• Pay Any Price

  • Greed, Power, and Endless War
  • By: James Risen
  • Narrated by: Christopher Lane
  • Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (288 ratings)

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Pay Any Price  By  cover art

Pay Any Price

By: James Risen
Narrated by: Christopher Lane
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Publisher's summary

War corrupts. Endless war corrupts absolutely.

Ever since 9/11 America has fought an endless war on terror, seeking enemies everywhere and never promising peace. In Pay Any Price, James Risen reveals an extraordinary litany of the hidden costs of that war: from squandered and stolen dollars, to outrageous abuses of power, to wars on normalcy, decency, and truth. In the name of fighting terrorism, our government has done things every bit as shameful as its historic wartime abuses - and until this audiobook, it has worked very hard to cover them up.

Lincoln suspended habeas corpus. FDR authorized the internment of thousands of Japanese Americans. Presidents Bush and Obama now must face their own reckonings. Power corrupts, but it is endless war that corrupts absolutely.

©2014 James Risen (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Pay Any Price

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

If you care about our liberties, read this book.

I gave this book a 4 overall because it is bit repetitive and somethings a little tedious. Also I thought the reader (a real pro) was not right for a news story like this. But the "story" is, to me, super important. This book is basically an indictment of the excesses brought about since 9/11 by the endless War Against Terror. It covers the fantastic waste of money in Iraq and Afghanistan both through corruption and the use of worthless contractors, the violation of our laws and ideals through the wholesale adoption of of torture for the interrogation of prisoners, no matter how lowly their rank, no matter how tenuous their connection with the enemy and, most important, the acceptance by our highest officials and judges of warrantless wiretapping. Should be read by anyone who cares about the 1st and 4th Amendments and the ideals that made us different from other countries.

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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If You're Not Outraged...

Great book! Heartbreaking to learn that the Obama administration has been every bit as responsible as Bush/Cheney for attacks on the rights and liberties of the American people. Also shocking to hear how American foreign policy is provoking and advocating war and terrorism worldwide—all in the name of profit and political power.

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11 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Not sure we what to pay any price.

A very enlightening book that shows what we, as a nation, have become since 9/11. Many of the government actions mentioned should give us an uncomfortable cause for concern!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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I couldn't finish it

Any additional comments?

I can't remember putting away an audio book before, but I did so after two chapters. I found the story to be very tedious, hard to follow, far too drawn out. I've enjoyed some of Risen's other works, but this was a disappointment.

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6 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Chronicles the security overreaction of 9/11

More importantly this book shows how this over concern with security has become the basis for "a permanent state of war on terrorism." As an entrenched centrist, I found some of the adjectives used to be a bit strident, but probably are really only a mild counterbalance to what I call "Cable News Theater" of both the left and the right. That, more than anything else, caused me to downgrade the overall rating, The story is important and extremely well written and preformed.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Simply Mind-blowing

As an international relations major when in college, I thought I was savvy in American policies. But I was wrong. This book truly revealed what everyone ought to know about the pseudo democratic societythat we all live in. I would recommend to anyone who is remotely interested in politics and international relations.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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The Gross Abuse of Power in the Name of Security

Fantastic account of how BUSH admin cronies, robbed, stole and cheated the American public of billions during the Iraq war.

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4 people found this helpful

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I certainly wouldn't pay to read this

Any additional comments?

According to the author drones are a war crime, 9/11 was a blip, and there's no price worth paying to ensure the safety of Americans. Aside from the billions wasted in Iraq (worth investigation), the otherwise endless handwringing over anecdotal issues grates on me like sandpaper. A waste of time that promotes no solutions other than to dump cold water on those who serve on the front lines.

If the author believes 9/11 was a mere criminal act by 19 hijackers, then it is he who understands not the price we paid that day.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

GOOD FOR EVERYONE

An act of government that presumes it knows what is good for everyone mocks omniscience. James Risen’s “Pay Any Price” exposes government hubris that tortures suspected terrorists and invades personal privacy to feed human greed and desire for power; all under the guise of protecting America. Today, it is terrorism; yesterday, it was communism, day before yesterday, it was Japanese internment camps. Guantanamo tramples human rights; the red-scare of the 1950s breeds mistrust of elected officials, and Japanese internment camps during WWII stain the American’ conscience.

Greed and power are two of the three motivations for endless war. The third is prestige which leads to a false sense of omniscience and hubris. Government should protect Americans from the greed and power of the few over the many, rather than concoct wasteful government programs that only feed the worst parts of human nature. Sadly, 9/11 is not the first or last terrorist event in America’s future but without a measure of human freedom, America loses more than it gains by suspecting everyone is a terrorist.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent

A must read for anyone who wants to know how and why the U.S. Government does things in the national security realm. You'll be amazed at the things people do

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3 people found this helpful