Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War

“This is a book about my more than four and a half years at war. It is, of course , principally about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where initial victories in both countries were squandered by mistakes, shortsightedness , and conflict in the field as well as in Washington, leading to long, brutal campaigns to avert strategic defeat.” So begins Robert Gates description of his four years as Secretary of Defense. While our troops were fighting, dying, and have their bodies blown apart; the other wars; the political, bureaucratic, and diplomatic (and not so diplomatic) wars that were the everyday fight of the Secretary of Defense, are the story that is told. This book paints picture after picture of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Gates describes a pentagon that focuses on planning for a hypothetical future war at the expense of those fighting a current one and of both a pentagon and Veteran’s Administration that play a callus lack of concern for those whose bodies have paid the price of war. This is both a gentle and, at times, a blunt appraisal of how our government functions. Gates is probably least flattering of Congress. He states, “I was constantly amazed and infuriated at the hypocrisy of those who most stridently attacked the Defense Department for being inefficient and wasteful but would fight tooth and nail to prevent any reduction in defense activities in their home state or district no matter how inefficient or wasteful.” It is also a wonderful insight into foreign affairs. Gates describes in detail our interactions with governments and their leaders in all of the crises that we all experienced during his over four years as Secretary. I found his description of the “Arab Spring” insightful. He states, “Revolutions and their outcomes are usually a surprise (especially to those overthrown) and damnably hard to predict. Experts can write about economic hardship, demographic problems such as a “youth bulge,” pent-up rage, and “prerevolutionary” conditions, but repressive governments often manage such conditions for decades. Thus was the Obama administration— and everyone else in the world (including every Arab government)— surprised by the “Arab Spring,” a revolution that shifted the political tectonic plate of the Middle East.” His observation that, “the best organized and most ruthless have the advantage in revolutions.” is a maximum we should all have nailed to our brains when we feel supportive of any revolution. Few revolutions have gone as well as our own, whether it be the Russian revolution, the French revolution, the Chinese revolution or almost any that come to mind. His rather candid descriptions of individuals are not harsh but are frank and seldom flattering. Neither Joe Biden nor Dick Cheney would likely be flattered nor would Russian President Vladimir Putin of whom he said; “I said to some of my colleagues privately that I’d looked into Putin’s eyes and, just as I expected, had seen a stone-cold killer.” I found the book fascinating and I found the critical reviews surprising. It is a long book and several reviewers were not happy about that. One of the problems with e-books is that their length is not obvious as it is in a printed volume where the thickness of the binding can determine whether or not you pull it off the shelf. It is not difficult reading but there is a lot of information and therefore requires some concentration. It is not a novel and cannot be read like one. While the book does not divulge any state secrets and therefore does not provide facts that are not in the public domain, Gates insights and descriptions of how decisions were made should be of interest to any citizen and voter. It is important to understand how our government functions; otherwise, we might believe anything that someone with a political agenda tells us. I hope you read the book and enjoy it as much as I did.

This book must be read to understand the themes. After watching four interviews with the author prior to reading the book I can assure you the interviewers completely missed the points Gates was making in Duty. Gates builds his major themes consistently and in a variety of ways. In short, he thinks the Washington bureaucracy blocks getting anything important accomplished, and Congress has become so political the nation’s interests are forgotten. The focus of both is money (not what Gates said, but what his book discloses) where keeping pet programs and projects is more important than anything else. Gate’s analytical ability is outstanding. Gates praises both Bush and Obama for making difficult decisions, but then damns the bureaucracy and Congress for stopping the implementation of plans and objectives vital to winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and controlling the budget. Focusing the bureaucracy or Congress on directing expenditures was impossible. Gates points out that to get something accomplished he had to go around the military bureaucracy because it could not be moved to accomplish even vital life saving tasks during the wars. The acquisition of the armored MRAPs to replace the Humvees is one of the many examples of the failure of the military to move even when the President, the Sec of Defense, and Congress had approved the action. Gates proposition that men’s lives meant nothing to the Pentagon leadership is unconditionally incriminating; however, as a ex-Marine Vietnam era helicopter pilot I can assure you he is correct. A revealing aspect of Duty goes unrecognized by its author. In his book, which is filled with details about meetings and decision making, he discloses the faceless bureaucrat crafting decisions without a moral compass or any guiding foundational philosophy. Like any leader he wants to win the wars and protect his troops, but how is that any different than a Roman centurion in 100 BC? The same lack of ideology was apparent all around Gates. Decisions were practical but no decision was discussed in the envelope of morality or even philosophy. Religion and philosophy are never mentioned except for a passage or two about praying for the troops. The decision to allow sodomy within the military is an example where someone somewhere should have mentioned that Christian ideology would prohibit these acts but no philosophy of any kind was ever considered. The faceless bureaucrat is extremely dangerous. The leader, whether Bush, Obama, Caesar, or Hitler, makes the decision and the bureaucracy carries it out no matter what. No philosophic or religious considerations matter. No one resigns. No one complains to anyone. They just carry out the order no matter how obnoxious to society or them personally. In fact, they seem to adopt the position of the “leader” on the issue and themselves become part of the diktat. To say this is dangerous to democracy is greatly understating the matter. When the unconstitutional edict is issued to seize guns or persecute fundamentalist Christians – or any of a million possibilities - these types of men will carry it out simply because it has been directed. This mindset is terrifying. It is the same bureaucratic mindset relied on by murderous dictators throughout history. Duty talks around some key international issues. It is apparent that Gates adopts the “vital national interests” approach to analyzing foreign policy; however, he: 1)never directly states that, 2) never defines what a vital national interest is, and 3) never names even one vital national interest. He also, quite inappropriately, includes our allies vital national interests as our own. He is either unclear on what constitutes a vital national interest or foggy on how the concept is applied. For this to be true of our Secretary of Defense is appalling and extremely dangerous. To omit a clear discussion of this issue in a book of this length filled with less important debates is disconcerting. Mr. Gates is no Mark Twain. His writing is more a stream of consciousness approach than a thoughtful word by word examination of ideas and events. Apparently, he doesn’t know what a topic sentence is. He also includes countless items that are simply irrelevant to his core account. For example, his story about the falling satellite is interesting but worthless in advancing his key ideas. Nonetheless, he is easy to read and understand even if somewhat tedious. An excellent book for insights into how Washington DC works and how the mind of the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates worked. Neither one is very comforting. AD2

Secretary Robert Gates' memoir is an important, hard-hitting, readable chronicle of his nearly five years as head of the defense establishment. His is a unique perspective because he served two presidents--one Republican and one Democrat--during the nation's involvement in two wars. Moreover, he provides a perspective that spans nearly forty years of service that involved eight presidents. Press accounts of the book describe it as a "kiss and tell" and state that Gates' memoir is a searing criticism of his bosses, White House staff and the Congress. Indeed, Gates uses colorful, even "fighting" words at times, as he describes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; wars with Congress; wars between the White House and the department of defense (DoD); and, wars within the DoD. While Gates' narrative is honest and forthcoming, on balance, he is even-handed in his description of the principals in the defense and national security policy-making process. While frustrated and critical of decision-making in the White House and Congress he is also quite open about his own errors in judgment. He contrasts the leadership styles of Presidents Bush and Obama and their respective staff as well as the relationship between the civilian and military leadership in the two administrations. (He is not complimentary of either vice-president.) He also expresses the view that there was more continuity in foreign policy and the prosecution of the wars than is sometimes thought--in part because of his own contributions. His writing style is lucid and easy to read. He creates interesting narratives about meetings with presidents, military leaders, and other heads of state. His storytelling about his efforts on behalf of wounded warriors, mine-resistant vehicles, the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell", and the killing of Osama bin Laden is fascinating and thought-provoking. He describes the reservations he had about the efforts to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, for example, and admits that he grudgingly added his support for the raid on bin Laden's compound late in the process. It seems clear from the narrative that Gates was a good listener, a thoughtful and deliberative leader, and respected by nearly everyone in the government. What is most impressive and most poignant is his genuine and palpable concern for the troops. The callousness of other military leaders toward the health and well-being of people in uniform is disheartening, if not frightening. Gates writes, "During World War II General George Marshall once told his wife, `I cannot afford the luxury of sentiment, mine must be cold logic. Sentiment is for others.' Icy detachment was never an option for me." He wrote in his final reflection about America's troops. "You are the best America has to offer. My admiration and affection for you is without limit, and I will think about you and your families and pray for you every day for the rest of my life." Finally, as a result of directing two war efforts simultaneously, Gates is quite unenthusiastic about pursuing war unless it is absolutely necessary. He writes, "in light of history, how could anyone have been surprised that our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan took unanticipated turns . . . nearly always we begin military engagements--wars--profoundly ignorant about our adversaries and about the situation on the ground". He quotes Winston Churchill who said, "[t]he statesman who yields to war fever must realize that, once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events." Robert Gates provides a wonderful capstone to his years of service to his country by providing a direct and absorbing memoir about his experiences as secretary of defense. I recommend it most heartily.

I've always liked Robert Gates. He is a straight shooter; he tells it like it is; always has. I've followed him since his days in the CIA. He is brilliant, straight-talking, eloquent, and patriotic. I suspect (strongly) that he doesn't suffer fools. I also suspect that he doesn't tolerate much nonsense, especially political nonsense, from co-workers and associates. Now, I know I'm right about all of the above. Mr. Gates' memoir "Duty" is eminently readable. It is beautifully, brilliantly written by a person with a very high IQ. "Duty" outlines in exquisite detail the progression of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, from their outset after the September 11 attacks, under George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. When both wars began to go badly, President Bush asked Mr. Gates to take over at the Defense Department, and his four-and-a-half-year tenure at Defense was highly successful, both in the conclusion of the war in Iraq, and the improvement in the security situation in Afghanistan. Mr. Gates is complimentary of both President Bush and President Obama, at least in terms of their personal integrity and intelligence. The press portrayal of George W. Bush as a bumbling idiot was clearly wrong and mean-spirited. Also, the liberal press portrayal of Dick Cheney as a malevolent Rasputin to George W. Bush was clearly wrong, again with malign intent. Mr. Bush is portrayed as a thoughtful and deliberative president who was not afraid to make decisions. He did not delegate important decisions to his subordinates, including Cheney. (Bush's biggest problem, as we all know, was that he was an inept public speaker). Mr. Gates is also kind to Obama, complimenting him on his intelligence and deliberative style. Mr. Gates is unstinting in his criticism of both Congress and of Obama's inner circle. Regarding Congress, Gates clearly has little respect for either party and the never-ending nattering between parties. He singles out Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid for particular scorn for being partisan first, last, and always, , but he doesn't give congressional Republicans much credit, either. Mr. Gates has no respect for Obama's inner circle, especially Vice President Biden. Gates is careful to note and compliment Biden's social skills, but he singles Biden out as a fairly stupid, incompetent, ever-partisan, unreliable, and mean-spirited back stabber within the confines of the White House. This was very eye-opening to me. Mr. Gates is extremely complimentary of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He loved her intelligence, passion, work ethic, and her sense of humor. He feels that she is a person with a great sense of honor and of mission. She was never afraid to oppose either Obama or Biden. I was also surprised with this take on Hillary Clinton, who I have never liked. If there is a problem with this book, it is that it does not have a linear timeline. The book bounces around from crisis to crisis, often backtracking from one time and place to another. It was a little confusing at times. The book is extremely detailed. I enjoyed Mr. Gates' discussion of his interactions with service members at all levels of rank. The amount of work involved in his tenure is excruciating to read about. He worked basically 24/7 the entire time. His travel schedule was unbelievable. I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone interested in politics and military matters. It is a magnificent book.

Duty is the autobiography of Robert Gates who, during his career was the head of the CIA and National Security Council as well as the President of Texas A&M University. He was selected by George W. Bush and later Barack Obama to be the Secretary of Defense. It entails many of the decisions that he had to make during his life in Washington and also what influenced the decisions he made. This is very good if you are interested in his life and want to know, but as a regular reader it drastically drags out the length of the book, and slows it down. A major regret that he has throughout the book, is that he is sending kids to war that he had handed diplomas to just a little while ago. It is also interesting that he had very few arguments with George W. Bush, but got in many disputes with his advisors on the issues at the time. When Obama came into office, Gates had more issues trying to get the Army to do what he wanted them to do. The disputes added more plot to the book, yet was still dragged out by the amount of details included, which definitely makes the book less captivating. It is interesting reading about what actually happened to Gates, instead of just what the major news networks were saying about what was happening in Washington at the time. In conclusion this book is very informative due to the details that were being used, and getting to know every little thing that was happening at the time in the White House, but to someone like me, who just wants to see his point of view without the details, the book dragged out, which means I would probably give this book 3.5 stars out of 5 stars.

This book started a bit slow for me and, at first, it seemed a bit self-serving and I had a hard time generating much empathy for a guy who paid $40 K for lawyers to do his financial statements after talking about coming from a family of modest means. To top it off, had just read Peter Baker’s great book “Days of Fire” about the Bush-Cheney White House. I did not like Robert Gates in the initial pages. As I continued, I began to realize that it helped to remain aware that this was a memoir and as such that it had to have (try as the author might to avoid it) a certain amount of subjectivity. Accepting this I moved on. The further I read the more I came to a first a somewhat grudging acceptance of how effective a Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was. The chattering class has picked cherry picked Gates’ disdain for Congress and his frustration with Joe Biden to try to sensationalize the book and to fill thoughtless sound bites. As I worked through the book it seemed patently clear that most of the chattering class had not actually read the book. It is not an easy read and you almost need a background in DOD and NSC structure to follow the book. Still, this is a book very much worth reading. The strongest part of the book deals with the daily struggles Gates faced to get the Pentagon to do what needed to be done for the troops. I’m not going to recap that but Gates’ efforts to get wounded to medical care in Afghanistan within an hour were amazing. Similarly, he did much to get those who returned with traumatic wounds much better medical care. There is much more he did to help the troops. Another aspect I really liked was Gates’ efforts to visit the troops in remote locations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Finally, perhaps most interesting are the insights Gates provides into the generals and admirals he worked with. Clearly, Adm. Mike Mullen, Gen. Pete Pace and LtGen. John Kelly were among his close friends. Meeting with Marines who were in the same unit as Kelly’s son who was killed in Afghanistan is certainly moving. Although he does not say this explicitly, it is not hard to figure out how disappointed he was in Gen Stan McCrystal. Finally, you do not have to be a rocket scientist to get the notion that Gates probably thought Gen David Petreaus was and is an arrogant self-aggrandizer. Cannot close without noting that I’m a bit ashamed of the Air Force and Gen Buzz Mosely and former Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne. They deserved to be fired and their resignation was overdue. Another recurring theme that I liked was Gates’ recounting of working with Hillary Clinton. He is a flat out Hillary admirer and found himself ‘almost always in agreement’ with her. He cites Hillary’s personal analysis on corruption in Afghanistan as “the best he had ever seen on this topic.” He singles out Karl Eikenberry as effectively poisoning efforts in Afghanistan and being grossly insubordinate to Hillary who was his boss as Secretary of State. He notes that Hillary called Eikenberry “a huge problem.” That recounting had a definite ring of truth and Eikenberry comes across as an arrogant horse’s patootie. I would not be at all surprised to see Gates endorse Hillary, should she decide to run for President. Gates is very critical of Congress and, in my opinion, deservedly so. Part of the problem is what Gates notes as “the shift to a three-day workweek – Tuesday through Thursday. Gone are the days when members shared group houses, played poker or golf together, and often ate dinner together …” I’m not going to rehash what Gates has to say about Joe Biden. Prior to reading this, I had pretty much been a Biden fan. I no longer am. There are some errors and slights in the book. One error is Gates’ blanket statement that no American soldiers were killed in Vietnam while Eisenhower was President. In 1959 Maj. Dale R. Ruis and Master Sgt. Chester M. Ovnand died there. Another has to do with Poland which at one point he criticizes. The Poles contribution, 3000 soldiers sent to Afghanistan and 37 killed should have been noted if he was going to criticize them. I was with my Polish brother, MGen. Leszek Soczewica, when Leszek got a call about two Polish soldiers who had just been killed in Afghanistan. Since Gates says he likes honesty, if I ever met him in person I would tell him “You were not alone in suffering at soldiers’ deaths in Afghanistan, Mr. Secretary. Your book is just a bit too self centered.”

Why would I take time spending hours reading this lengthy book on my Kindle? Because I care. Also because I wanted to compare former defense secretary Gates with Donald Rumsfeld's approach to the decades of war. Why should you care? Because men and women are dying every day or being severely wounded, for our right to freedom of speech and the pursuit of happiness. Robert Gates details the horror of war and his compassion for veterans, his respect for the generals, his ongoing pursuit of getting the Pentagon and Congress to act more quickly and responsibly, and his insights concerning the defense department, his orders, and even some of his own mis-judgements. Contrary to some reviews in the media, there is absolutely nothing in the book, in my view as a non-partisan citizen, to discredit our elected President - in fact, Gates goes to great lengths to discuss his relationship with Obama (and Bush). and the positive remarks he makes balance anything Gates had issues with. After completing the memoir, my first reaction was the wisdom Obama displayed in retaining an experienced defense secretary, tho not a registered democrat, and his respect for Gates. It was refreshing to read how they resolved their differences in both private and staff meetings - the final decisions being made by the President. Both Gates and Obama learned from each other. Former defense secretaries usually write memoirs in order to defend their decisions and advice to the President during wartime and also put blame for failures on other departments. I felt that Gates presented readers with much more to think about - the process of budget cutting and priorities for the military - especially for the safety of those in combat within a foreign country which occupied a great deal of his time in office; the tension between staff and department heads; the overwhelming job of being President, and the need for unity among the principles. Altho the contrast between the right way and the wrong way to fight a war on terrorists is constantly being debated within our government, secretary Gates broadens our perspective, provides a calm and civil discussion in his carefully written memoir, and remains open to further constructive comments. I watched Gates give an interview at Constitution Hall in Philadelphia recently. He appears friendly, calm, and not at all concerned by critics - comfortable being himself and not having a political agenda. He definitely has much more to say and hopefully will write another book in a couple years. I'll read it for sure. I recommend this book and would prefer the hardback instead of the Kindle, as there is much to underline and reflect upon.

Robert Gates became Secretary of Defense under George W. Bush in 2006, replacing Donald Rumsfeld, after serving as President of Texas A&M University. No stranger to government service, Gates had once been Director of the CIA and member of the National Security Council staff. He had to "hit the ground running" on his arrival in Washington with two wars ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Defense Department is the most complex organization on the planet with three million members, vast amounts of equipment such as planes, ships, tanks and other weapons, real estate, and a yearly budget of over $700 billion. Gates' major concern during his early period was the health of the troops fighting the two wars and the welfare of their families back on the home front. A trip to the outpatient clinic of Walter Reed Hospital revealed terrible conditions for treating wounded veterans. To their credit, the military service leaders (they didn't know about it) jumped on this problem when Gates called it to their attention. He admits that his efforts to have the Veterans Affairs Department give priority to recent combat veterans was a failure; he cites the VA as a bureaucracy even worse than the Pentagon. Gates details his battles within his own organization to change people's thinking and impart a sense of urgency, getting the right equipment to the fighting troops overseas as soon as possible instead of the usual mindset of focusing on future wars. He cites the difficulty of streamlining the material acquisition process and the even harder task of canceling expensive programs because of fiefdom ownership within the DoD or intrusive oversight by a zealous members of Congress. He resented Congressional suggestions for cutting DoD expenses and the members' collective hypocrisy; it was fine to cut back as long as it didn't affect jobs back at the member's home turf. Gates remarks that Congress is best viewed from afar because, up close, it's pretty ugly. His visits to Iraq and Afghanistan were always a welcome relief from the battlegrounds of Washington. It's easy to like and admire Gates because he doesn't take himself seriously. He admits he's a geezer and was nicknamed "Yoda." His writing style is not to be directly critical of someone but rather state the facts and let the reader draw his own conclusions. He made some personal observations of current politicians: Joe Biden is a likable person but has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades; Hilary Clinton is smart, idealistic but pragmatic, and has a great sense of humor; Obama is deliberative, interested in detail and has to completely understand a problem before making a decision on it. Gates openly admits to mistakes. He made a significant organizational change in 2010 by putting special operations units and Marines in Afghanistan under control of LtGen McChrystal, establishing "unity of command," much like Eisenhower was Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during WWII. He says he should have done it much earlier. Gates also had problems dealing with staffers in the White House who had a tendency to micromanage the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, reminding me of similar actions back in the Viet Nam war when Robert McNamara was SecDef and LBJ was personally picking targets for bombing runs. Senior military officers such as Admiral Mullen and General Petreus didn't help matters either when they freely gave their opinions to the media on how the war was or wasn't being managed correctly. McChrystal famously lost his job because of remarks made to a Rolling Stone correspondent. While military officers don't lose their right to speak, their open criticism caused a backlash because the President thought he was being ganged up on. Gates left office in June 2011 after four and a half years under two presidents. In the last chapter titled "Reflections" he pays eloquent tribute to the troops he sent into harm's way and how they've inspired him to do his duty. In a poignant ending he asks to be buried in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery where so many of the fallen from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. I confess to getting a bit emotional when I read these words because I have many Marine shipmates also buried in Arlington. Mr. Gates, like my fallen comrades, did his duty well and is certainly worthy of this honor.

I must confess that I knew little about Robert Gates before I bought this book. But I was quite keen to read the memoirs of someone who helped oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while serving under two different presidents. Gates was brought on board by Bush 43 to help turn around the war in Iraq as it was beginning to bog down with casualties and no clear end in sight. Gates was a university president at the time, but had a long history of working with the government, including serving with Bush 41 (and Reagan, Carter, Ford) and serving as head of the CIA. So he was no neophyte to Washington, politics, or national issues. He immediately went to work supporting the idea of a surge that proved to be successful. Calling himself the "soldier's secretary", he was motivated by a deep need to protect the troops whose combat orders he signed. The book goes into significant detail about both wars, largely at the strategic level (tactical information largely is restricted to efforts to help protect the troops). He outlines the decision process, the people involved, the countries involved, and the bureaucracies involved. As a non-registered Republican, Gates comes off as very even-handed. He paints Bush in a slightly more positive light than Obama, which I was going to refute with a claim that Bush was an experienced president in the final lap of his second term while Obama was a new president who would have to seek re-election in four years. But Gates notes that himself. He characterizes Bush 43 as a man of decisive action, who was less concerned with political issues than with what he thought was right. He was fair and personable to Gates, although their relationship never went beyond a professional one. These same things can be said about Obama, other than his greater weighing of political costs and benefits and greater influence of White House staff. Without giving away the content of the book, it's pretty remarkable how similar Obama and Bush appear through Gates' eyes. To be sure, they were very different people and Gates notes that often enough. But at the bottom line, beyond their opposing political views, both were professionals who appeared to be very competent to Gates. There are a lot of other people beyond presidents mentioned in the book. Gates is very positive about Condi Rice and Hillary Clinton. Again, two different personalities and political positions, but two very competent Secretaries of State who both worked well with Gates. In fact, the information about Hillary is so positive I think this book would be a real boost for her should she run for president. Even for right-leaning readers, Gates claims that Hillary taught him not to judge a book by its cover, or media reputation. Biden and Cheney both get a lot of ink. Both were extremists within their governments. Cheney was an extreme war hawk, Biden an extreme peace dove. Foreign leaders get some coverage, as do many other people in the upper levels of Washington politics. And certainly, the generals and admirals get a lot of attention. Almost all of it is positive, although comments about their lapses in media judgment are noted. In general, Gates got along with most of the people he worked with, but he doesn't shy away from describing difficult situations or people, nor does he shy away from talking about the people he ended up firing. So this isn't a feel-good book where he's kind to everyone. Everyone takes a shot here and there, but it really seems that Gates generally tried to get along with most people and most of them tried the same in return (which is actually fairly shocking in politics!). All in all, I found it to be a very fascinating and (as far as I can tell) very honest look behind the curtains of power. Gates comes across as perhaps too sensible and thoughtful, or at least that's how it seemed to me. I could hardly fault or disagree with any of his decisions. If someone else does, at least the logic behind those decisions are clearly laid out, often with details of the political and/or military machinery that surrounded those decisions. Gates also deals with broader issues, such as problems with the Congress, or with the national media. Gates calls himself, above all, a realist, and I think he deserves that claim. He was both for and against war in different contexts, he served both presidents very well (Obama wanted him to stay on), and his motives seem to be largely apolitical and without career objectives. So as a person, I found him to be an interesting person to read about. As a topic, this book deserves to be read by a wide audience. Anyone interested in the personalities of the big players, the machinery of war and/or politics, the day-to-day challenges of being the Secretary of Defence, the history of US politics (going back almost 40 years), and plain human nature in general, is probably going to get something significant out of this book. At 600 pages it's definitely not a fast read. But it is well written, and for 600 pages of biographical history, it captured my attention from start to finish. With his added final thoughts and caveats at the end of the book addressing a lot of the questions I came up with throughout the book, I really don't have any reason to not give this book 5 stars. It's not the best biography I've ever read, but it certainly is a very good one that is sure to appeal to a broad audience on both sides of the political fence. Which, as Gates would point out, is a good thing. Solid five stars.

If you want a realistic looking into the Obama administration you have to read these memoirs! Thank you Mr. Gates for giving us this unique opportunity.

This audiobook has accompanied me on my way to work and is highly recommendable, as it delivers accounts on a number of aspects, such as serving under two administrations, running the biggest "account" in the US federal government in times of war and calamity and managing a political environment. The author gives a candid, reflective account with humour and passion, and the production is well read, well informed by his previous experience in Washington and at Texas A&M. The only thing missing are beginning and end statements on each of the 20 disks, but that is a manageable flaw.

I bought this book to understand how leaders take stride when facing adversity or crisis. No bigger crisis in the face of the earth than powerful countries waging war on terror and lives across battlelines are at stake. I find the insights very helpful. Its written in casual and yet thoughtful language. I would recommend this book to everyone who is interested in world politics, economies of war etc.

A fabulous insight into the worlds largest bureaucracy. Well written with no holds barred. Robert Gates is a great American.