Power Wars

Inside Obama's Post-9/11 Presidency

By: Charlie Savage

Narrated by: Dan Woren

Length: 27 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie Savage's penetrating investigation of the Obama presidency and the national security state.

Barack Obama campaigned on a promise of change from George W. Bush's "global war on terror". Yet from indefinite detention and drone strikes to surveillance and military tribunals, Obama ended up continuing - and in some cases expanding - many policies he inherited. What happened?

In Power Wars, Charlie Savage looks inside the Obama administration's national security legal and policy team in a way that no one has before. Based on exclusive interviews with more than 150 current and former officials and access to previously unreported documents, he lays bare their internal deliberations, including emotional debates over the fates of detainees held on torture-tainted evidence and acts of war that lacked congressional authorization. He tells the inside stories of how Obama came to order the killing of an American citizen, preside over an unprecedented crackdown on leaks, and keep a then-secret National Security Agency program that collected records of every American's phone calls.

Savage also pieces together the first comprehensive history of how American surveillance secretly developed over the past 35 years, synthesizing recent revelations and filling in gaps with new reporting. And he provides lucid explanations of legal dilemmas in a way that nonlawyers can understand. Highlighted by new information about the pivotal aftermath to the failed Christmas underwear bombing and the planning for the Osama bin Laden raid, Savage's own eyewitness reporting at Guantánamo, and detailed accounts of closed-door meetings at the highest levels of government, Power Wars equips listeners to understand the legacy of Obama's presidency.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2015 Charlie Savage (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Excellent

If you could sum up Power Wars in three words, what would they be?

For all those who actually believe Obama is weak on terrorism and those 'radical islamic terrorists'.

What did you like best about this story?

Mr. Savage lays out in pain staking detail every step Obama took to institutionalize all of Bush's and Chaney's 'from the hip' knee jerk actions which, prior to Obama were not supported by the constitution, executive power, or any semblance of congressional oversight or approval.

Any additional comments?

A must read for Rush Limbaugh and all the other pundits who have attempted to differentiate Obama's foreign policy from Bush's! They are vertually identical!

Great review of Executive National Security power

Would you listen to Power Wars again? Why?

Maybe. It's not really the kind of thing that you listen to over and over, but I have gone back already to review certain sections.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Charlie Savage has a narrative about how Obama has continued or expanded many of the Bush-era national security moves and he does a great job of explaining why. A large part has to do with the inertia of bureaucracy and legitimization of previously expansive views.

Which scene was your favorite?

No specific scene stands out, but the overall image of lawyers sitting around and creating a legalistic framework for these national security goals is repeated over and over. I have this picture in my head of lawyers sitting around conference tables arguing each of these issues as they strive to implement process.

If you could give Power Wars a new subtitle, what would it be?

The new boss is the same as the old boss...

Very dense and little narrative

Good for those readers who enjoy legal theory. Although not dry by any measure of the word, don't expect a page turner.

Almost missed this remarkable work.

Substantive, meticulously researched and near flawlessly executed. This is a great opportunity to view the reality of the Obama Presidency from inside and without the ubiquitous inanity and insanity of our time.