Bush at War

Additional Bush at War Information

With his unmatched investigative skill, Bob Woodward tells the behind-the-scenes story of how President George W. Bush and his top national security advisers, after the initial shock of the September 11 attacks, led the nation to war.

Extensive quotations from the secret deliberations of the National Security Council -- and firsthand revelations of the private thoughts, concerns and fears of the president and his war cabinet -- make Bush at War an unprecedented chronicle of a modern presidency in time of grave crisis.

Based on interviews with more than a hundred sources and four hours of exclusive interviews with the president, Bush at War reveals Bush's sweeping, almost grandiose, vision for remaking the world. "I'm not a textbook player, I'm a gut player," the president said.

Woodward's virtual wiretap into the White House Situation Room reveals a stunning group portrait of an untested president and his advisers, three of whom might themselves have made it to the presidency.

Vice President Dick Cheney, taciturn but hard-line, always pressing for more urgency in Afghanistan and toward Iraq.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, the cautious diplomat and loyal soldier, tasked with building an international coalition in an administration prone to unilateralism.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the brainy agitator and media star who led the military through Afghanistan and, he hopes, through Iraq.

National security adviser Condoleezza Rice, the ever-present troubleshooter who surprisingly emerges as perhaps the president's most important adviser.

Bush at War includes a vivid portrait of CIA director George Tenet, ready and eager for covert action against terrorists in Afghanistan and worldwide. It follows a CIA paramilitary team leader on a covert mission inside Afghanistan to pay off assets and buy friends with millions in U.S. currency carried in giant suitcases.

In Bush at War, Bob Woodward once again delivers a reporting tour de force.

What Customers Say About Bush at War:

However, I did learn some things. Therefore, it had creditability. I suppose everyone else has read all they want about the Bush era, but I saw this on sale and was interested particularly because it was written by Bob W. The most interesting aspect was that Woodward was always neutral to positive about GB. It was an easy read and enjoyable. I must say it wasn't his finest. Evidence of being written fast was ample.

He posed the question, When are we going to stop the publishing of such important inside information on the operations of government that can be read by anyone. It is a must read if you want to have an opinion that is well educated. I was listening to the morning meetings on the war the day after I purchased this book. Bob Woodward only sites from original documents, and first hand accounts and interviews. Unfortunately this is not an education you can receive by listening to the news. A senator was addressing the panel which included the head of the CIA, FBI, General Franks and others. The senator said he had just read the book and stated that the reading briefed him better than any other meeting in the White House ever had on a situation of importance.

So overall, an OK book. So too are the details of the anthrax attacks; a reporter of Woodward's salt should have suspected something when the the two key roadblocks of the Patriot Act in the US Senate, Daschle and Leahy, were the only government recipients of the anthrax letters. The passage of the Patriot Act gets minimal coverage; even though it was probably the biggest piece of legislation passed in that first 100 days.

Following this logic, I would classify Woodward's "Bush at War" as closer to a newspaper than a history book. There is no mention of the "Project for the New American Century" and how many of the decisions within the first 100 days stem from this critical document. One can say that the difference between a newspaper and a history book is that a newspaper is useless the next day, but a history book stays relevant for years afterwards.

There is also little mention of what goes on between Congress and the Bush White House. I expected better from such a respected author. Reading it in 2009, the contents of this book are essentially old hat; no great insight, no stunning revelations that has not already been expounded upon in other books or in other news media.

Even the context of the book; a recount of the first 100 days after the 9/11 attacks, lacks depth and critical analysis.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the war in Afghanistan. I wouldn't describe this as the best book I have ever read, however, it did give me a great deal of insight as to what occurred in the White House after 9/11.

In this book, you see how the Bush Administration guided itself into conflict with the rest of the world by its go it alone strategy. This book gives the reader an inside view of the major players in the Bush Administration.This is a very readable book about the conflict in Afghanistan. I found this highly interesting in how the future conflict in Iraq is pictured. This is a behind the seens picture of how the Bush Administration reacted to the events of 9/11/01. A great read. Woodward gives us a picture of an administration that didn't want to analyze things too closely and chose instead to take drastic action and overthrow the Taliban regime. Bush did not initially want to do nation building but in the wake of 9/11/01, they were forced to do so by the conflict in Afghanistan with the Taliban and al Queda. At the end, they consider Iraq as also an ally of the terrorists and start planning for the Iraq War of 2003.