Angler

The Cheney Vice Presidency

By: Barton Gellman

Narrated by: Brian Keith Lewis

Barton Gellman shared the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for a keen-edged reckoning with Dick Cheney's domestic agenda in The Washington Post. In Angler, Gellman goes far beyond that series to rake on the full scope of Cheney's work and its consequences, including his hidden tole in the Bush administration's most fateful choices in war: shifting focus from aI Qaeda to Iraq, unleashing the National Security Agency to spy at home, and promoting "cruel and inhuman" methods of interrogation.

Packed with fresh insights and untold stories, Angler describes a man of deep conviction and remorseless will who reshaped his office and his times. Dick Cheney played a paramount role in decisions that ranged from war and peace to the economy, the environment, and the meaning of the law. His hand was often unseen even by colleagues. Gellman parts the curtains of secrecy to show how the vice president operated and what he wrought.

Angler tracks Cheney's trajectory through two terms as a loyal and valued adviser who nonetheless posed dangers to the president he served. In one riveting narrative, Gellman describes a lengthy crisis over NSA surveillance in which Cheney's close hold on information left even George Bush out of the loop. BlackBerry messages, contemporary notes, and on-the-record interviews rake us inside urgent meetings in the vice president's office, the Situation Room, the White House counsel's living room, and the president's private study.

In documentary detail, Gellman shows how Cheney's unyielding course brought Bush to the brink of ruin before the president veered away. Cheney redefined his job before he even joined the ticket in 2000.

Angler offers vivid details of his selection as running mate, his command of the presidential transition, and his habit of "reaching down" to steer Bush's options. September 11 amplified Cheney's importance, and Gellman shows how he guided the "war on terror" to Iraq, domestic espionage, glove...

Please Note: The quality of this book's audio is substandard. However, it is the best quality that is currently available to us.

©2008 Barton Gellman (P)2008 Penguin Audiobooks

Couldn’t Stop Listening

Great book! We will never have another VP with this much power and influence.

It was fascinating to “re-live” some of these important moments in history from the inside perspective.

Great book on process.

This is a wonderful examination of how power is exerted in government. Cheney's emplacement of like-minded people at various levels of the bureaucracy is related to the ends which he had in mind. The single-minded intention on those ends (with absolutely no regard for means) goes a long way toward explaining the way in which these people destroyed our country's standing in the world. In the end, quite chilling in showing that amorality ruled Washington for the last eight years.

Great man with strong leadership

Would you consider the audio edition of Angler to be better than the print version?

for me yes

What was one of the most memorable moments of Angler?

he does his job

What does Brian Keith Lewis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

no good sight i8 really enjoyn this form of pleasure

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

have you had enough of the change weak people provide.

Biased author

After listening to this book I changed my view of both VP Chaney and President George Bush.
Despite the authors best efforts to cast both in a negative light and unsubstantiated charges, there is no doubt that these 2 men had the very best interests of the USA as central to their actions.
I have come to a position of great respect for both. I was neutral in opinion prior to this reading.
This nation should be thankful that these men were our leaders at that point in history.
Don De Haan