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By His Own Rules : The Ambitions, Successes, and Ultimate Failures of Donald Rumsfeld Hardcover – June 22, 2009

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Bradley Graham (Author)
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4.0 out of 5 stars 13 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 832 pages
  • Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1St Edition edition (June 22, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1586484214
  • ISBN-13: 978-1586484217
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 2.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,504,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsA Man of Mystery
By Retired Reader on August 26, 2009
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Donald Rumsfeld is a complicated and enigmatic man whose six year tenure as Secretary of Defense (SecDef) under President George W Bush was enormously controversial. This book is a rather bold attempt to provide a 'definitive' biography of a man who has remained a mystery even to his closest associates. Graham has chosen to craft his biography around an extensive compilation of direct quotes from the utterances and writings of Rumsfeld or those who were closely associated with him. He has organized this book in a straight chronology of Rumsfeld's own words, or those of his associates, organized by subjects within each time period. Yet in the end he has utterly failed to really define and explain the man who for six years was one of the most powerful men within the U.S. National Security Establishment. Perhaps the problem is that in a misplaced effort at objectivity, Graham has studiously avoided any real analysis of Rumsfeld's statements even to the extent not providing any in depth context. Apparently for the same reason Graham avoids any analysis of persons or experiences that have influenced Rumsfeld's intellectual development. Finally Graham made no effort to investigate Rumsfeld's long and close relationship with Vice President Cheney or indeed explore his relationship with any of the other senior officials who served with him in the George W. Bush administration. As a result, the reader is left with an 800 plus page book of the sayings of Secretary Rumsfeld that fails to give any real feel for this remarkable and controversial man.
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4.0 out of 5 starsA serious omission, Rumsfeld and Operation Paul Bunyan
By Charles A. Krohn on December 11, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Failure to mention Rumsfeld's role as secretary of defense during Operation Paul Bunyan is unforgivable. Worse, it's puzzling. We were, in effect, prepared to start WWIII with North Korea over a feud at Panmunjom. Had North Korea resisted our tree cutting, we had forces stacked up half way across the Pacific to reinforce our response. The 8th Army commander, General Richard G. Stilwell, was very grateful for Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's support, and later tried to help Rumsfeld in his abortive attempt to compete for the presidency.

The chapter, Too Many Hands on the Wheel, is brilliant and deserves 10 stars. It makes the point, implicitly, that Rumsfeld had an eye on how history would judge him, and created a paper trail for that purpose. Beyond that, none of our nation's institutions has much to brag about, when planning for the invasion of Iraq or subsequent occupation.

While interesting and touching that Rumsfeld cried while being interviewed about his father on CNN, he never showed a tender side while occupying the Sec Def's office on the E ring. For the record, I was subject to his wrath after columnist Bob Novak published at article about Novak, based on something I wrote for Columbia Journalism Review. In truth, I was never bothered by this, although Novak's interpretation of my piece was his own. It now seems that Rumsfeld was much more sensitive to criticism than I suspected. I don't recall any reaction when informed I was being subjected to an IG investigation, thinking that to live is to risk.

My major criticism of the man is that he drew too many conclusions based on too few facts. Seizing Baghdad, for example, did not win the war, it merely extended it.
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2.0 out of 5 starsEverything You Didn't Want to Know About Rummy and Then Some
By J. Michael on September 12, 2009
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Author overwhelms reader with too much details and little context. No description of Rumsfeld's relationships with Bush, Powell, Rice, military chiefs etc. Every bit of detail author could obtain on Rumsfeld from interviews, unpublished memos, and newspaper articles are provided but with no supporting context given. Typical of a newspaper writer attempting to write a historical biography.
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4.0 out of 5 starsStill fascinated by Rumsfeld.
By Hugh Claffey on September 20, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This, surely, must be the definitive account of Rumsfeld's second tenure at the Dept of Defence. I think his fascination is a combination of his iconoclasm and his articulateness. He also appears to be very astute at political infighting.
The story is familiar and doesn't need me to recount it. In general I think the account is fair. The author notes that Rumsfeld twice offered to resign in the wake of the Abu Ghraib affair, and while apparently an honourable course the author also notes that some felt this was a tactical pre-emption of President Bush. The author doesn't come to a judgement on this.
The text goes through 700 pages and leaves you literally feeling the weight of the Pentagon administration. I was struck by the rate at which four star generals came and went; the number of commanders in Iraqi, the steady stream of retirees and so forth. I thought this must be a bit of a problem in terms of continuity. There is sympathy for Rumsfelds efforts a modernizing the fighting machine and making efficiencies, thought the pushback that his levels of interference - in particular with deployments prior to the invasion of Iraq were very nearly disastrous.
I was amused at the description of `snowflakes' - one page memos from Rumsfeld - distributed to all levels of the organisation outlining his thoughts, specific and general, on the ways to change the organisation.
One major area of weakness, I feel, in the book is the description of the circumstances which lead to prisoner abuse. This took place in Army run prisions in Cuba, Iraq and elsewhere. The author buys into an argument that `certain practices' were authorised for use only in Cuba, and only for a very short period before being rescinded.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsI enjoyed seeing what he did right and wrong

Really detailed analysis of his life! I enjoyed seeing what he did right and wrong.

Published on July 10, 2014 by Foothill Ranch 14
4.0 out of 5 starsA dammingly fair assessment of Rumsfeld as SecDef

In the fiasco of the Iraq War, few leaders emerged with a more damaged reputation than Donald Rumsfeld. Read more

Published on April 21, 2014 by MarkK
5.0 out of 5 starsGift to my husband...

I bought this book as a gift for my husband, whose an avid reader of history. He read it quickly, which an indicator that he couldn't put it down. Read more

Published on January 30, 2014 by SandyN
4.0 out of 5 starsA Fascinating Book on a Complex Character

The author penned this book with journalist's eye and historian's care, and of course, biographer's sympathy. Read more

Published on October 26, 2011 by TeddyBear
5.0 out of 5 starsMy take on Donald

What an excelent story and history of the man. If nothing else a lesson in management style. /and the record of his life. Loved this book except it is a heavy hold.

Published on August 24, 2010 by James H. Chapman
5.0 out of 5 starsVery Good Book

Very detailed and yet not bogged down. Enjoyed reading it. The author captured the true essence of this complicated and driven man.

Published on May 2, 2010 by mindy gump
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Best, Pure and Simple

About time someone took the time and energy to write a complicated book about a complicated man. Graham seems to be the only one who's more interested in telling the truth than... Read more

Published on April 14, 2010 by Turge
1.0 out of 5 starsRaw

I've had Bradley Graham's massive biography of Donald Rumsfeld sitting around for almost a year. Titled By His Own Rules, this book provides an extensive look at one of the most... Read more

Published on March 26, 2010 by Stephen T. Hopkins
5.0 out of 5 starsSeems like candid history

Despite the author's access to the subject, the author seems to have written an honest, unbiased account of Rummy's tenure.

Published on February 6, 2010 by J. Shaffer

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