Obama's Wars

De: Bob Woodward

Narrado por: Boyd Gaines

Working behind the scenes for 18 months, Bob Woodward has written the most intimate and sweeping portrait of President Obama making the critical decisions on the Afghanistan War, the secret war in Pakistan, and the worldwide fight against terrorism. Drawing on internal memos, classified documents, meeting notes, and hundreds of hours of interviews with most of the key players, including the president, Woodward offers an original, you-are-there account of Obama and his team in this time of turmoil and uncertainty.

©2010 Simon and Schuster Audio; 2010 Bob Woodward

Pretty dry.

This sterile presentation makes it easy to forget the reality of the war on the ground. Would've been much more impactful if the narrative had bounced back and forth between actual combat operations and the office drama on a regular basis.

Classic Woodard

This is Bob Woodard in his element. Beyond the politicking and spinning of the arguments, he gives an almost AP factual style reporting on what is really going on in the White House. Much like his three books on the Bush administration, it is not hard to see pundits on both sides of the isle picking and choosing their quotes from this work to support their point-of-view.
In the end, what we walk away from this experience with is the understanding that The White House is home to the biggest internal rivalry of egos in the country. Negotiating them and trying to map the way ahead for our country is a path beset with many obstacles, opinions, and potential detours. Most readers are going to look at this work and try to draw comparisons, which is completely legitimate and possible. In the end, what Woodard makes clear is that these are all people who fervently believe that what they do everyday moves our country forward to the best of their abilities. It is up to the reader to look at the FACTS and decide is this the future they envision for our country.
I recommend this book to readers of all stripes, red, blue, and purple.

A lot of details -- Too many in fact

Initially my interest was high as I learned the inner workings at the very pinnacle of government. Few surprises as cabinet heads and others fight for power and position. By the middle of the book the story had morphed into more and more of the same conversations at the never-ending meetings. Toward the end I was just wanting it to be over. Too much detail, not enough punch for me.

The reader killed it for me

At every single opportunity to get a name or term right, the reader went in a different direction. You can tell he's never been to Iraq or Afghanistan, and never spent a minute with anyone in the military. A different reader would make a huge difference...

Great Book!!

This book was very well written . Bob Woodward really knows his stuff and is very good at what he does.

Very insightful

This helped to explain the strategy or lack thereof before Obama took over, of the Afghanistan war. Loved the intrigues and tension between the military and the civilian leadership

The government’s ineptitude and Woodward’s clear and concise explanation of what occurred.

I liked it all — the writing style, the organization of the audiobook, the subject matter (I learned a lot) and the comparison to the author’s other similar books. Very enjoyable and informative.

great service to the country

I'm an Army Chaplain, combat veteran, and just finished this book. I feel like I've been through a fourteen hour staff meeting. I agree that there are some mistakes in the performance, though few. I agree with other reviewers that there is a redundancy, but I am grateful for this. That's how staff meetings should be. The process of forming a strategy for the war must be messy, conflicted, and emotional. The fact that Woodward reflects this in his writing only reflects the difficulties inherent in making decisions at this level. Great job, though the listener will require patience. It's not a novel. It's the messy, real, candid view of who makes decisions and the process by which those decisions are made. Thank you, Mr. Woodward. And thank you, Mr. Obama, for taking the time to listen to each side and angle before making the tough decision.

Interestingly Repetitive

This book provides a different view of Obama's intellectual abilities to deal with those who underestimate his. mind power

Great book

Great read on how President Obama decide on War strategy, incredible access to the decision makers.