're getting used) when Rumsfeld and Cheney contradict Powell's earlier statements necessitating the U.N. Inspectors in Iraq. Having read Fighting Back by Bill Sammon and enjoying it thoroughly, I likewise found Bush at War to be compelling, albeit with more focus on CIA and its chief George Tenet. At times, I thought I was reading a Tom Clancy novel when the CIA paramilitary operatives Hank and Gary(1st names only for obvious reasons) undertake their clandestine operations with suitcases full of $3M to buy off the suspect Northern Alliance and Taliban commanders. I found it chock-full of interesting, and sometimes shocking insider info from the NSC meetings that made it completely worthwhile and quite a veritable page turner. As Woodward said on Larry King, thank goodness for the 1st Amendment or this stuff would not be available to the American public. Although the administration is most likely not overly pleased with the release of much of this previously classified information, we as the American public are priveleged to have Woodward so expertly pen this telling epic in American history. Woodward has made a concerted effort to mainain a mostly objective and unbiased account of our prodigiously talented Commander in Chief, George W. Bush. That being said, this book does skew towards the Left moreso than I would prefer. All in all, worth a read for all who desire to delve deeper into the innerworkings of the White House.
Rating:
Summary: accurate, but scary...
Review: The most unsettling aspect of this book is that, even though it is not 'anti' (or even really 'pro') Bush, reading it certainly lowered my estimation of him. He leads the country like he is reading from a John Wayne script, and refuses to let things like reason or facts or analysis get in the way. His decisions are based on strong principles. Operating this way is good only when it is after a lot of analysis. George Bush simply does not put in the thought necessary for his office. He is an ideologue.
Rating: 
Summary: imperialism story of white house
Review: this is a dirty fact what George will saying about his imperialist aims to the journalist like Woodward, Woodward believed him and wrotes this book.
if you love him and Woodward, you will be pleased why he started the war with one of the poorest country in the world. And everyone who are saying that he is a great president, they must be also sick like him!!! I'm very curious for the next election in Novemeber 2004. I don't think that he will be voted again.
| 
