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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 973.931 EAN: 9780385526395 ISBN: 0385526393 Label: Doubleday Manufacturer: Doubleday Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 400 Publication Date: July 15, 2008 Publisher: Doubleday Release Date: July 15, 2008 Studio: Doubleday Editorial Review: 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. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - The Dark SideI checked this title from the library. I had difficulty reading much of the material, even though I already believed Cheney, Addisson, Gongalez, et. al. are more than capable of "thinking" of such atrocities. The reporting is brilliant and extreemly disturbing. As an educator, I would advise this book to be REQUIRED reading for every American, at least all appropriately aged (?) students. Rating: - Best Book on Bush MisdeedsOf many books I have read on the misdeeds and mistakes of the Bush Administration in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror generally, this is the best. Its impact sinks in page after page, horrific detail after horrific detail. Rating: - Groupthinkers for tortureJane Mayer has written a well-documented analysis of how the White House succumbed to the sociology of groupthink and pretty much froze out those who disagreed with or questioned the wisdom of allowing torture under any name. There are a lot of books about the machinations of the White House available, but I think this one is the best. Rating:  - The Dark SideWhile this book does not mince words, about the horrific tactics that our government has done, I found it informative but tedious. The public must be informed but the main objective I think is to "vote the rascals out!" Rating: - FRIGHTENING AND EMBARRASSING IN EQUAL MEASURE(From a conversation with the author on a local radio call-in program) Somehow, i endured to the end of this frightening book. It frightened me in ways i didn't know i could be frightened. I found your vignettes well-supported and the story they tell, coherent and overwhelming. They are even more overwhelming when read as a whole than as a series of episodes. By the time I got to the bottom of page 274, and read that Ramzi Kassem, whom you describe as having taught at Yale ... Read More |
