Wednesday, March 9, 2011

From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War by Robert Gates

Finished Mo 3/6/11

I spent a few days with this, and only intended to find out if Gates had a background in the military. However, it was so well written, and his story was so interesting that I read the whole book. It was like being a 'fly on the wall' at the nexus of power in Washington DC through five different administrations. I especially liked his impressions of Jimmy Carter. Gates feels that Carter is by far the smartest of our recent presidents, and he was so thoughtful and contemplative that his enemies interpreted this as weakness. And, nothing could be farther from the truth. (Simple minds seem to require simple solutions). Also, Gates seems to feel a fair degree of disgust for the partisan politics which emerged in the Regan era. Although, it is evident that Gates had the greatest admiration for this president, he felt that the people under him were a bit too concerned with party loyalty. And, although I'm sure that this was even worse under George W. Bush's regime. Also, William Casey, the head of the CIA under Regan, comes across as a very strange individual. Usually he is vilified, but Gates shows why he took some of the 'extreme' positions, and why he felt they were justified. And, finally, Robert Gates comes across as someone who only did what he felt was right, and had no political ax to grind. When you finish the book, you feel you have read what really happened, and not a recreation of events to fit a particular political agenda.

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