Customer Reviews

Breach, The: Inside Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton

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This is an insightful, well-written account by a someone who was given unprecedented access to all of the players. Baker is not only a gifted writer, but is a talented investigative reporter who knows how to write without injecting his own bias into his writing. Undoubtedly his well-deserved reputation for accurate reporting was a major reason why so many opened up to him. This is a book that readers -- regardless of their personal views -- will find insightful, and perhaps, the "final" book on this sordid affair. It will certainly be a book that historians will refer to in years to come.

The people involved and the story of the impeachment are well known, but this book is so compelling in it's detail and behind the scenes reporting of events. I could not detect a bias by the author, and I am amazed that so many people involved in the episode spoke so revealingly to him. There was so much going on behind the scenes that we were not privy to, previously. It is an insight not only into the impeachment process, but into the politicians who were so conflicted in their roles and decision-making. It is just a wonderful book!

The Breach is arguably the best political book of recent years. The Washington Post's Peter Baker took a topic everyone was sick of, and summarized it -- sticking to what really mattered. The book chronicles the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Period. Baker shows what went on behind the scenes, what deals were cut to keep Clinton in office, and the ambivalence of Republican leaders about pursuing a politically unpopular course. He shows why some members of both parties came to loathe Clinton, and how Clinton's own lieutenants felt. And he reveals why events unfolded as they did, and how once started, the process could not be stopped -- despite the efforts of some Republicans to "turn off impeachment" for fear of rushing down the wrong track of history. This is not a book about sex, nor a book about the Clinton marriage. Baker is writing a history for history, and sifts through all the pundit babble and misdirected salaciousness to report accurately on one of the most important events of recent American history. For anyone who was transfixed by the magnitude of the events but couldn't stomach the way it was handled by much of the press, this is the book for you.

This is a very well researched, even-handed study of the entire Clinton impeachment and trial episode. Often, the books examining this topic are clearly ideological (for example, Schippers horribly written, self-serving "Sell Out"). Baker does a great job of providing insight on the various stages of the events that made up this time in our nation's history. He does this by having almost unparalled access to the thoughts and conversations of the major players. For example, what better way to know what various Senators were thinking during the trial than to examine journals and notes belonging to those Senators? Due to his excellent reputation for veracity and fairness, Baker was given access to such sources (e.g., Senator Collins' impeachment diary) and to conversations normally kept private from reporters/researchers. If you are a student of history, of Clinton, or of Congress, this book is a must read. Personally, I've read most of the impeachment books, and this is the best. What is most amazing is the insight into the way the events actually unfolded; the public gets to see (often for the first time) how very differently things could have gone if only one person had done something, or said something, differently. For example, had DeLay decided not to wage his "let's impeach" crusade; had several moderate republicans been approached differently, had Clinton (at several points) shown actual contrition, impeachment and/or a trial may have never occurred. Great book!

Peter Baker's book, "The Breach" takes you inside the caucuses and meetings of the various parties involved in the impeachment process of President Clinton. It provides tremendous detail through interviews with the major players; one even senses that the participants wanted to get their version of things on the record and were willing to talk with Baker to fix their place in history. The details of the various strategies and counter-strategies used by the two sides are fascinating. The dilemma in which Trent Lott and Tom Daschle found themselves is particularly interesting and one can almost feel their sense of relief when the process finally ended. Baker has dug deeply to provide us with this information and he is to be congratulated for his attempt to be neutral on so controversial a subject. The evenhandedness of his reporting is evident throughout the book.

There are weaknesses to the book, however, and these begin with no first-hand accounts from Bill and Hillary Clinton. Secondly, Baker relies exclusively on first-hand accounts which, in effect, means taking politicians at their word. The work is, thus, skewed toward depicting the House members as totally moral, and conscientious individuals doing their best for their country with no partisan motives. Much of the bitterness and pure partisanship of the times is absent. Because Baker simply reports these conversations, with little or no analysis as to the motives of the players or interpretation of the events, he lets these politicians stake out the moral high ground and the political dynamics of the process are completely lost. Because of this, one comes away not understanding why Bill Clinton remained a very popular president throughout the event.

In sum, this is a book that should be read and there is much to be learned here about this sorry episode, but a complete evaluation of the process and the political dynamics will obviously wait til later.

For those of you who are intrigued by the political machine and the inner workings of Washington D.C., this book will not disappoint. Baker gives an exhaustive, balanced, and readable account of the actual impeachment process. It was a bit nauseating to know that partisan politics are more important to our country's "leaders" than doing the right thing and taking the high road, regardless of the outcome. It may be time for another political party to arise and it's past time for the American people to arise and make their elected officials accountable for their actions. Very well researched,... Everyone should read this book--regardless of their political affliation.

This book is well and tightly written, fascinating from its beginning but by no means catering to the sensationalist. The author obvously had access to those who knew what was going on in actuality as opposed to that which was being reported. Peter Baker was there from the first, and has written the definitive work on the actuality of the impeachment process which differs greatly from the theoretical. No one can claim to be knowledgeable about matters Lewinsky and the political fallout without this book.

The Breach is a highly readable and faithful history of the six months between August 1998 and February 1999, during which time occurred the almost surreal impeachment and trial of President Clinton. Mr. Baker has woven a narrative which is built on a mountain of documentation, including interviews, court and Congressional transcripts, diary entries, e-mail exchanges, etc. Drawing on his obvious talents as a journalist, he is able to distill the spin and partisanship from the documentary material so as to render an account of these volatile events which is about as objective as one is going to get. The hopes, fears, desires and intrigues of all the parties involved during the crisis--particularly the White House, Democratic and Republican members of the House and Senate--are all laid bare in this book. Although the author is pretty evenhanded, it was impossible for me (a lifelong Democrat) to read this narrative and not come away with a healthy distaste for the unrepentant Mr. Clinton. In the epilogue of The Breach, shortly after his acquittal in the Senate, Mr. Clinton states in an interview that he is wholly unashamed of being impeached; indeed, in his view, he feels he ''saved the Constitution'' by standing up to the dark forces arrayed against him (presumably the Independent Counsel and the House Republicans). However, notwithstanding the well-chronicled machinations and vituperations of both Democrats and Republicans, The Breach, by dint of its sheer objectivity, makes all too clear who was the sole author of our Nation's impeachment woes.

I was impressed by the exhaustive detail and revealing behind-the-scenes anecdotes compiled by reporter Peter Baker. This book is a true feat of research and reporting, and will serve for years to come as an excellent record of this sad chapter in modern American history. But I can't quite embrace the idea that this book is totally objective. We, of course, are enlightened about partisan considerations that drive Democratic moves in the House and Senate, but Republican posturing is not examined to the same degree. The White House, which deserves nearly all the derision it receives here, does not make a move that is not politically motivated, according to Baker. Yet, a figure such as Newt Gingrich is compared to Winston Churchill who is forced to leave office by an ungrateful constituency. Give me a break! There's plenty of shame to be borne on both sides of the aisle, but I think it will take a true historian's account down the road to help us better understand the context. Still, this book does a fine job in giving us the day-to-day details of an incredibly painful six months in the life of this nation.

This book reads like a novel. The reporting is incredibly exhaustive, and even junkies who followed the whole impeachment saga from day to day will learn something new on every single page. This will be the book that the historians turn to when the next president is impeached. And it's fun inside stuff.