LIT REVIEWS -
AUTHORS STARTING WITH "G"

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Quotes:

Even when a Presidency is politically besieged, there is nothing comparable to working at the White House. The pace is frenetic and the hours impossible. Intrigue. Backstabbing. Ruthless ambition. Constant conflict. Informers. Leakers. Spies (at the White House from inside the U.S. government). Egos as big as the surrounding monuments. Battles between Titans. Cabinet officers behaving like children. High-level temper tantrums. I would ultimately work in the White House for four Presidents and I saw it all. The struggles for pride and place, the preoccupying quest for "face-time" (personal encounters) with the President or even hist most senior advisers, the cheap thrill of flashing a badge and walking through those massive gates as tourists look on and wonder who you are, young and not-so-young staffers calling friends (or the service station) and having a secretary say, "The White House is calling." [p. 54]

To think that between 1973 and 1979 we could fight and lose the most divisive war in our history, nearly impeach and ultimately force from office a President for the first time in our history, suffer from two economically catastrophic increases in oil prices, and somehow not grasp that these epochal developments would profoundly affect us and global perceptions of us has always struck me as unbelievably naïve.
Even more striking, and dangerous, is that this period of great national political weakness - paralysis - coincided with unique opportunities for the Soviet Union to expand its influence and presence internationally against the backdrop of a strategic military buildup at that time unparalleled in the history of the world. The Soviet collapse in 1991 should not obscure the reality of their challenge in the 1970s. Indeed, it was, at least in important measure, the magnitude of that effort that, in the end, bankrupted them and brought down a hollow political shell that had been sustained by military and police power and the willingness to use it at home and abroad. [p. 170]

The Soviet Union was an evil empire. As more documents are released from Soviet archives, we are learning not only that the communists in the Kremlin committed virtually all of the atrocities long suspected, but even more that were controversial, doubted, or even unknown in the West. The Soviets stand proven guilty of crimes against humanity by their own records and those of their satellites. We are now learning that however badly we thought of them, they were even worse [p. 575].

Review:

Robert M. Gates, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1991-1993), reflects on his time at CIA and within the White House as well as about the political challenges of the United States related to the cold war, spanning the years from 1969 to 1991. He talks about grander political strategies and about the persons behind the decisions, and he does so in a very direct and fluent style.

Gates not only talkes about politics but also lets his personal experiences shine through. His book is a rich collection of both history and entertaining anectdotes and profiles of the people he has worked for and with. He tries to explain the reasons behind the collapse of the Soviet Union, giving both his own estimates as well as opposing opionions to help the reader develop a picture of their own. With ease he makes complex political decisions and decision-making more transparent, combines own views with critical views and confronts himself with the events past.

This is a perfect example of how entertaining and informative a book about history can be, this one definitely is one of my favorites. Gates has a very intriguing style and pace, making it easy for the reader to dive into history and politics, to take a glimpse between the complex network of power.

November 12th, 1998