Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"Bob Woodward is the latest to remind us that it is presidents, not their understudies, who shape the destiny of nations." -- Fouad Ajami, andlt;iandgt;The Wall Street Journalandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"More than mere anecdotal detail, this is the stuff of history... The fine detail is wonderfully illuminating, and cumulatively these books may be the best record we will ever get of the events they cover... They stand as the fullest story yet of the Bush presidency and of the war that is likely to be its most important legacy." -- Jill Abramson, andlt;iandgt;The New York Times Book Reviewandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"...recalls David Halberstam's iconic andlt;iandgt;The Best and the Brightestandlt;/iandgt;...andlt;iandgt;The War Withinandlt;/iandgt;'s controversial revelations are contentions and numerous...But, mainly, it is a study of what happens when men and women, charged with leading the country in wartime or with counseling those who lead, do not tell each other what they really think." -- Josiah Bunting, III, andlt;iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"An extraordinary window into policy making." -- andlt;iandgt;The Kansas City Starandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"The In Cold Blood of national security journalism." -- andlt;iandgt;The Nationandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"If you want to know about the Iraq War, Bob Woodward is the guy." -- Bill O'Reilly
Review
"[B]rilliantly reported..." -- Timothy Rutten, Los Angeles Times
Review
"A better first draft of history might be difficult to find." -- Gilbert Cruz, Time
Review
andlt;divandgt;"[B]rilliantly reported..." -- Timothy Rutten, Los Angeles Times
Review
"[B]rilliantly reported..." -- Timothy Rutten, andlt;iandgt;Los Angeles Timesandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"A better first draft of history might be difficult to find." -- Gilbert Cruz, andlt;iandgt;Timeandlt;/iandgt;
Synopsis
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, Bob Woodward takes readers deep inside the tensions, secret debates, unofficial backchannels, distrust, and determina- tion within the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, the intelligence agencies, and the U.S. military headquarters in Iraq. This is the inside story of how Bush governed.
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
andlt;bandgt;Bob Woodward once again pulls back the curtain on Washington to reveal the inner workings of a government at war.andnbsp; andlt;/bandgt;Inandnbsp; hisandnbsp; fourthandnbsp; bookandnbsp; onandnbsp; Presidentandnbsp; Georgeandnbsp; W.andnbsp; Bush,andnbsp; Bob Woodwardandnbsp; takesandnbsp; readersandnbsp; deepandnbsp; insideandnbsp; theandnbsp; tensions,andnbsp; secret debates, unofficial backchannels, distrust, and determina- tion within the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, the intelligence agencies, and the U.S. military headquarters in Iraq. This is the inside story of how Bush governed.
About the Author
andlt;bandgt;Bob Woodward andlt;/bandgt;is an associate editor atandlt;bandgt; andlt;/bandgt;andlt;iandgt;The Washingtonandlt;/iandgt;andlt;bandgt; andlt;/bandgt;andlt;iandgt;Postandlt;/iandgt;, where he has worked for thirty-seven years. He has sharedandlt;iandgt; andlt;/iandgt;in two Pulitzer Prizes, first for the andlt;iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/iandgt;and#8217;s cov- erage of the Watergate scandal, and later for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has authored or coauthored eleven #1 national nonfiction bestsellers, including three on the current administrationand#8212;andlt;iandgt;Bush at Warandlt;/iandgt; (2002), andlt;iandgt;Plan of Attackandlt;/iandgt; (2004), and andlt;iandgt;State of Denial andlt;/iandgt;(2006). He lives in Washington, D.C.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Author's Note
Cast of Characters
Book I Book II
Epilogue
Glossary
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index