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Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency [Kindle Edition]

Barton Gellman (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
Print List Price: $18.00
Kindle Price: $11.10
You Save: $6.90 (38%)
Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC

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Book Description

The landmark exposé of the most powerful and secretive vice president in American history

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 take on the full scope of Cheney?s work and its consequences, including his hidden role in the Bush administration?s most fateful choices in war: shifting focus from al Qaeda to Iraq, unleashing the National Security Agency to spy at home, and promoting ?cruel and inhumane? methods of interrogation. Packed with fresh insights and untold stories, Gellman parts the curtains of secrecy to show how the vice president operated and what he wrought.


Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jaw-dropping . . . It reads like a thriller."
-Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times

"Angler could well turn out to be the most revealing account of Cheney's activities as vice president that ever gets written"
-James Mann, The Washington Post

Review

'A remarkable tale extremely well told ! To talk of Cheney as co-president is scarcely an exaggeration' - Clive Crook, Financial Times 'As Bush's deputy limps off stage, [Angler] explains how he came to be the most powerful vice president in US history, and why this must never happen again' Independent 'Fascinating, appalling, compulsively readable' New York Observer
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • File Size: 967 KB
  • Print Length: 516 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1594201862
  • Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (September 16, 2008)
  • Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B001DYWRQW
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray:
  • Lending: Not Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,072 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
214 of 235 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful indictment September 16, 2008
By J. A Magill TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE VOICE
Format:Hardcover
Though I've not checked Fox News, no doubt the long knives are out for Barton Gellman. Angler, his portrait of Vice President Cheney is nothing short of devastating. However, for all of the charges Gellman lodges, the author never loses sight of his subject. While some may use Angler to support their two-dimensional mustache twisting image of the Vice President - or alternatively charge Gellman of offering such a portrait as a way of dismissing this excellent work of journalism - careful readers will find that the work offers a view with no small amount of nuance. The vision of Cheney offers is one created by a combination of the man's long held vision that executive power was unduly limited after the Nixon years - something he has long wished to "correct" - and his belief that in the wake of 9/11 the Government should not be constraint in any way in its efforts to prevent a future attack.

The result is nothing short of a toxic stew. Thus the VP, along with his senior staffers Libby and Addington threatened cajoled and manipulated their way into any action they thought necessary, regardless of the law. Gellman offers ample evidence for the charges he levels; likely owing the near end of the Bush reign, more than a few sources went on the record. Some have appeared elsewhere, such as Jack Goldsmith who worked in the Justice Department, while others are new, such as Former Majority Leader Dick Armey describing a meeting in the House in the run-up to the war where Cheney claimed that not only did they have unreleased proof that Saddam and his family had "close" relations with Al Qaeda, but that Iraq was getting close to creating miniaturized nuclear weapons. Read more ›
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87 of 100 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Material! September 17, 2008
By Loyd E. Eskildson HALL OF FAME
Format:Hardcover
"Angler" is the code-name used by the Secret Service to refer to V.P. Cheney. "Angler" the book tells the story of V.P. Cheney's role in the Bush administration - from his selection as candidate, his initial moves before even taking office, to his ability to influence decision-making throughout the Bush term, and does this in a calm, credible manner.

Selecting a Running Mate: Bush asked Cheney early on, and was turned down. This, per Gellman, only increased Cheney's appeal. Bush II had witnessed tensions between his father's White House staff and those looking out for Dan Quayle's future; Cheney, in addition, had told him about problems between Nixon-Ford, and Ford-Rockefeller. Bush did not interview a single candidate before settling on Cheney. Further, Cheney negotiated his expanded role at the beginning - "I want to be a real partner in helping you reach decisions."

Cheney's Role in Staffing Positions: Cheney's commanding role on major appointments was without precedent. He recruited candidates, pre-interviewed them, and escorted them for Bush's approval in Austin. For State, Bush already set his sights on Colin Powell, and Linda Chavez for Labor (she withdrew after a nanny-scandal). Cheney brought in Rumsfeld, Whitman (EPA), and O'Neill (Treasury).

Cheney did not stop at the cabinet - 2nd and 3rd ranking officials (eg. Hadley, Bolton) could be vital allies. In policy fields he cared about Cheney placed people even deeper in the bureaucracy. The list did not include most of the Friends of George from the Republican Governor's Association.

"Scooter" Libby was made national security advisor, chief of the V.P. staff, and assistant to the president. Read more ›
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102 of 130 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars A very disturbing book about American leadership September 17, 2008
By Future Watch Writer
Format:Hardcover
Prior to 2002 I used to have a great deal of respect for Dick Cheney. He did a great job of running the 1991 war with Iraq. His 2001 energy plan was well researched and professional even thought some people (including myself) felt it should have been more oriented to renewable energy.

However, since September 11, 2001 Dick Cheney has strongly promoted some totally disastrous policies such as the decision to go to war with Iraq.

This book contains some truly stunning accusations. It suggests that Cheney's role in picking himself as Bush's running mate when he was in charge of finding a running mate for Bush in 2000 had serious ethical breaches. There is a suggestion that Cheney was less than candid about his health problems.

The author suggests that Cheney knowingly lied to Dick Armey (House Majority Leader) about intelligence concerning the (nonexistent) relationship between 9/11 terrorists and Saddam Hussein.

There is more disturbing material concerning Cheney's alleged role in encouraging the use of torture against terrorism suspects and the use of domestic wiretapping.

It is interesting that Gelman knocks down one of the most popular accusations against Cheney, the notion that he wanted to use his office for private financial gain or the benefit of the oil industry or his previous employer, Halliburton. In a recent interview with Harper's magazine, Gellman states, "There's no venality here. Cheney was not trying to aggrandize himself, to steer money to friends, or to set himself up for higher office. He simply believed that the stakes were high and he was more capable than others. He saw the world, he believed, as it truly is and was prepared to do the "unpleasant" things that had to be done to safeguard us. Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific book
A wonderful book. This guy knows his subject, Cheney, and he knows how the U.S. government works, too. Read more
Published 2 days ago by doctorgus
3.0 out of 5 stars I ordered this because I wanted to know more about ...
I ordered this because I wanted to know more about the Vice Presidency of Cheney. This book told me all and more I wanted to know. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Renee Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Cheney is found out.
Finally, the truth about Dick Cheney. The most shocking info was the fact that he got the PDB (Presidents Daily Briefing) before President George W Bush was given the info. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
A riveting and chilling view of the man who actually ran the United States during the 'W' presidency.
Published 1 month ago by Gary Kauf
5.0 out of 5 stars A balanced and frightening view
Gellman exposes the manner in which Cheney manipulated the levers of power to achieve his goals, and the portrait is unflattering. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Nukepr
5.0 out of 5 stars Angler, a Cheney Exposé
This is a fantastic insider account of the Bush presidency and the power that Vice President Dick Cheney wielded in the Oval Office. Read more
Published 3 months ago by sarahjim
5.0 out of 5 stars The illusion of politics
Probably, politics had allways something to do with the power of the few versus the many without power; that even today it is that bad, was new.
Published 4 months ago by Drs. Peter J. Sträter
5.0 out of 5 stars Dick Cheney: Chief Terrorist in Charge
Gellman's exhaustively-researched and extensively-resourced biography of Cheney paints a portrait of a chillingly immoral and unapologetically evil man. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Robert Carlberg
5.0 out of 5 stars Puppet Master
You've heard the idea of Cheney pulling the strings . Barton Gellman will give you the surprising details of this political master at work . Read more
Published 7 months ago by Tom Jett
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding
I've only completed the first two chapters, but the book is truly riveting. The book grabs you from the first page, and what it details is extraordinary.
Published 10 months ago by Amazon Customer
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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Barton Gellman Page
Barton Gellman
Barton Gellman is a critically honored author, journalist and blogger. He has twice won the Pulitzer Prize, and his bestselling Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency was named a New York Times Best Book of 2008. In 2010 he left The Washington Post to begin a new book project and take up a position as contributing editor at large for TIME magazine. Gellman writes the CounterSpy blog about digital privacy and security, and he is working with Spring Creek Productions ("Recount," "Blood Diamond") to adapt his Cheney book for an HBO movie. He holds appointments as Lecturer and Author in Residence at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

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When the book discusses wmd in Iraq iut doesn't mention the kind that...
This is an example of how ideology-driven people too often behave when their deeply held prejudices are contradicted by facts. Many people were fooled into believing there were WMD in Iraq prior to the U.S. invasion. This turned out to be wrong, and in fact, the evidence seems to be that the... Read More
Oct 5, 2008 by Douglas A. Greenberg |  See all 2 posts
Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency
Firefly: why do you insist on:

1) entering every single political thread on the GBF when it is obvious it is going to be a political thread?
2) post your dissatisfaction with same every single time?
3) bore everyone with the same blather about how it doesn't belong here?

Why don't you ignore... Read More
Sep 21, 2008 by J. Davis |  See all 34 posts
Kindle Price for Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency. It's $13.58, not $9.99
Usually they come down in price a week or two later. Sometimes with new releases they are even higher priced for the kindle than the hardcover. It stinks but usually they come down in price
Sep 25, 2008 by Dana |  See all 3 posts
ChickenCheney,,, Be the first to reply
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