Duty

Memoirs of a Secretary at War

By: Robert M. Gates

Narrated by: George Newbern, Robert M. Gates

Length: 25 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

From the former secretary of defense, a strikingly candid, vivid account of serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When Robert M. Gates received a call from the White House, he thought he'd long left Washington politics behind: After working for six presidents in both the CIA and the National Security Council, he was happily serving as president of Texas A&M University. But when he was asked to help a nation mired in two wars and to aid the troops doing the fighting, he answered what he felt was the call of duty.

©2014 Robert M. Gates (P)2014 Random House Audio

Parts Were Interesting But Longer Than Needed

What did you like best about Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War? What did you like least?

I liked Secretary Gates's description of internal deliberations with the Bush and Obama Administrations. However, he was very reserved about his assessments of the various Generals and Admirals with whom he worked. It sounded scripted. He is candid about his assessments of Harry Ried and Joe Biden. There wasn't much on overall US military strategy worldwide. I appreciate that Secretary Gates cares about US troops but he didn't need to say it thirty or more times.

If you’ve listened to books by Robert M. Gates before, how does this one compare?

This is my first book by Robert Gates.

What does George Newbern and Robert M. Gates bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narration was very good but a little stilted. The interview between the producer and Gates really sounded scripted. The questions posed were easy ones. I did not get much from that interview that wasn't in the book.

Could you see Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I don't think this would be a good movie or TV series. It is a personal memoir.

Any additional comments?

I am glad I listened to it but wish Gates had edited his work more. I was also glad when it was over.

Foot Soldeirs Beware

What made the experience of listening to Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War the most enjoyable?

It reinforced my feelings over political appointees being dangerous to the men and women that are professionals of the highest order giving up their life's, all because "Gates" knew better than the officers of our Armed Forces.

What was most disappointing about Robert M. Gates’s story?

He has served tis country honorable, so I will not question that fact, but he continually fluffed himself up. He handed out tax dollars to thugs posing as they were part of the collateral crowd. Dick Marcenko, the man that basically formed Seal Team Six spent money to get needed equipment for his men in the 70s, did jail time for that, and who go's to jail for walking around with millions of dollars passivizing the civilians.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It moved me, but the move was that Gates was disingenuous when it came to his take on the grunt on the ground. When he repeatedly reinforced his feelings that Generals needed fired, I wondered out loud, what gave him the impression he knew more than those Generals?

Any additional comments?

One day, we will enter a war in which the actual professionals (Military) will run the war and set the rules of engagement. This book over and over, shows the cost of politicians interfering with the art of war. Gates surely is smart, but he always has been someone that needed stroked
He was over concerned over collateral damage, thus making our pilots and the grunts to take unneeded risks to hold collateral to the minimum. The piece in the book where we made payments to so called civilians, for collateral damage made me ill, and especially so, wit no investigations involved.

A failure of editing

An interesting book. It could have been much tighter with better editing. Good background on current military issue and strategy.

Re: Bureaucratic HACK!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

If you want to see why America can't win a war.........listen to this jackass discuss our involvement in Iraq.

What could Robert M. Gates have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

He should have stayed a bureaucrat at the DMV.

Was Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War worth the listening time?

No.

Any additional comments?

I served in Iraq 2006-2007. It was apparent everywhere you looked that leadership, from President Bush to Mr. Gates (I will exclude Gen Petraeus) had no clue what the hell we were doing there. After the fact, they want to re-write history. Mr. Gates is not a bad man, not a stupid man, he is simply a misguided man. I think it was important that historically the men who served in a civilian and/or political capacity in this country also served in the military and more importantly in war time. Today, the men in leadership positions by in large only know statistics, numbers, historical accounts.....and they misguidedly think they 'know.' Bill O'Reilly pastes his name on some historical books and thinks he knows the first thing about war, or Iraq. It is the HUBRUS of these men that is the GREAT disease of this book and more importantly our nation.

our man in DOD

long, but fascinating. Gates was "the adult in the room" in DC during critical times. happy he was there addressing all the BS that those of us who love our country feared was going on... Reader did a great job w/Gates's voice and tempo.
thank you, Mr. Gates!

Interested in how Washington really works?

Duty is important for three reasons. First it presents a very reliable perspective on how things really work in Washington, DC from the point of view of a very senior cabinet secretary. Gates understands the federal bureaucracy, the way Congress operates, and, most importantly, the way Presidents engage with issues. Short answer: the bureaucracy tries to do its best and often fails, Congress is made up of too many grandstanding blowhards, and you can't trust Presidents to do what they promise because of the great number of pressures on them.

Second, he compares the styles of our two most recent Presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama with insights gained from having worked with several previous Presidents. I don't worry about his apparent preference for the former, but rather Gates applies his excellent analytical insights to the comparison and concludes that Bush's more down to earth approach permitted a more functional Executive Office than Obama's greater detachment. Gates really doesn't like the way Obama's senior staff tried to micromanage in the absence of hands-on Presidential involvement.

Third, the reader gets a very smart man's observations on the major international conflicts of the beginning of the 21st century. Historians will find his stories to contain valuable nuggets of information that help explain why the US did what it did, and often why the US failed to do what it tried or ignored. For those who are attentive to the day-to-day headlines coming out of Washington, Baghdad and Kabul, the book is full of "Oh, that's why that happened" moments.

You don't have to agree with Gates's positions on the issues to benefit substantially from reading this well-written, well-produced audio book.

Well written

This book was about 1 hour longer than it needed to be. A good story but too lengthy to keep interest at times.

intriguing look from the other side

the inside I will never see for myself. decades of news stories described in great detail and insight.

Small stuff

I'm being a stickler, but the articulation of the terms "intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance" implied they were separate functions, whereas in the military, the phrase refers to a single process. Also, the separation of the words lieutenant and general in the title "Lieutenant General" is odd and simply implies the reader's lack of familiarity with military ranks.

Fascinating behind the scenes look at White House.

If you could sum up Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War in three words, what would they be?

Insightful, remarkable and frightening.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Robert Gates. A remarkable individual who was the right man at the right time to serve as Secretary of Defense. I never fully understood, until now, how critical this role is in our government. Sadly, it also portrays our elected officials in a light that is not flattering. But hey, we already know what the issues are in Washington. I felt Gates did a great job of being evenhanded and thoroughly detailed in his description of events.

Which scene was your favorite?

Debates over Afghanistan and Iraq, particularly how distrustful Biden is of the military.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, too long.

Any additional comments?

I wish all Americans would read this, because too often we want to use the military to solve problems where diplomacy is the answer. There are no such things as a short wars or conflicts these days, and this book demonstrates why this is so.