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He always makes it very easy to follow all the different people that are involved in the saga. This is the last book in the Bush Years series of Bob Woodward. It was an extremely fascinating book and I'm glad I read it almost 4 years after the events that it talks about. You can tell he has numerous sources and actually talks to the participants themselves about the events. I gave this book 3 and half stars which rounds up to 4 stars because it is definitely the weakest of the four books on President Bush. It's always good to get some distance from the actual event when reading about history.
I feel he gives a very balanced view on the events and tries to tell all sides. It cover 2006-2008. The comparsions to other wars especially Vietnam were interesting to me. I enjoy most of Mr. Woodward's books because of their detail and their quotes. Yes, there is a lean to the book but it isn't as noticable as some other books.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good recent historical book.
You really feel for the families of the regular forces, reserve, and the guard who can only be equated to pawns in this saga. "Violence has acquired a momentum of its own and is now self-sustaining," she wrote July 20, 2006, quoting from an intelligence assessment.
This is the beauty of Woodward's four books: Bush at War, Plan of Attack, State of Denial and The War Within. The author's proximity to the primary players has provided an amazing holistic set of views that speaks to the complexity of the war in Iraq.
Give the immediacy to the actual events, one feels like there has been appropriate time to look back and reflect on events. Two of the most compelling and convincing voices for me was first the deputy national security adviser Meghan O'Sullivan who sent President Bush a daily top secret report cataloging the escalating bloodshed and chaos in Iraq.
I also enjoy the author's clear intent of not over interpreting events but rather granting the reader access and information to draw their own conclusion.And my conclusion is, flawed tactics in search of a strategy is a grand recipe for failure. There is evidence of so many voices shouting out a need to rethink the whole thing one is boggled that they were not heard.
The other was the so-called Council of Colonels whose amazing analysis was never even shown to the ultimate decision-makers.Indeed, it seems the book is a catalogue of various groups all analyzing the problem but not talking to each while the "decider" was not in agreement that there was even a problem. Over the coming years more books will tackle the Iraq war and that time, perspective, and new information will potentially make them more accurate, however, it is certain that Woodward's series will be key source material for any future efforts.
Some of my preconceptions were changed; some were confirmed. Woodward gives true insight into the last two years of the GW Bush presidency. The actual quotes of the players involved are fascinating. Recommendation: read it. You decide.
Perhaps we are too close to events to fairly evaluate choices made by the administration, but this doesn't really scratch the surface except to rehash some stereotypes. It reminds me of Dutch. Bob Woodward had immense access but I don't think he captures the essence of the President in crisis or of his decision making during the conflict. Although the author's conclusion seems to be that Bush "shot from the hip" and ignored his advisors the preceding 400 pages of analysis and discussion don't seem to accord with this. I had hoped for more, but it just isn't that good.
I've read all of Woodward's Bush Presidency series. Still at times a great read. As a whole this series is obviously excellent. But I think this is the weakest of all four of the books. If you've read the others you should read this to end the series. I wonder if he will do the same thing with the Obama presidency.
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