| The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals | 
 enlarge | Author: Jane Mayer
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $27.50
Buy New: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  45 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.7
ISBN: 0385526393
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931
EAN: 9780385526395
Publication Date: July 15, 2008
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Product Description
A dramatic and damning narrative account of how America has fought the
"War on Terror"
In the days immediately following September 11th, the most powerful people in the country were panic-stricken. The radical decisions about how to combat terrorists and strengthen national security were made in a state of utter chaos and fear, but the key players, Vice President Dick Cheney and his powerful, secretive adviser David Addington, used the crisis to further a long held agenda to enhance Presidential powers to a degree never known in U.S. history, and obliterate Constitutional protections that define the very essence of the American experiment.
THE DARK SIDE is a dramatic, riveting, and definitive narrative account of how the United States made terrible decisions in the pursuit of terrorists around the world-- decisions that not only violated the Constitution to which White House officials took an oath to uphold, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda. In gripping detail, acclaimed New Yorker writer and bestselling author, Jane Mayer, relates the impact of these decisions—U.S.-held prisoners, some of them completely innocent, were subjected to treatment more reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition than the twenty-first century.
THE DARK SIDE will chronicle real, specific cases, shown in real time against the larger tableau of what was happening in Washington, looking at the intelligence gained—or not—and the price paid. In some instances, torture worked. In many more, it led to false information, sometimes with devastating results. For instance, there is the stunning admission of one of the detainees, Sheikh Ibn al-Libi, that the confession he gave under duress—which provided a key piece of evidence buttressing congressional support of going to war against Iraq--was in fact fabricated, to make the torture stop.
In all cases, whatever the short term gains, there were incalculable losses in terms of moral standing, and our country's place in the world, and its sense of itself. THE DARK SIDE chronicles one of the most disturbing chapters in American history, one that will serve as the lasting legacy of the George W. Bush presidency.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 40 more reviews...
 "The Dark Side" August 27, 2008
Anyone with half a brain who intends to vote in November ought to read this!
Author delves deeply into what went wrong with Bush II starting in the Ford Administration,m and explains in great detail how the Cheny Presidency was developed in a vacuum of intelligence, hubris, and arrogance beyond any measure in a constitutional democracy.
It is difficult to put this book down even to eat or for bathroom breaks, it is that thought-provoking.
What have they done to our country? August 26, 2008
This should be required reading for all three branches of our government: executive, legislative, and judicial. I was all for closing Gitmo but now think they should convert it to a special "retirement center" for the likes of Bush Jr., Dick Cheney, David Addington, John Yoo, Alberto Gonzales, Michael Mukasey, and the list goes on and on.
Required reading August 26, 2008
It is a pity that it takes so long for the story to come out of this secretive administration. Mayer does a masterful and readable job of putting the story of torture by our government together. Everyone should read this book.
 Not likely to change any minds August 25, 2008
The author is to be commended for a stunning volume of details, quotes gathered, and information parsed, especially in the cloak-and-dagger world of information hiding from the administration. It reveals who the true players are in the shaping of our current policies and who was left out. This is especially poignant in an administration and political atmosphere where the illusion of unity is maintained constantly.
The book can be hard to read in some ways just because of the content and knowing it's a non-fiction. The "bad guys" are painted as so twisted, so driven, and so wrong, that you keep waiting for the hero to arrive, until remembering once again that this isn't a novel at all. I read it while on vacation and actually had to put it down a few times because it was too depressing.
I don't think the book will change anyone's mind - not any fault of the author's though. Those who agree with the administration's policies are unlikely to read it and those who are already outraged will simply have their opinions solidified. If you are on the fence about our prosecution of the "war on terror" and want to read this book, you will see one side of the argument presented thoroughly and with a great deal of passion.
I share the following points which kept this from a higher rating:
- The author is angry. Outraged. With good reason, in my opinion, but as a journalist, I feel she let that passion fuel the entire book perhaps at the cost of some objectivity. She paints several players clearly as the villians (Cheney, Addington, and Yoo), explains some of their rationale (belief in a powerful executive branch), but never really examines that objectively or gives the benefit of the doubt to any of their positions. Of course, I can't imagine any of these people would have cooperated with the author and given their side, but I'm left thinking they can't possibly be as short-sighted and contemptful of the law as presented here. I hope I'm wrong.
- The book does jump around chronologically a bit, which is hard to follow. A timeline of the significant events to refer back to would've be helpful as you're trying to remember, "has this other conversation happened yet?"
- There are simply a dizzying array of names and roles to remember. Some turn out to be very significant and some seem to provide one or two quotes and that's it. Perhaps some of the insignificant ones could've been pared down.
In all, it's an impressive jouranlistic effort, which may serve as an important history as the dust gradually settles on the Bush administration.
How did we get here? August 24, 2008
Why have we stood for the abuse from the current Administration? How (Why) did we let this happen?
This is a thoughtful analysis of how the American People have let our legal system get hi-jacked by thugs who scared the public with threats of terrorism, while they were creating the real terrorism beneath our noses.
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