State of War - by James Risen (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

James Risen has broken story after story on the abuses of power of the Bush administration.

From warrantless wiretapping to secret financial data mining to the CIA's rogue operations, he has shown again and again that the executive branch has dangerously overreached, repudiated checks and balances on its power, and maintained secrecy even with its allies in Congress. In no small part thanks to Risen and State of War, the "secret history" of the Bush years has now come partially into view.

In a new epilogue for the paperback edition, Risen describes the two-front war that President Bush is now fighting: at home against Congress and the Supreme Court, as his administration is increasingly reined in from its abuses; and in the Middle East, where George W. Bush's great gamble to bring a democratic revolution is failing radically. We must learn the lessons of Risen's history now, before it is too late.

Review Quotes

"Damning and dismaying...As a national security reporter for the New York Times, Risen has produced some of this era's best journalism on the Central Intelligence Agency and the dysfunctional relationship between the White House and the U.S. spy community.... As one of the Washington press corps' best reporters on national security issues, Risen has a record of being right.... State of War is a welcome reminder that American journalism has a higher purpose than shallow pandering to the lowest pop-cultural denominator. Somewhere, beyond celebrity, there are issues and ideas that matter. James Risen's book is an urgent contribution to the country's common good by a skillful and courageous reporter."
-- Los Angeles Times

"Domestic spying, demands for political loyalty in the name of national security, investigating a newspaper's sources: With State of War, the Nixonian déjà vu can give a reader whiplash."
-- The Dallas Morning News

"Explosive.... James Risen may have become the new Woodward and Bernstein.... Fast paced, quite mesmerizing, colorful, and fascinating."
-- The New York Times Book Review

"Illuminating and disturbing...a monumental job of reporting."
-- The New York Times

"Risen's book is really about the secret of many things that have gone wrong in the administration of George W. Bush. The quantity, and apparent quality, of the secrets revealed in State of War distinguishes Risen's book from its competitors. What it represents is a profound hemorrhaging of information from within the corridors of secret power in Washington.... Risen becomes the mouthpiece for a U.S. intelligence community anxious to unburden itself of the mistakes and misdeeds of the recent past. He has not one, but many 'Deep Throats.'"
-- Toronto Globe and Mail