The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008

The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008
by Bob Woodward

The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008
List Price: $32.00
Our Price: $3.88
You Save: $28.12 (88%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.88 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Bob Woodward
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-08
ISBN: 1416558977
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Book Reviews of The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008

Book Review: The kind of book I like
Summary: 4 Stars

I am a sucker for a book about the inner workings of a Presidency, the good Presidencies the bad Presidencies, the good books the bad books. There is some talk about quotes in the book not being accurate and that is typical of all such books, it is hard to get a straight quote without someone coloring it, the ones that said it or someone else, so I always take direct quotes with a grain of salt. Some thought Woodward is over critical of Bush, I like Bush and I didn't see that, the inside is always ugly, there are decisions and big egos, always has been and always will be. People that make light of the Presidency have no idea how hard that job is, especially during war time when you have to make decisions that affect the actual life and death of your soldiers and the affects on their families. I find it hard to believe that any President would take that responsibility lightly. My wife picked this up for me, she knows it is the kind of book I enjoy, so I can't say that made a big decision to buy the book. For someone that was suppose to have a closed Presidency, Bush was sure open and generous with his time with Woodward, someone that isn't always his biggest supporter. I suspect there is more truth in this book than fiction and Woodward is easy to read. I am not going to get into the nuts and bolts of the book, others have done that eloquently. I will say, if your the kind of person that likes to read a book about the inside workings of Government and the White House in particular you will like this book for all its warts. I will never check back here for comments, so if you have one, email me barrym@tds.net

Summary of The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008

As violence in Iraq reaches unnerving levels in 2006, a second front in the war rages at the highest levels of the Bush administration. In his fourth book on President George W. Bush, Bob Woodward takes readers deep inside the tensions, secret debates, unofficial backchannels, distrust and determination within the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, the intelligence agencies and the U.S. military headquarters in Iraq. With unparalleled intimacy and detail, this gripping account of a president at war describes a period of distress and uncertainty within the U.S. government from 2006 through mid-2008.

The White House launches a secret strategy review that excludes the military. General George Casey, the commander in Iraq, believes that President Bush does not understand the war and eventually concludes he has lost the president's confidence. The Joint Chiefs of Staff also conduct a secret strategy review that goes nowhere. On the verge of revolt, they worry that the military will be blamed for a failure in Iraq.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice strongly opposes a surge of additional U.S. forces and confronts the president, who replies that her suggestions would lead to failure. The president keeps his decision to fire Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld from Vice President Dick Cheney until two days before he announces it. A retired Army general uses his high-level contacts to shape decisions about the war, as Bush and Cheney use him to deliver sensitive messages outside the chain of command.

For months, the administration's strategy reviews continue in secret, with no deadline and no hurry, in part because public disclosure would harm Republicans in the November 2006 elections. National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley tells Rice, "We've got to do it under the radar screen because the electoral season is so hot."

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 plummets 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.

21st Century Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in 21st Century Books
Obama: The Historic Journey ImageObama: The Historic Journey
by The New York Times, Jill Abramson, Bill Keller
Callaway Adult; Published: 2009-02-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $23.00
Price in other shops: $40.00
Closure: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Recovery Mission ImageClosure: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Recovery Mission
by William Keegan
Touchstone; Published: 2007-06-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops: $17.95
Mission: Black List #1 CD: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein---As Told by the Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture ImageMission: Black List #1 CD: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein---As Told by the Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture
by Eric Maddox, Davin Seay
HarperAudio; Published: 2008-12-01; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $3.34
Price in other shops: $34.95
Household Baggage: The Moving Life of a Soldier's Wife ImageHousehold Baggage: The Moving Life of a Soldier's Wife
by Marna A. Krajeski
Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing; Published: 2006-05-12; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $14.25
Where Valor Rests: Arlington National Cemetery ImageWhere Valor Rests: Arlington National Cemetery
by Rick Atkinson
National Geographic; Published: 2009-05-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.17
Price in other shops: $18.95
Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive ImageAftermath: World Trade Center Archive
by Joel Meyerowitz
Phaidon Press; Published: 2006-08-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $29.99
Price in other shops: $75.00
The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932-1972 ImageThe Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932-1972
by William Manchester
Bantam; Published: 1984-07-01; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $29.95
Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives ImageFinal Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives
by Jim Sheeler
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2009-04-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops: $16.00
Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad ImageThunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad
by David Zucchino
Grove Press; Published: 2004-11-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops: $14.00
One Nation: America Remembers September 11, 2001 ImageOne Nation: America Remembers September 11, 2001
by Life Magazine, editors of LIFE magazine
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2001-12-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.55
Price in other shops: $29.99
Similar Books and other products
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House ImageAmerican Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
by Jon Meacham
Random House; Published: 2008-11-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.29
Price in other shops: $30.00
The Forever War ImageThe Forever War
by Dexter Filkins
Knopf; Published: 2008-09-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.22
Price in other shops: $25.00
The Post-American World ImageThe Post-American World
by Fareed Zakaria
W.W. Norton & Co.; Published: 2008-04-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.94
Price in other shops: $25.95
The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (American Empire Project) ImageThe Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (American Empire Project)
by Andrew Bacevich
Metropolitan Books; Published: 2008-08-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.75
Price in other shops: $24.00
The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism ImageThe Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism
by Ron Suskind
Harper; Published: 2008-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.18
Price in other shops: $27.95
State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III ImageState of Denial: Bush at War, Part III
by Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2007-09-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: $16.00
What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception ImageWhat Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception
by Scott McClellan
PublicAffairs; Published: 2008-05-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.03
Price in other shops: $27.95
The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals ImageThe Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
by Jane Mayer
Doubleday; Published: 2008-07-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.79
Price in other shops: $27.50
Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency ImageAngler: The Cheney Vice Presidency
by Barton Gellman
Penguin Press HC, The; Published: 2008-09-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.23
Price in other shops: $27.95
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America ImageHot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America
by Thomas L. Friedman
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2008-09-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.50
Price in other shops: $27.95