The Deep State

The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government

By: Mike Lofgren

Narrated by: Brian O'Neill

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times best-selling author of The Party Is Over delivers a no-holds-barred, House of Cards-style exposé of who really wields power in Washington.

Mike Lofgren is back with a book perfectly pitched for the frenzied circus of the primaries. His argument this time is that for all of the backstabbing and money grubbing of the campaign season, the politicians we elect have as little ability to shift policy as Communist party apparatchiks. Welcome to Mike Lofgren's Washington, DC - a This Town where the political theater that is endlessly tweeted and blogged about has nothing to do with actual decision making. The real work gets done behind the scenes by invisible bureaucrats working for the vast web of agencies that actually dictate our foreign policy, defense posture, and security decisions.

Have you ever wondered why Obama's policies look so much like Bush's? Seek no further: Hillary versus Jeb is just window dressing. Actual power lies in the Deep State, Washington's shadowy power elite, in the pockets of corporate interests and dependent on the moguls of Silicon Valley, whose data-collecting systems enable the US government to spy on our every move, swipe, and click. Drawing on insider knowledge gleaned in his three decades on the Hill, Lofgren offers a provocative wake-up call to Americans and urges them to fight to reinstate the basic premise of the Constitution.

©2016 Michael Lofgren (P)2016 Recorded Books

Not that good

I enjoy political non fiction, geopolitics, and history, but this one didn't do it for me. The thesis that there was a 'deep state' that has wrecked the country was frequently restated but poorly backed up. Something just wasn't compelling. I slogged through it, didn't find it fun or enlightening. Narrator was good though.

Important book but NOT QUITE UNABRIDGED!

Where does The Deep State rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very high and relevant

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

It discusses the continuity of underlying policy which carries over from administration to administration as presidents of different parties come and go.

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

Early in the book the author shows that fear has always been a go-to strategy of the Deep State and is not new to our current politics. Harry Truman in 1947 was told that in order to sell the American public on his plans to intervene in Greece, he would need to scare the hell out of the American people. And so he did.

Any additional comments?

CAUTION: The book is not quite unabridged! There are numerous footnotes in the actual book which (1) contribute information to the overall narrative and (2) are totally omitted from the Audible book. It is as if these notes (at the bottom of the page of the print version) simply are not there.

You need to be aware that Audible's notion of "unabridged" may frequently be misleading! I recommend listening to it on your commute, but getting the print version and reading it in a chair when you get home.

Understanding what is the deep state

learned some interesting facts about the current situation in global politics and policies. Highly recommended.

Extreme bias masquerade

Critique first, positive last.

Extremely biased book masquerading as fair. Barely acknowledges major failings of one side while attempting to dismantle the other based on purely subjective opinion (with no logic or argument backing up his assertions - doesn't even provide background on how his conclusions were drawn.)

There was real truth in there as well, but the one-sidedness of it made it tough not to tune out. His self-description as a true independent really means a hard core leftist who doesn't like immigration. The book essentially boils down to: "military industrial complex, war hawks, religion, and conservatives = bad; liberal takeover (except for immigration) = good."

There's obviously more to it, but consider that the "TL;DR" version. There was enough insight into some of the inner workings of "beltway land" to provide some value AND the performance/reading were good.

Great book

Really great and important book, but the narrator seems to think that the Glass-Steagall Act is a Steven Seagal movie based on his pronunciation.

Great survey of our currently dysfunction

Lofgen does a great job surveying and tying together the mutually dependent rent extraction machine of our institutions. He tends to overstate the national security angle (his specialty) and understate the health care system which on a daily basis causes us more financial hardship and is a bigger existential threat to our solvency. But overall a very helpful guide to why the most wealthy country is currently managing itself so poorly.

ok read

the author stsrted out great going after the deep state but the last half of the book seem to spend most of the time bashing the right and didnt touch the left. when he did it was with kids gloves. Both side are equally involved in the deep state

👎

Biased sounded more like a lop side fairytale than a expose on the problems confronting our American governmental institutions.

EXCELLENT.

Great analysis of America's foreign and domestic problems. The last chapter's recommendations should be demanded of ou political system.

Buy 2 copies.

Read one. Then share both. I've read many of the current and recent selections of this category. Mike is steadfastly honest, cynical, accurate and on target. The future of the founding fathers vision rests on what we do next. Here's the diagnosis. The cure is bitter and necessary.