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Chain Of Command
The Road From 9/11 To Abu Ghraib
by Seymour M. Hersh
Since September 11, 2001, Seymour M. Hersh has informed readers with his stories in The New Yorker, including his breakthrough pieces on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Now, in Chain of Command, he brings together this reporting, along with new revelations, to answer the critical question of the last three years: how did America get from the clear morning when hijackers crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to a divisive and dirty war in Iraq? [HarperCollins]
HarperCollins, 416 pages
09/13/2004
$25.95
ISBN: 0060195916
Nonfiction
Current Events & Politics
All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...
Christian Science Monitor Peter Grier
Engrossing.
The Economist
The sober tone of Mr Hersh's book, the careful marshalling of evidence and constant attributions: all lend it an undeniable credibility. What is more, the author spends almost as much time quoting senior officials defending the administration's policy and actions as he does others criticising them. Readers get to hear both sides of the story.
The New York Times Michiko Kakutani
The outrage that stokes Mr. Hersh's writing, however, seems less like ideological or partisan outrage than an old-fashioned muckraker's outrage, fueled by the disparity he sees between the reality described by senior-level officials and spinmeisters, and the reality on the ground as observed by soldiers, lower-level bureaucrats, operational experts and by the reporter himself.
The New York Times Book Review Michael Ignatieff
This book reminds us why tough, skeptical journalism matters so much: it helps to keep us free.
London Review Of Books Corey Robin
Indispensable guide to the politics of American security after 9/11.
Los Angeles Times Edward N. Luttwak
Hersh is obviously good with American sources and institutions, but he regularly slips badly when dealing with foreign matters...More commonly, in his endeavor to find dirty secrets under the carpet of government, Hersh fails to see what is happening on top.
The Globe And Mail [Toronto] Anthony Westell
For those who haven't been paying attention, and need a brief history, Chain of Command will be hair-raising. But for me and probably many others, it's information overload when we need all our wits to keep abreast of what's happening now as the fascinating future keeps unfolding.
Daily Telegraph Amir Taheri
British journalists often claim that while they write "news", their American colleagues write "stories". Hersh shows that this may well be more than a joke by the British about their American cousins.
Washington Post Andrew J. Bacevich
Further detracting from the value of Chain of Command is Hersh's reliance on unidentified sources. However helpful blind quotations are in decoding the daily version of reality propagated by government officials, using them becomes increasingly problematic the further events slip into the past...In fact, their anonymity makes it impossible to assess motive, veracity or credibility.
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