Sinking the Ship of State: The Presidency of George W. Bush (Paperback)

by Walter Brasch (Author)
Key Phrases: protest zone, spy program, President Bush, Bush-Cheney Administration, White House (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 460 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (September 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419669508
• ISBN-13: 978-1419669507
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #342,845 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard-Hitting Political Punditry!, November 29, 2007

By	Michael "Alternative-Read.com Reviewer" (USA) - See all my reviews

Sinking the Ship of State: The Presidency of George W. Bush by journalist, editor, author and journalism professor Walter M. Brasch is a collection of his social issues column 'Wanderings' in addition to a few new columns written specifically for this book.

His is a critical, compelling, in-depth analysis of the Bush Presidency from the Republican primaries in February 2000 through April 2007 and the new Democratic majority in Congress. Under Brasch's unflinching eye, insightful wisdom and scalpel sharp wit the Bush Administration is dissected and laid bare upon the autopsy table of Free Speech. But he doesn't stop there, also slicing and dicing Congress and the mainstream media as enablers of the President and his Cabinet. His columns are real-time snapshots, honest and brutal in their reporting, and do not suffer through the prism of hindsight, where the view is often colored and skewed to fit a preconceived agenda or ideal.

Brasch was ahead of the curve of popular opinion about George W. Bush and many of his policies. In October 2001 he was warning about the perils to civil liberties of the newly passed Patriot Act when the majority of people were cheering its passage and the media largely stood silent. He was criticizing the Administration on it's global warming stance long before it became the Al Gore fueled hot-button issue it is today.

Brasch's commentary is ardent and passionate while always remaining clear-eyed and focused, seeking accountability and responsibility from an Administration notorious for being insular and never admitting to any mistakes. My only quibble is when the author uses personal attacks or insults to make or illustrate a point, whether the target be President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Senator Clinton or Senator Kerry. This serves only to cheapen the discourse while adding nothing of substance, and Walter M. Brasch is better than this. So, for a lively, forthright, witty, comprehensive and intellectual commentary of the Bush Presidency from day one to the present, this is the book.

Michael
Alternative-Read.com
October 2007

5.0 out of 5 stars A Presidential Disaster Put Into Perspective, January 7, 2009

By	Mark T. Rafter "Author, http://www.TheWealthM... (Auburn, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I need to note one caveat before my review: I believe (I am not alone) that the presidency of George Bush - our not so beloved 'W' - will go down as one of the most tragic in history.

Therefore, I find the writing of Walter Brasch to be an enjoyable read. It is not so much a book in it's own write (HA! couldn't resist) but a collection of newspaper columns from the beginning of the Bush presidency. Whereas this can be viewed (and is factually correct) as yesterday's news, what I found to be interesting was the history of abuse, the cavalier attitude towards the constitution and individual rights, the cronyism, the outright illegal, immoral and offensive behavior that has been going on for 8 years with W at the helm.

All of which brings us to the sad state of affairs we now see with Bush occasionally popping out of the White House like a ground hog afraid to see his shadow, wanting to let everyone know he cares about our pain. A world weary and totally irrelevant president fumbling to figure out what to do about an economic crisis of biblical proportion, much of the seeds of which were sown by himself and those in his administration. We can read back through the history and origins of much of the current mess and see that, in general, Walter Brasch was right.

There is a reason Laura Bush got the book deal for her memoirs before her husband (people who want to actually sell Books By Bush have suggested he may want to wait...for awhile).

Some articles certainly work better (are more interesting) than others and most have updates where subsequent developments to the topic in question were available. His penchant for reminding us of Bush's many malaprops come as welcome comic relief. They must be of some solace to Dan Quayle who can now step down as the most inarticulate person to hang his hat within a heart beat of the oval office.

This is not light summer beach reading but is well written and researched. The article format works well for a short read after which we can take a break to contemplate how we could have possibly voted this guy into office for a second term.

Shame on us.

3.0 out of 5 stars Reuel Amdur of Allbooks says:, May 8, 2008

By	Allbooks Review (Canada) - See all my reviews

Genre: Non-fiction/Political

Title: Sinking the Ship of State

Author: Walter M. Brasch

The disastrous Bush administration is only slightly ameliorated by the humor found in the President's many verbal gaffes.
"I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah," said President George W. Bush. This is just one of the Bushisms peppering the book. These bits serve to lighten up what becomes a bit tedious. The book is mostly a collection of newspaper columns, with occasional updating. It has been said that there is nothing so deadly as yesterday's news.
Brasch, a journalism prof and syndicated newspaper columnist, covers the Bush years from 2000, with newspaper columns dealing with the usual complaints about his administration. We read of the smear campaign against John McCain (after all, his campaign manager was a Jew, and McCain was seeking the gay vote), the illegal invasion of Iraq and the inept conduct of that war, the systematic measures consistently used by the president to harass peaceful protesters at his public appearances, torture at Guantanamo and mistreatment of suspects shipped off to overseas secret prisons, corporate welfare, and on and on.
I found Brasch's description of the massive entertainment budgets of certain corporations for delegates to the conventions enlightening. But while Brasch found Clinton's years something to crow about, his welfare "reform" measures targeting the poor, lead me more to Michael Moore's view, which Brasch quotes--that Clinton was perhaps the greatest Republican president.
In 440 pages, Brasch could have produced a solid book on Bush, rather than just a collection of warmed-over newspaper clippings. The stuff is all largely there. Annoyingly, the book lacks an index.
How can we evaluate Brasch's book? In terms of what it tells us, it is very solid. In the format, it stumbles. Reviewer: Reuel S. Amdur, Allbooks Reviews