Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987

Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987
by Bob Woodward

Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987
List Price: $17.95
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


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Bob Woodward
Edition: 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
Most talked about in Good Books
The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel (P.S.) ImageThe 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: $14.95
Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment (P.S.) ImageEvening 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: $13.95
Catch-22 ImageCatch-22
by Joseph Heller
Simon & Schuster; Published: 1996-09-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.50
Price in other shops: $16.00
Gump & Co. ImageGump & Co.
by Winston Groom
Pocket; Published: 1996-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $6.99
Great Expectations (Penguin Classics) ImageGreat Expectations (Penguin Classics)
by Charles Dickens
Penguin Classics; Published: 2002-12-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.02
Price in other shops: $8.00
Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987 ImageVeil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987
by Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.79
Price in other shops: $17.95
State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III ImageState of Denial: Bush at War, Part III
by Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2006-09-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.93
Price in other shops: $30.00
Or I'll Dress You in the Morning ImageOr I'll Dress You in the Morning
Simon and Schuster; Published: 1968; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $53.40
Welcome to Hard Times ImageWelcome to Hard Times
by E. L. Doctorow
Plume; Published: 1996-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops: $15.00
The March: A Novel ImageThe March: A Novel
by E.L. Doctorow
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2006-09-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.57
Price in other shops: $14.95
Similar Books and other products
The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House ImageThe Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House
by Bob Woodward
Unknown; Published: 1994-06-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.30
Price in other shops: $24.00
The Final Days ImageThe Final Days
by Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops: $16.00
All the President's Men ImageAll the President's Men
by Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein
Pocket; Published: 2005-06-24; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.82
Price in other shops: $7.99
Bush at War ImageBush at War
by Bob Woodward
Published: 2002-11-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.72
Price in other shops: $28.00
Shadow : Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate ImageShadow : Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate
by Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2000-06-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.25
Price in other shops: $17.95
The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court ImageThe Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court
by Bob Woodward, Scott Armstrong
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.94
Price in other shops: $17.95
The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008 ImageThe War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008
by Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-09-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.21
Price in other shops: $32.00
Plan of Attack ImagePlan of Attack
by Bob Woodward
Published: 2004-03-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.42
Price in other shops: $28.00
State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III ImageState of Denial: Bush at War, Part III
by Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2007-09-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.49
Price in other shops: $16.00
The Commanders ImageThe Commanders
by Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2002-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops: $16.00
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories