Fighting Back: The War on Terrorism from Inside the Bush White House [Hardcover]

Bill Sammon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2002

Best-selling author and award-winning White House correspondent Bill Sammon uses his unparalleled White House access -- including revealing one-on-one interviews with President George W. Bush, conducted on Air Force One and elsewhere -- to show how the pr

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

George W., this one's for you. In Washington Times correspondent Sammon's inside account of the Bush administration's reaction to 9-11 and the resultant war on terror, readers are tendered a breathless, highly complimentary portrait of the president and an overly simplistic moral tale about the great merit and unwavering moral vision of his inner circle. What could be an extremely interesting if one-sided account is often undercut by Sammon's penchant for editorializing (Bush was "more directly affected than most Americans by the attacks themselves"; Osama bin Laden "giggled" when speaking about the attacks; and the president often "twinkles" when he speaks) and novelizing (Bush "never thought he would be so relieved to see the White House again. He scanned the magnificent curve of the South Portico...He gazed at the Rose Garden"). Nor does Sammon seem to appreciate the irony of quoting some of the president's less eloquent statements, such as: "The role of a president is to seek great objectives for the country, big goals." Sammon, author of the bestselling At Any Cost, largely writes for the converted, so the intended audience for this volume will no doubt love it. Those more skeptical of the government's policies, however, will find his narrative more hagiography than history, and will want to wait for Bob Woodward's forthcoming Bush at War, which covers the same territory from a different angle.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"An inside look at the president’s leadership since the 9-11 attacks....It’s good reading." -- Brit Hume of Fox News Channel, October 7, 2002

"It’s a great book...a remarkable book." -- MSNBC anchor Alex Witt, October 2002

"Revealing...This is an awfully good read...great stuff." -- CNBC's Larry Kudlow, November 2002

"The book is really fascinating. I really enjoyed reading it." -- Publisher Judith Regan, October 2002

"You think you’ve heard everything about 9-11 and what the president did, but you didn’t come close....Read this book." -- Brian Kilmeade of Fox & Friends, October 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing; First Edition edition (October 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895261499
• ISBN-13: 978-0895261496
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,795,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Media and Democratic Strategists Exposed, October 5, 2002

By 

"kedshouse" (Bloomfield, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fighting Back: The War on Terrorism from Inside the Bush White House (Hardcover)

The most important insights from Mr. Sammon relate to the uninformed infantilism of the main-stream media and the abject cynical view of America and its institutions that drive Democratic consultants. Although much of what he writes about President Bush already has been revealed in September 11 anniversary interviews, this book presents more fully and naturally his emotional character and strength but more importantly his decency and class.

Partisan Democrats and pundits will definitely not like this book because their motivation, to gleefully hope for Bush to fail, is there for the reader to see, not from Mr. Sammon's view but from their own words. That they always place their political party above the country, even in a time of crisis, is clearly there for all to read.

Mr. Sammon has captured the media from the vantage point of the viewer. I remembered clearly the press briefings he described; his assessments of them were like reading my thoughts at the time, only censored.

Like the President's prime audience, this book is not directed to the Washington elite, but over their heads: to the people.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Vivid Look at the War on Terror, October 21, 2002

By 

DP (Farmington, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fighting Back: The War on Terrorism from Inside the Bush White House (Hardcover)

Sammon does an excellent job of putting you right THERE. From the morning of the attacks right through to near present. You get the sense that Bush really cares about doing what is best for the country, not just what the latest polls tell him is "best". I only thank God that he is in the White House directing the shots versus the alternative. We'd be ruled by the Taliban by now.

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Accurate report from the inside, October 7, 2002

By 

G. Alterton "My2Cents" (Sacramento, California USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fighting Back: The War on Terrorism from Inside the Bush White House (Hardcover)

I purchased my copy of the book this past weekend. Frankly, I don't know how "A Reader from California," or "A Reader from Patriot, USA" could speak with any authority on this book, panning it as they did in their reviews, since they posted their comments prior to the book's availability in the bookstores. Clearly, they haven't read it, and based on the tone of their comments, they have no intention of reading it. But those interested in the history that is being written about our current crisis will find the book a fair and balanced treatment of this President's response.

Sammon's descriptions are a view "from the inside" of the Bush White House on the morning of, and immediately following, the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Clearly, those who resent the fact that George W. Bush is President, or who resent the fact that Bush grew in the estimation of the vast majority of Americans as the right leader for our nation at its time of extreme crisis, will not like this book, because it records the details of decision-making which initiated the nation's war on terror. Sammon is evenhanded in his treatment of Bush -- he neither glorifies him and his Administration, nor does he trash President Bush in an unwarranted way.

The pictures and the public story of 9/11 are well-known to all. What this book provides is a first look into the decision making of those in White House who had to actually craft a national policy and response to those who have protected the terror networks. Greatness in leadership is seen in how leaders respond and make decisions in times of great crises. This book is one of the first attempts to record the decision-making following 9/11.