Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-up [Paperback]

Lawrence E. Walsh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 1998

In its chilling and unsparing revelations, Firewall is the definitive account of the most dangerous breach of presidential authority since Watergate.

With Ronald Reagan's knowledge and support, the United States attempted to trade arms for hostages held by Iranian terrorists; some of the secret money then funded the guerrilla activities of the Nicaraguan Contras, a counter-revolutionary group that Congress had specifically forbidden the administration to support. In this historic, first-person account, the independent counsel in the Iran-Contra investigation exposes the extraordinary duplicity of the highest officials of the Reagan administration and the paralyzing effects of the cover-up. "An important, perhaps singular, contribution. . . . For patient students of accountability in government, the book's extraordinary detail makes for must reading."—Scott Armstrong, Washington Post "Not simply an important public accounting of an egregiously misconceived policy, but a cautionary tale of power."—August Richard Norton, Boston Sunday Globe "We would never have known the truth about Iran-Contra without the tenacious seven-year struggle by the independent counsel in the affair, Lawrence Walsh, to get to the bottom of it. . . . Of first-rate historical importance."—Doug Ireland, Nation

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Walsh was the independent counsel for the Iran-Contra investigation from 1986 to 1993. Though he writes earnestly and with the highest integrity, his recounting of the events surrounding Iran-Contra is as confusing as the hearings themselves and is overburdened by excessive detail. Walsh alleges that Presidents Reagan and Bush could have been indicted for obstruction of justice and misuse of the presidential pardon, respectively. However, Reagan is not Nixon, and Iran-Contra never fascinated and repelled the public like Watergate. The long ordeal ended with few perpetrators being convicted, while members of Reagan's cabinet built an impenetrable firewall around the president. Recommended cautiously for large collections; buy as demand warrants.
-?Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, Pa.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

An obsessed Captain Ahab or a gallant St. George? Walsh provoked strong emotions and editorials throughout his seven-year-long multimillion-dollar attempt to nail Reaganauts in the Iran-Contra fandango. Attempt is the operative word, for he obtained few convictions and had many of those overturned on appeal. In explaining such a scorecard, Walsh strenuously argues that he and staff were stymied by lies and cover-ups, capped by Bush's pardons; he also engages in serious score-settling with the likes of Caspar Weinberger, George Bush, and Bob Dole. Interestingly, in his first sentence, Walsh says he shares with "many who will read this book" (most likely participants in and dedicated students of the scandal) the trait of "willfulness." To Walsh, that trait perhaps means meticulously reviewing his justifications for his prosecutorial decisions; to Walsh's targets, that trait meant coercing testimony by forcing huge legal bills on them or influencing the 1992 election by his "October surprise" indictment of Weinberger ("sheer inadvertence" is Walsh's explanation). Though sternly accusative, Walsh also waxes defensive about his conduct of his office, and those debating the merits of special prosecutors--a divisive contemporary political issue--have much to masticate in his memoir. Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 952 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (November 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393318605
• ISBN-13: 978-0393318609
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > History > Americas > Central America > Nicaragua
  • #74 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Current Events > Arms Control

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book explains why Walsh did not get any convictions, June 7, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (New Orelans, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-Up (Hardcover)

While I was at times confused by the legal problems Walsh's team were confronted with, I did clearly understand why Lawrence Walsh did not get very far with his investigation. Mainly it was because the targets of his investigation had designed a highly secretive plot and had the protection of the CIA or the National Security Council. Documents were denied or shredded, subjects lied or refused to testify all on the basis of "national security" or out of a belief that Congress had no right to interfere in foreign policy. After reading this book, I was shaken by the realization that under the guise of a "higher purpose" or holy war our democratic principles could so easily be dispensed with. Oliver North and President Reagan were rewarded with national affection despite showing utter contempt for the rule of law! Iran-Contra was a true case of Machiavellian politics because all of our most sacred principles were run over for the sake of the dictators ideology - that the end justifies the means. Firewall reveals the incipient dictatorship lurking beneath our fragile democracy.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Patriotism? Self responsiblity? Rule of Law? Character?, December 17, 2003

By 

zweber (northfield, mn. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-Up (Paperback)

This book is the story of a life-long Republican retired federal judge's seven year struggle to unravel the truth behind a vast government conspiracy to conceal willful violations of our country's laws by President Ronald Reagan and many members of his cabinet,CIA officials, members of his national security team and assorted Republican political operatives both inside Congress and out. Mr. Walsh does yeoman work in presenting the unvarnished truth he and his many assistants were finally able to decipher out of hundreds of thousands of original documents and the direct testimony of those his team were able to catch in their lies and bring into court under indictment. The complex legal issues and large cast of perpetrators makes this a difficult and necessarily repetitve slog, but the chilling story is one that Americans of any political persuasion need to be aware of. Lead by a naive President in the early stages of Alzheimers disease,and guided by a perverse notion of patriotic anticommunism that was the bedrock of cold war Republicanism, our top leaders deliberately violated laws put in place by Congress and even their own foreign policies relating to terrorism. When discovered these "patriots" launched an unprecedented web of lies and stonewalling to save Reagan from possible impeachment. Mr. Walsh was impeded at every step of his investigation and by all branches of the government. The importance of this account by Mr. Walsh is that irregardless of the legal results of the investigations, the truth of what happened and who did it is revealed for all to see. When this party touts its patriotism, beliefs in the rule of law and self responsiblity and the importance of character, remember what happened here.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A first rate account of an important chapter of U.S. history, August 17, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-Up (Hardcover)

A previous reviewer was critical of Walsh for not being able to get Oliver North for anything more than "spitting on the ground." Had this reviewer taken the time to actually read the book, he would have realized that Congress made that task next to impossible by granting North immunity in exchange for his testimony. The shredding of evidence and claims of "national security" for those few pieces of evidence that did survive made Walsh's task that much more difficult. Walsh is a lifelong Republican and was appointed by a Republican President to investigate a Republican cover-up (contrast this with Republican Kenneth Starr's appointment by Democrat Bill Clinton). Under the circumstances, he did a tremendous job. Though it is necessarily dry in the first few chapters (as he gives the legal background for the story to follow), this book dutifully recounts that struggle