Customer Reviews

Fair Game

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

As is ever the case with books on controversial topics, particular those political, reviews of Mrs. Plame Wilson's book has attracted countless reviews, often from those who one must suspect have not read the book. Indeed, time and again one sees reviews which make assertions patently false such as that Mrs. Wilson was not undercover (the Judge in the Libby case, Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald, and CIA Director General Hayden have all made plain that she was), or that her husband Joseph Wilson was not an ambassador (again, he was, to Gabon). Yet such attempts by individuals to create their own facts has little bearing on what Mrs. Wilson's book offers.

There is little new here in terms of the facts of the case of Robert Novak's "outing" of Mrs. Wilson which could not be found in the court record or a simple Lexus search. This perhaps more than anything makes the frequent redactions (demanded by the CIA and published in the volume as black lines) so patently absurd; time and again matters clearly part of the public record are removed, a penchant for privacy that should give every American citizen pause. That said, Mrs. Wilson writes with gusto and given her silence up until now, one must acknowledge a certain satisfaction in seeing her get her piece.

More than anything this is a highly person memoir, recounting - to the degree the CIA's over busy redactors allowed - her years of service as well as the trauma she and her husband Ambassador Joseph Wilson were forced to endure. While this book offers little new for the record of events, it does give a window into the damage done by those at the eye of the storm. I can only scratch my head in wonder at how many people have continued to sharpen their long knives after Mrs. Wilson's savage treatment.

What is incontrovertible is that Mrs. Wilson, daughter of an Air Force colonel and sister of a marine did render years of loyal service to the defense of the United States, in return for which she has seen her career ended and her reputation smeared, all for political ends in the service of an agenda that was wrongheaded both at the time and in retrospect, all of which brings to mind the iconic words of Joseph Welch: "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" The answer is a tragic no.

On a final note, to avoid confusion readers should begin with Laura Rozen's afterwards to the book which reviews the public record and all of the details that are available, but which the CIA insisted Mrs. Wilson could not write.

While the book certainly makes the case that Plame was a covert operative who was wronged by the administration, I think what makes it most interesting can be appreciated by anyone outside of their political leanings. We get a candid portrait of what it's like in the center of one of these media storms and Plame offers up plenty of detail on the toll this affair took on herself and her marriage. People should be outraged.

The large section of redacted passages are tough to get around -- I wish the material included at the end could have been inserted as footnotes throughout so the reader doesn't have to jump back and forth.

This isn't a spy-intrigue-action book, so please don't expect it to be. It's Valerie Plame Wilson's story about ow she happened to become a CIA agent, what it took to reach the levels in the institution that she did. How the scandal started who was and wasn't involved. She explains how the government managed to touch every part of her being to her personal life, social life, professional life, motherhood, finances, you name it. It's a good book, and one American's should read. Especially approaching this 2008 election.

I'd avidly followed Valerie Plame's nightmare, so I knew a lot about the story and the various players involved. But it was so interesting to be able to peek behind the scenes and see what it was like for Valerie personally: As a mother of young children, as a woman, as a professional who put her life on the line for her country. A fascinating read.

Now that's my opinion, of course, and you're free to disagree. But if you're going to bash this book in a review, please make sure you actually READ it first. It is obvious that some of the reviewers here have not done so. The purpose of the review section is to give potential buyers an idea of the book being sold, not to advance one's political views.

Another recorded book..and another comment that it's not my favorite medium as I have too few specfics to refer to.

The first portion of the book is autobiographicalesqe. (!) Val talks about her time in the "Farm," her early tenure in the CIA, etc. It's interesting, and she does include items of dubious ethicality of the Bush administration. (You'll recall that's what put her on the map, that someone had exposed her role with the agency, as a vendetta for her husband's revealing that the Niger uranium scare was a bad hoax.)

That part of the book was okay. But, frankly, there's a little too much name dropping to make me comfortable. Might I do the same if I were in such a position? Maybe. But that she's met Tim Robbins is inconsequential, and I'd rather the author not include what could be construed as tabloid news.

The second half of the book, the "afterward," is actually of more substance. It's simply a narrative of the whole experience, including the CIA's activities--and what one may infer as their negative influence on our foreign policy. I remember a little about the US relationship with Greece, for example, only because many years ago I spent some time with some Greek expatriots. They told me of the what purported to be a democracy there, in reality a military junta with a ghastly human rights record. What a surprise, they were a US ally.

In short, if you have time, you might want to read the book, and learn a little. But it's not one I'd put on the top of my list.

This is a really fascinating look at how politics became a battlefront in the war on intelligence. Wilson's role in assisting the CIA becomes a firestorm with repercussions that surround the globe. This is an amazing look at what the toll of speaking up took, and should be a call for all Americans, of all political leanings, to stop, look past party loyalties, and question everything, even it it comes from your own candidate. I found the additional section at the end very helpful for filling in those blank pages. For anyone who is questioning this story you need to ask yourself, what were they going to gain by making this stuff up? Thank you Valerie for speaking up. You've made many Americans more determined to be forthright and honest.

This book actually started out pretty good. It would have been 100% better if the "feds" hadn't censored it. Some of the chapters had the majority of the pages blanked out. However, it did give an insight into the world of working for the CIA, FBI, etc. If I had known that many of the pages were blanked out, I would have passed on buying the book.

This book was destined to be second-rate. In part because of a rouge presidential administration and a patsy agency publishing department that lacked the courage to stand up to it, but also, frankly, because of the author/publisher's laziness.

The redactions are exhaustive and distracting--even to a reader of many CIA books. Although I appreciate the Afterword by Laura Rozen, I think her piece should have been in the form of footnotes, rather than a separate part, so the reader had a readily available picture of events. Moreover, a non-fiction book without an index is inexcusable in my opinion. Last, although I greatly sympathize, the chapter on postpartum depression was way too exhaustive. If I wanted a book about postpartum depression, I would have bought one.

Although this book left too many question unanswered (especially regarding the trial of Libby), I am very glad Mrs. Plame wrote it and I am likewise glad I read it. This is a compelling story about treason (yes, I wrote it) in the White House. Bush, Cheney, and Libby should feel ashamed by their blind cruelty and abuse of power that threatened not only Mrs. Plame's security, but our national security as well. This was an impeachable and removable offense. It's a shame that did not happen. At least a movie was made to embarrass these officials. Moreover, I imagine God's judgment will be more just.

Although this book is basically a rehash of the known criminal acts committed by high level slime balls of our government. It does furnish an insider victim's take on the petty revenge acts that were committed by a not to bright president and his close advisors. Acts which bordered on endangering the security of our country, not to mention the covert agent, her family, and a large number of her associates. A good read that sometimes is a little dry.

I give the book 4 stars and Valerie's story 5 stars. I know there are two sides to each story but I do not think Valerie or Joe had any idea what was going to happen after Joe came back from his Africa trip or Valerie maybe should have told Joe it is not a good idea to go on this trip. Who really knows what goes on in ones mind. Anyway the book is a very quick read. I followed this story in the papers and on TV but did not get the nuts and bolts from TV or the newspapers or did not know that much about Valeroe's life or family. Valerie did lead a great life and really did nothing wrong. Bottom line is Scooter Libby went to jail, or was supposed to but got pardoned (was probably a fall guy). If Joe Wilson would have submitted a report against the current leadership in some sort of third world dictatorship type of country for both he and Valerie the least of their problems would have their jobs or the government. Valerie lead a terrific life and I admire her, I really do.