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Summary: Best book of the year!
Review: I agree with other reviewers that Rewriting History and The Dittohead Guide To Adult Beverages are great conservative books, but Misunderestimated by Bill Sammon is the best of the year. Unlike Woodward, Sammon enjoyed unprecedented access to the president and his inner-circle, interviewing the president for several hours in privacy on his Mt. Crawford ranch and meeting with insiders Condi Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Karl Rove, Andrew Card, etc. The insider take and direct quotes make this one of the best political books in years and the first true inside look at the Bush president since it began. Definitely check out this book.
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Summary: A behind the scene look like no other at this President
Review: Enjoyed it very much. I read Woodward's book as well, and he could only get Bush and Rumsfeld on the record. This book has many on the record which is comforting to hear it in their own words without a bunch of "anonymous sources" and whether you can trust any of them.Gives some introspective looks inside the President and touches on his humanism. If you hate Bush, you won't like it. If you like Bush, you will enjoy it. If you're undecided on Bush, it will give you a good read on a good man, whether or not you like as a leader may not change but my guess is your respect for the man just may.
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Summary: Bush is the besterest!
Review: A very good read if you plan on supporting out President this Nov.
Remember, when you vote for Kerry you vote for Osama Bin Laden and Kim jong il.
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Summary: Instead of this read George Orwells 1984
Review: Interesting how people that don't agree with the right in this country are always thrown into the same category as terrorists, traitors, Bush Bashers or other name calling. What people really need to start asking themselves is how much power do you want to give one party. I think people are educated and have come to the realization the correlations between this administration and Orwell's government in his classic 1984. We are seeing the effects of what happens when one party has too much control. I recommend we get some sort of balance or compromise back into this country. I don't want too much left or right. Bush has to go. Don't waste your time on this propaganda especially if Rush has endorsed it, he's taken one too many pills. His credibility is down the tubes.... Dan a proud independent.....
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Summary: study in incompetence
Review: Why do people keep making excuses for this miserable failure of a president? They tell us, "yes, he doesn't know much, can't say much, and doesn't do much, but he's our guy right or wrong, and if you don't like him you're with the terroritsts!" Bush seems to need an army to keep him afloat. This book will be loved by those who are still blind enough to believe that Bush is anything but a habitual liar.
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Summary: Not much balance here
Review: George W. Bush has become an extremely polarizing figure on the American political scene. Bush seems to be for the Left what Clinton is for the Right; a man--and a President--who can make people froth at the mouth simply at the mention of his name. A number of people that I know from the California Bay Area literally cannot listen to him or watch him speak. As history moves on, and some distance is put between the past Clinton administration and the current Bush administration, it will be fascinating to see how historians view these two politicians. Dissimilar as they are, they both share an ability to connect with people *as people* that most other modern politicians lack (Al Gore and John Kerry both suffer from this difficulty). This book, unfortunately, does not paint a very balanced portrait of either Bush or his administration. Given access to one of the most secretive White Houses in history, Sammon had an excellent chance to bring us some insight into how Bush and his team work during this very difficult time in U.S. history. What we are given, alas, is what we could probably expect from a reporter from the Right-wing Washington Times, a man lauded by Rush Limbaugh. This book contains the oft-repeated (and wholly-inaccurate) charges that the press is hostile to Bush (when in fact his administration is given a pass on behavior to a greater degree than any other in history); it serves as another forum from which to bad-mouth candidate Kerry (casting aspertions on his Vietnam service); it glosses over the gaps in Bush's own service; and so on. In short, the lack of balance and perspective make this book appear more as if it was vetted by the RNC than written by an independent investigative journalist. I look forward to reading unwinking analyses of the most recent two presidential administrations, ones that look at both the positive and negative aspects of two men who had enormous impact on our country. Unfortunately, this book will not help us make such an evaluation.
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Summary: Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism, John Ker
Review: This, i.e., Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism, John Kerry, and the Bush Haters by Bill Sammon (Author), is riveting portrait of President Bush as he broadens the war on terror overseas -- and plunges into high-stakes political battles at home "They misunderestimated me," George W. Bush famously remarked on the eve of his historic presidency. Fractured syntax aside, Bush was right: his detractors misunderstood his appeal to the American public, and underestimated his considerable political skills. In this compelling new book, Bill Sammon reveals how the president is turning these misperceptions to his advantage in the looming showdown with John Kerry and the Bush haters. As senior White House correspondent for the Washington Times, Sammon has been granted extraordinary access to the president and his closest confidants, from political gurus Karl Rove and Andy Card to foreign policy advisers Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. The result is a compelling chronicle of the second eighteen months of George W. Bush's term, as the administration's focus shifts from al Qaeda and Afghanistan to Iraq and the 2004 election. Sammon's on-the-scene reporting and exclusive interviews with the president and his top advisers reveal how the White House is implementing the most profound shift in U.S. foreign policy in more than half a century, prompting an eminent Democratic historian to rank Bush alongside John Quincy Adams and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as one of America's "grand" strategists. For the first time, Sammon discloses the president's vow that Kerry will "regret" bad-mouthing the liberation of Iraq, the seminal event in the post-9/11 phase of the Bush presidency. Rove even details for Sammon the White House strategy to paint Kerry as a condescending elitist whose "blatant" attempts to capitalize on his Vietnam experience will ultimately come back to haunt him. Misunderestimated also meticulously tracks the rise of the Bush haters, a disturbing political phenomenon that colors everything from the war on terrorism to the presidential campaign. The impact extends to the press, which Sammon exposes for racing to brand Operation Iraqi Freedom another Vietnam "quagmire" less than eighteen months after making the same blunder during the Afghan war. In Misunderestimated, Sammon takes readers inside the Oval Office for historic decisions of war and peace, aboard Air Force One for a daring, surprise descent into Baghdad, and even on an intimate tour of Bush's beloved Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas. It's a mesmerizing account of a president determined not to repeat his father's two fundamental mistakes -- abandoning Iraq and failing to vanquish the Democrats.
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Summary: TERRIFIC
Review: I can't say that I've read the whole thing yet (I just got it), but I've read the first few chapters, and Sammons nails it! The first chapter is "Rise of the Bush-Haters," which Sammons calls the New New Thing in American politics. The writing is terrific, the descriptions make you feel like you are there. The second chapter includes a wonderful and hilarious send-up of George Galloway, the too-vain Brit who interviewed Sadaam on the eve of war; it is laugh-out-loud funny, Tom Wolf-ish almost, but without the verbal pyrotechnics. I had just finished "Plan of Attack," Bob Woodward's earnest if plodding effort to describe the run-up to the war. Woodward is a good reporter (I think: the difference between the book and his many appearances describing the book are too vast to make me comfortable believing that he knows what he wrote), but a writer without much imagination. This book is terrific: funny, well-written, wuth a definite point of view, and, so far as I can make out, tellingly accurate. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Bill Sammon's Book is Fair, Balanced, and Honest
Review: There's no question that George W. Bush inspires contempt and hatred from liberals today like no one else except perhaps Rush Limbaugh (and you don't see demonstrations against Mr. Limbaugh). In my opinion (and I've been a counselor for many years), the reason for this is because those who disagree with President Bush see something in him they know they don't have...integrity. And his purposeful manner, mixed with honesty and integrity are things they don't want to see in someone else because it reminds them what they don't have. Instead of trying to improve themselves, they try to drag down a truly great man. As for this book, Bill Sammon points out what a great President we have. His title, Misunderestimated, reflects a moment when Bush intentionally mis-spoke as a joke when reporters asked him what his opponents thought of him. This is only one of the many humorous moments in this book. It's a revealing picture of a President at war. Not only against the terrorists who would destroy America, but against the liberals who try to discredit him each day. How he keeps a smile on his face, and maintains love for the people of this great nation despite all the hatred thrown his way is truly one of the great lessons of this story. For those who say that Bill Sammon is biased, let me say that he does paint a positive picture of this President. But that's because this is a very good President. He brings out the integrity, honesty, and genuine caring of George W. Bush. And when there are criticisms to be made, he makes them. He's honest and he's fair. For those who hate George W. Bush, nothing we can say or do will change that. For those, on the other hand, who would like a fair and truthful picture of this great man, Bill Sammon's book is as good as it gets. You'll learn a great deal more about what it's like to walk a mile in George Bush's shoes, and you'll come away with a greater appreciation of this man who's steering our country and protecting us from those who would seek to do her harm. George W. Bush is a great man. So is this book. Read it and I think (if you're willing to be honest) you'll agree.
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Summary: Wow... All I can say is Wow!!!
Review: The chapter on the medias attempts to turn both Afghanistan and Iraq into a Boggdown or Quagmire made me angry... The chapter on the Presidents secret trip into Bagdad brought tears to my eyes... The behind the scenes tour of the the Western White House with a select group of reporters insprired me... The countless discussions with Bush, Cheney, Powell, Rice and Rumsfeld informed me... This book was a rare example of how to write a thoughful, educational and entertaining book. A Great Read!!!!
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