Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987
by Bob Woodward
List Price:
Our Price: $7.79
You Save: $10.16 (57%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.50 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Bob WoodwardEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-07-01
ISBN: 0743274032
Number of pages: 592
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Book Reviews of Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987
Book Review: The Clique That Couldn't Spy Straight
Summary: 4 Stars
When Woodward wrote this book in 1987, it was his first truly up-to-the-minute muckraking exercise since "All the President's Men" and "The Final Days" with Carl Bernstein back during the Watergate years. "Veil" covers the activities of the U.S. intelligence apparatus in the 1980s, leading up to the Iran-Contra scandal that was just breaking as Woodward finished up the book. At the time, Woodward was probably trying to unleash an in-depth investigation on a breaking story for the benefit of concerned and skeptical Americans, like he did most recently with his three books on Bush and the Iraq war. This may have been a crucial investigation at the time, but now it largely reflects esoteric historical details.
The book mostly follows William Casey, Reagan's intelligence chief from 1981 to 1987, in the form of a 500-page investigative report of Casey's decision-making processes, the unqualified cronyism of the intelligence establishment, and all the political causes and effects. The historical details are fairly interesting for intelligence buffs but are now a rather unexciting read, especially since Woodward's strictly chronological investigative style creates very little suspense. You get the feeling that the historical coverage is always leading up to something that never quite comes as the book slogs along, except maybe the Iran-Contra hearings, but those started just as Woodward's chronology comes to a close (he concluded with Casey's untimely death).
But on the good side, if one takes a longer historical view there are some interesting lessons to be learned here. Woodward finds that the American intelligence apparatus (especially the CIA) has always been devoted not to the security of the American homeland, but to pushing ideology into other nations and building short-term alliances for quick political gain, no matter which political party is in charge back home. During the Casey/Reagan years, the agency was stacked with political cronies whose black-and-white ideological obsessions resulted in a parade of questionable actions leading to the shameful (and possibly treasonous) Iran-Contra scandal. At a higher level, through this example Woodward really brought some crucial focus to what American intelligence really stands for. But in terms of the specific events of this book, Woodward would have created a more lasting historical study if he had waited until after the Iran-Contra hearings had run their course. [~doomsdayer520~]
Summary of Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987
Veil is the story of the covert wars that were waged in Central America, Iran and Libya in a secretive atmosphere and became the centerpieces and eventual time bombs of American foreign policy in the 1980s.1980s Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Good Books
The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel (P.S.)by Barbara Kingsolver
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2005-05-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.50
Price in other shops:
Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment (P.S.)by James R. Gaines
Harper Perennial; Published: 2006-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.05
Price in other shops:
Catch-22by Joseph Heller
Simon & Schuster; Published: 1996-09-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.50
Price in other shops:
Gump & Co.by Winston Groom
Pocket; Published: 1996-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
Great Expectations (Penguin Classics)by Charles Dickens
Penguin Classics; Published: 2002-12-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.02
Price in other shops:
Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987by Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.79
Price in other shops:
State of Denial: Bush at War, Part IIIby Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2006-09-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.93
Price in other shops:
Or I'll Dress You in the MorningSimon and Schuster; Published: 1968; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $53.40
Welcome to Hard Timesby E. L. Doctorow
Plume; Published: 1996-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
The March: A Novelby E.L. Doctorow
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2006-09-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.57
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White Houseby Bob Woodward
Unknown; Published: 1994-06-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.30
Price in other shops:
The Final Daysby Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops:
All the President's Menby Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein
Pocket; Published: 2005-06-24; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.82
Price in other shops:
Bush at Warby Bob Woodward
Published: 2002-11-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.72
Price in other shops:
Shadow : Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergateby Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2000-06-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.25
Price in other shops:
The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Courtby Bob Woodward, Scott Armstrong
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.94
Price in other shops:
The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008by Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-09-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.21
Price in other shops:
Plan of Attackby Bob Woodward
Published: 2004-03-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.42
Price in other shops:
State of Denial: Bush at War, Part IIIby Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2007-09-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.49
Price in other shops:
The Commandersby Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2002-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops: