Review by Choice Review
In this useful book, Swansborough (Univ. of Tennessee, Chattanooga) summarizes much of the extant literature on the motives, processes, and personalities that surrounded President George W. Bush's decisions to pursue wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He offers a brief analytic frame derived from Graham Allison's classic work The Essence of Decision through which to draw attention to key features of various actors' personalities, ideologies, and institutional preferences as they shaped the development and implementation of diverse aspects of the so-called war on terror. The book offers a concise, accessible, and readable summary of a wide array of details now known to have shaped Bush's policies. In addition, adapting Allison's analytic point of view--if thinly--helps sidestep much of the controversy that emerged following revelations concerning the way the Bush administration led the US to war. The book also offers interesting biographical vignettes of key players in the Bush White House. There is little new, however, for analysts who have studied these issues closely. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. A. L. Crothers Illinois State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
