National Book Award Finalist With a New Afterword by the Author A searing and vitally important chronicle of how the Bush Administration has sacrificed our country's core principles in the name of their war on terror. Jane Mayer, bestselling author and acclaimed correspondent for The New Yorker, relates in gripping detail the impact of the Bush Administration's disastrous counterterrorism policies. Under their watch, U.S.-held prisoners, some of them completely innocent, have been subjected to treatment more reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition than the twenty-first century. Mayer shows how the key players, Vice President Dick Cheney and his powerful adviser David Addington, exploited September 11 to further a longheld agenda to enhance presidential powers in an unprecedented manner, obliterating the Constitutional protections that define the American experiment.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
The Dark Side of "Shock and Awe" It must be said that, the U.S. for all its many faults, generally throughout its history has had a sixth sense for knowing when it is approaching the "moral brink." And in all but a few instances in its history, has found ways to "pull back" before it plunged over the moral and legal cliffs. In fact, until the present administration, "pulling back" just before the plunge, had become a hallmark of our system of "rule by law." Even in politics, our motto could well be summarized as: Fight hard politically,... more info
Truly Disturbing and Enlightening Jane Mayer's book "The Dark Side" took a while for me to finish. After reading a bit, I would get disturbed and really pissed off. To think that my government had descended to the depths that it had, and had done so with absurd legal interpretations behind it, I couldn't help but feel the earth rumble as Jefferson tossed about in his grave. What also disturbed me was the silence among most Americans, most of whom with the shrug of the shoulders somehow think this is "just liberals bashing conservatives" or... more info
What is Right Morally or Legally? This was a hard book to read and review because it told a story that depicted an America that I fundamentally believed was different. It was upsetting to read about the legal shenanigans played at high government levels and the resulting distorted legal interpretations that allowed our government to authorize and pursue actions against prisoners (both foreign and American) that were supposedly taboo for most of U.S. history, or at least not generally known or openly authorized activities. Classified legal... more info
A part of history we cannot undo. Military Prosecutor Darrel Vandeveld recognized the "stain of Guantanamo not simply on America's standing in the world, but as a part of history we cannot undo." (I'm not sure where I found this quote.)
Mayer's book is the result of extensive research into records and interviews with persons who were present at various proceedings related to the Bush-Cheney torture of prisoners of war. It documents that the Abu Ghraib torture was a direct result of White House orders and not the actions of a few bad... more info
