State of War

The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration

De: James Risen

Narrado por: Boyd Gaines

With relentless media coverage, breathtaking events, and extraordinary congressional and independent investigations, it is hard to believe that we still might not know some of the most significant facts about the presidency of George W. Bush. Yet beneath the surface events of the Bush presidency lies a secret history, a series of hidden events that makes a mockery of current debate.

This hidden history involves domestic spying, abuses of power, and outrageous operations. It includes a CIA that became caught in a political cross fire that it could not withstand, and what it did to respond. It includes a Defense Department that made its own foreign policy, even against the wishes of the commander-in-chief. It features a president who created a sphere of deniability in which his top aides were briefed on matters of the utmost sensitivity, but the president was carefully kept in ignorance. State of War reveals this hidden history for the first time, including scandals that will redefine the Bush presidency.

©2006 James Risen (P)2006 Simon & Schuster, Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

it's what it is

the story matches the consequences we see today, and what we were seeing when the war began. and fills in the gaps with solid info. the story is binding. once you start, you finish till the end.

Critical to understanding how we got to Snowden.

What made the experience of listening to State of War the most enjoyable?

Enjoyable isn't exactly the term I would use. Frightening is far more appropriate.

What was one of the most memorable moments of State of War?

That intelligence experts who had spent their entire lives learning about one particular place, or person, or culture, could be completely dismissed by ignorant, political wonks with no military experience.

Have you listened to any of Boyd Gaines’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The truth hurts. It was painful.

Intreguing, riveting

Loved it!!! This book filled in many holes in the USs Intelligence for going to war with Iraq. It also explained how much actionable intelligence the US had and has on Iran.
Highly recommend.

Very well written book.

Ending felt a bit abrupt, but that was because the book was so fascinating. It really could have been longer, but this is still worth a listen!

It's abridged...

If you could sum up State of War in three words, what would they be?

No wonder the government is still mad about the 2006 book. Too bad the audio version is abridged... It's probably censored too.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not nice to abridge an important book like this.

Any additional comments?

Amazon and audible didn't market this book..
and now they put out an abridged version....
censoring.?

A useful coverage of Intel activities, if dated

A useful introduction for those unfamiliar with the intelligence or military intel programs. It does present more information than the media headlines of the times did, but also missed much other publicly available information sources.

Required Reading

Every US Citizen should read this. Our children should read it. Our Grandchildren should read it.