Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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99 of 110 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A review from someone who has actually read the book, June 14, 2008
Bugliosi's book is worthwhile reading (or listening) for two reasons. One one hand, as opposed to the current crop of punditry that makes assertions and accusations without documentation, he scrupulously backs up his statements with facts and figures from numerous credible sources and his conclusions are reasonable. Those on Amazon who have not read the book but have decided to rate it anyway have missed a crucial point--Bugliosi is not interested in partisan politics and is critical of figures on both the right and the left. He is only interested in using factual information to build a solid case. In fact, where the book occasionally flags is when he drifts to passages that seem more personal opinion (i.e. in discussing the physical appearances of Bush and Rove--physiognomy is no longer a credible science).
On the other hand, this text may be instructuve to anyone who is interested in seeing an exemplary use of rhetorical strategies. Bugiliosi's technique begins by his acknowledging the various readers he may encounter and what their differing values might be, and he addresses these issues early on by building an ethical appeal meant to demonstrate why he is a credible source. He manage to be both self-effacing yet confident about his ability to view circumstances from an outside perspective. Furthermore, he maintains throughout the text a stance that places him in the political center so as not to become the obvious target of those from either political extreme. He also presents his views and evidence from an obvious standpoint of allegiance to the values of the United States (lest conservatives attempt to attack his patriotism)--in fact, his entire stated intention in writing the book is to return to those values by addressing issues that subvert them.
To his ethical argument and appeal to various audiences, he also adds appeals to emotion and logic. He shows his obvious support for American troops through a prolonged accounting of the devastating effects on a number of American casualties and their families, then contrasts these and his description of the horrors of war with the patholigically insensitive actions of the Bush administration toward the troops. Such themes and concerns recur throughout the book, always accomapnied by solid evidence from Bush himself, his adminstration, insiders, legal documents, reports, and a host of other sources that support his claims by providing a logical framework from which he draws his conclusions.
The overall effect of the book is like that of examining the arguments of the great Roman orator Cicero in his condemnation of Cataline. This is powerful material that will (one can only hope) lead to an actual result. Bugliosi has said in interviews that he has laid out this airtight case for the prosecution of murder and has actually been approaching district attorneys and other legal professionals to enact it. History in the making!
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177 of 201 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A refreshingly objective, logical, non-partisan (if unsettling) response to a heinous crime, June 5, 2008
I highly recommend Vincent Bugliosi's new book, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder (Vanguard Press, 2008). Bugliosi is a highly admired prosecutor. He prosecuted the Manson family trials. He has never lost a murder conviction. He usually votes Democratic, though he supported McCain in 2000. He now offers an objective, factual, spin-free treatise on one of the greatest crimes in American history.
The reason that Bush, Rumsfield, Cheney and Rice went to war with Iraq is because George W. Bush simply wanted to go to war with Iraq. Just as Hitler was planning to go to war with Poland and France long before he became Chancellor of Germany, Bush was planning to go to war with Iraq long before he became President. Even though there was no connection between Iraq and the events of 9/11, that tragic event gave him the opportunity to sell his war dreams. Going to war had absolutely nothing to do with national security or any kind of imminent threat to the United States. It had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11 or Al Qaeda. In fact, the security of the United States has been considerably reduced as a result of Bush's adventure in Iraq. Therefore, the reason that the sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, siblings, best friends of thousands of Americans (and tens of thousands Iraqis) have had their intestines blown out of their bodies to be commingled with the pulverized brain tissue of the soldier sitting next to them in their unprotected, armor-free humvee is NOT because they bravely gave their lives for our country. It's because Bush lied to the country (and to the World), hid the truth and fabricated facts in order to satisfy his lust to go to war -- and have "fun" being a war-time President (at a cost that is now running over $1 Trillion in direct and indirect costs -- at time when Social Security is going bankrupt, health care coverage is not available for over 50,000,000 Americans, the economy is going south and the richest Americans are enjoying tax breaks).
Now, this is old news. You'd have to be either a fool, an ignoramus, in a coma or be a Fox News Channel viewer to be unaware of this. The facts are well documented and irrefutable. Just as volumes have been written about other recent criminal regimes (i.e., Pinochet, Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin -- even Sadaam Hussein who, while not a threat to America was a bloody despot), there is no dearth of published information about the crimes of the Bush regime. Bugliosi's book differs in that he asks the question, "so what are we going to do about it?" He answers the question with a well thought out, logical, objective, non-partisan and legally sound solution: some time after Bush leaves office, prosecute him for murder in each of the 50 States.
On the face of it, this may sound like a preposterous proposal: prosecute a U.S. President for a capital crime (actually, over 4,000 counts of that crime)?!? But he makes a very strong and logical argument for why it should be done. He follows this up with a legally sound explanation about how it can be done.
In this election year, we can look forward to a lot of partisan books and articles from both political parties. Mr. Bugliosi offers us a refreshing (if unsettling) break from partisanship and spin with his objective, factual and well documented arguments. He even anticipates many rebuttal arguments to his thesis and responds to them. The book is neither pro-right nor pro-left. It is pro-American. Not Republicans vs. Democrats but, rather, The United States of America vs. George Bush.
Before I read this book, I believed that prosecuting and convicting a U.S. President, regardless of the extent or heinousness of his crimes, would do more harm to the United States than good. Now that I have read the book, my thinking has changed. Here we have a man who is personally responsible for putting tens of thousands of innocent people into harm's way for no other reason than his own, personal desire to wage war -- laughing and talking about how much fun he is having while all this is going on. A man, who while Governor of Texas, would publicly make fun of condemned convicts when they asked for mercy or for a stay of execution. The Governor of a state that executes more prisoners than any other state. As much as I personally oppose capital punishment, I have to admit that it would be ironic and just to see this particular criminal strapped to a gurney, himself, awaiting the needle. (At least it would be a swift, probably relatively painless, death. Not the kind of death that our nation's sons and daughters experienced as their armor-free bodies were ripped to shreds and whatever could be recovered of their remains categorized at the mortuary as "unviewable.")
I strongly encourage all patriotic Americans to read this book -- then lend it to your friends.
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44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why Shouldn't We Be Angry?, July 20, 2008
I was born and raised in California and have admired and respected Mr. Bugliosi since I was a child. He is far from a no-name as some reviewers have claimed, nor is he a pawn of propaganda. If there is anyone out there these days who can objectively see the cold hard facts it is him. If he believes that a case can be made against Bush, people need to listen. Listen on behalf of this nation that we all say we love.
When I joined the Army, I believed that I would be serving my country, not serving the deranged interests of one man. Yet here I am in Iraq, torn away from my infant, firstborn son and thrown into harm's way. This book was sent to me as a gift. When I opened the cover and saw the collage of pictures, I crumpled to the ground as I looked straight into the face of one of my friends who died less than two years ago, someone who had bigger dreams in life than to lose his lung to a sniper's bullet. I thought of my other friends who were killed and maimed because of this cataclysm that some people call the global war on terrorism. To those who think that this book is just some kind of diatribe, I ask, why shouldn't Mr. Bugliosi be angry? Why shouldn't I? Why aren't you? All of this death and destruction, and Bush thinks he can achieve solidarity with us by giving up golf??! Well, Mr. President, you can keep your golf game! Give back Kenny Bostic. Give back Brandon Stout. Give back Rob Eppich. Give me back a normal life, and my son's babyhood. Give America back all of her money and her good name.
Those of you who haven't read the book, you have no business reviewing it. Those of you who have, I dare you to tell me that I shouldn't be angry.
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