A Washington Tragedy: How the Death of Vincent Foster Ignited a Political Firestorm [Hardcover]

Dan E. Moldea (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

In A Washington Tragedy Dan Moldea, veteran true-crime reporter and best-selling author, investigates all the details of the death of Vincent Foster and runs down all the clues and evidence. His trained eye for detail is evident on every page. He challenges the conclusions of other sensational but less well documented authors. He answers all the questions that have been raised. Was Vincent Foster murdered? What did he know? Was there a cover-up? What was the real motive behind Foster's death? All will be exposed in the fascinating final act.

Editorial Reviews

From The Washington Post

Although Moldea ... uses his own investigations to clear up some of the troublesome questions about Foster's death, for the most part he is simply a neutral narrator, a levelheaded guide through the five years of sleuthing by others. His pages of notes at the end, by the way, are essential reading.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 463 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing; 1ST edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895263823
• ISBN-13: 978-0895263827
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,723,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wishful-thinking fantasy best read between the lines, November 4, 2011

By 

DC Dave "Author of the online study, "Who... (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Washington Tragedy: How the Death of Vincent Foster Ignited a Political Firestorm (Hardcover)

As much as I would like it to be otherwise, this book is about a country that exists only in the civics textbooks and in our imaginations. Let's call it "Dan Moldea's America."

In Dan Moldea's America, deputy White House counsels don't come to the job fresh from having handled the legal work for the person reportedly responsible for bringing to America the largest criminal enterprise in history, a person heavily involved in financing both Republican and Democratic political campaigns, most recently the campaign of America's president, the counsel's boss.

In Dan Moldea's America, the deputy White House counsel does not engage in two days of meetings two days before his mysterious violent death, meetings with the Deputy U.S. Attorney General and another person heavily involved in political finance who also has invested in casinos jointly with members of the Gambino family and the Meyer Lansky organization.

In Dan Moldea's America, there have never been strong, attributed allegations that the deputy White House counsel had contracted a detective to spy on the future president at the behest of the future first lady, that the detective and the future deputy White House counsel had themselves been involved in the illegal drug business, and that the detective correctly predicted his own subsequent murder upon hearing of the death of the deputy White House counsel.

In Dan Moldea's America, presidents don't have close friends, family members, and political backers who are or have been heavily involved in the illegal drug business.

In Dan Moldea's America, presidents have never had subordinates who have covered up murders related to the illegal drug business or people apparently working on their behalf who have either threatened or actually inflicted bodily harm upon inconvenient witnesses.

In Dan Moldea's America, autopsy doctors might make occasional mistakes, but they never are simply flat-out corrupt, fabricating cause of death at the behest of corrupt higher-ups who are protecting powerful people engaged in the illegal drug business.

In Dan Moldea's America, heaven forbid that government clandestine and police organizations themselves might be involved in the illegal drug business, and, of course, no serious allegations have ever been made that they are.

In Dan Moldea's America, if there were any truth at all to numbers 1-7, America's major news organizations would have duly reported them, with appropriate emphasis.

In Dan Moldea's America, the word of a public official is always worth more than that of a private citizen unless, perhaps, that private citizen is employed by a major news organization.

In Dan Moldea's America, major news organizations are interested only in pursuit of the truth. They never knowingly withhold important information from the public and they would never, ever knowingly assist public officials in covering up a crime.

In Dan Moldea's America, if a capital-area college student doing undercover work for the Drug Enforcement Administration were to have been ruled dead of a gunshot suicide by the authorities and a second autopsy paid for by the parents showed convincingly that the young man was beaten to death, the news would not be blacked out by The Washington Post.

In Dan Moldea's America, the major news organs do not get ahead of the official "investigators" in uncovering and revealing anonymously sourced "evidence" that reinforces the official line.

In Dan Moldea's America, when witnesses, suspects, or investigators change their story, the last story told is always to be believed implicitly when it supports the official line.

In Dan Moldea's America, government agents would not harass and intimidate a witness in an important case and if it were to happen, it would not be ignored by the major news organs.

In Dan Moldea's America, official reports on important investigations are always critically examined and duly reported upon by major news organizations.

In Dan Moldea's America, major news organs do not falsely report that investigating police did not talk to immediate family members on the night of the mysterious violent death of a high level government official and leave the record uncorrected for a year.

In Dan Moldea's America, major news organs do not black out the news that a suicide note in a high-profile case has been determined to be a forgery by reputable handwriting examiners.

In Dan Moldea's America, there is an adversarial relationship between the government and the press.

In Dan Moldea's America, challenges to the official verdict in high level cases come only from nebulously-defined "conspiracy theorists" or well-financed political fanatics.

In Dan Moldea's America, certain reporters are granted selective access to official "investigators" not because the reporters are stooges who will parrot the obvious official line--or the less obvious disinformation line-- but because they possess exceptional charm.

The Secret Life of Bill Clinton: The Unreported Stories

Failure of the Public Trust

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dan Moldea is a great investigative reporter, October 21, 2004

By 

David L. Robb - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Washington Tragedy: How the Death of Vincent Foster Ignited a Political Firestorm (Hardcover)

Dan Moldea is one of America's best investigative reporters. Afer you finish this book, pick up "Dark Victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA and the Mob," where Moldea explores the dark side of conservative America's favorite president. It's an eye-opener.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Balanced but nothing new., June 8, 1998

By 

Junius E. Updyke (Bristol, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Washington Tragedy: How the Death of Vincent Foster Ignited a Political Firestorm (Hardcover)

"A Washington Tragedy" is a balanced account of Vincent Foster's death but it contains too many viewpoints and no new information. Like "Rashamon", it's literally a bibliography of sources but it neither enlightened nor entertained this reader.