1 of 3 copies available
Bob Woodward once again pulls back the curtain on Washington to reveal the inner workings of a government at war in his fourth book on President George W. Bush.
The War Within provides an exhaustive account of the struggles of General David Petraeus, who takes over in Iraq during one of the bleakest and most violent periods of the war. It reveals how breakthroughs in military operations and surveillance account for much of the progress as violence in Iraq plummeted in the middle of 2007.
Woodward interviewed key players, obtained dozens of never-before-published documents, and had nearly three hours of exclusive interviews with President Bush. The result is a stunning, firsthand history of the years from mid-2006, when the White House realizes the Iraq strategy is not working, through the decision to surge another 30,000 U.S. troops in 2007, and into mid-2008, when the war becomes a fault line in the presidential election.
The War Within addresses head-on questions of leadership, not just in war but in how we are governed and the dangers of unwarranted secrecy.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
August 18, 2008 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780743570510
- File size: 184887 KB
- Duration: 06:25:10
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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In his fourth, and most disturbing, analysis of the Bush presidency, Bob Woodward looks at the years 2006 to 2008, during which the nation's chief executive hunkers down with a failing strategy in Iraq. This time around things get positively King Lear-ish as a fawning national security advisor and a yes-woman secretary of state enable an unblinking, righteously guided president, who, by his own admission, is uninterested in diplomacy and obsessed with enemy body counts. Narrator Boyd Gaines, who has read the past three Woodward books, captures the essence of each of the players' voices without using mimicry--right down to Bush's mispronunciation of "nuclear." The result is one of those exceptional author-reader combinations that makes you wish the series wouldn't end. On the other hand . . . R.W.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine -
Starred review from February 1, 2009
This is Pulitzer® Prize-winning reporter Woodward's fourth national best sellerfollowing State of Denial (2006)on the Bush administration and its handling of the war in Iraq. In it, he provides a thorough and detailed description of the consequences of this war and of the decisions made by its various strategists. Solidly researched and benefiting from insider access, this title will be an essential resource for historians for decades to come, whether or not they agree with Woodward's conclusions (his portrayal of the Bush administration is quite critical). Tony® Award-winning actor Boyd Gaines keeps listeners engrossed as he expertly individualizes the various voices.Mary Knapp, Madison P.L., WICopyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Adam Grupper's reportorial delivery suits the sense of history-in-the-making in the final volume of Bob Woodward's quartet on George W. Bush at war. This revealing account of the run up to the "surge" guides the listener from the back rooms of Washington to the battlegrounds of Iraq. Present as events unfolded, Woodward interviewed the players and had remarkable access. Possessing classified information, he reveals (the Iraqi prime minister's phone calls were tapped, for example) and conceals (details of Special Ops). Woodward shows the former commander in chief to be impatient, lacking in curiosity, and a leader who trusted his gut to a fault. Overall, Woodward manages to penetrate the Bush White House's thicket of conflicting opinions and strategies. A.D.M. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
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