Fast paced and close to the mark with regard to the current administration.
349808
Loved the fast paced action based on many of the current happenings in the Middle East.  I guess the Fiction Presidents name also carried significance as did the Jordanian King. The Nuclear weapons will not come from North Korea but the Iranian subterfuge.
915387
A thriller that moves forward at a rapid pace with a lot of information about how politics works and the place in events of the close advisors of a president, the training and responses of the Secret Service, and the calibre of issues and decisions facing a sitting president daily. It reads like Patterson, and teaches like Clinton. Engrossing to the last page.
4844459
A great book with interacting characters working toward or against the same goal.  Highlights the turf of federal agents whose authority and responsibility overlap.  Points out the fine lines of the difficulties of working with multiple agencies and people, especially with big egos and focused desires.  Involves the President, AF chief of staff, OSI, and several chief of police.  No shots fired but lots of action.
4340351
In the current election season the story line is very compelling and holds the reader's interest. The impact that the National media has on the presidential election is perhaps over  stated but makes one think.
3654435
WEB Griffin had become one of my favorite authors, and the new series "Presidential Agent" intrigued me to the point that I got By Order of the President and The Hostage a day or two afte rthey came out. Both had great themes, both sounded exciting and timely. Both were great reads, but both lacked that cutting edge tension that I was expecting.

WEB does a superb job building his characters. We know Castillo, Schneider, Britton as well as the Argintine crew so well. The political intrique and interagency squabbles are well-detailed and the reader respects the President for trying to cut through that.

yes - life isn't always on the edge and yes we u nderstand that a lot of intelligence gathering is slow and tedious. But the book has got to move a bit faster.
1981987
Nice work of fiction with elements based on "recent" news events.
4300369
Fast and racy, the plot is very much of our recent times. The Russians are the villains and centers around Ukraine and Crimea and world politics. Will wait for the next book !!
2961207
I am enjoying this book by Pres. Bush very much. I got the impression that his decisions were made after much thought and careful consideration of all the facts. It's alway interesting to hear the other side of issues, and get "behind the scenes."  Pres. Bush comes across as sincere and he doesn't hold back on the hot button topics.
4219931
Mitch Rapp novels never seem to lack action scenes, however, this book could use some more in the middle half. It dwells mainly on planning and hand wringing in this portion, plus a lot pf movement around the world. The motif of trying to keep the president out of the loop to provide deniability and his boss in the loop without jeopardizing her job, is getting a little shopworn. Things really pick up in the last quarter, and Rapp once again proves his immortality. The book is a fast and easy read with enough twists and turns to satisfy the most ardent adventure fan.
378198
I enjoyed reading this while the early campaign for the real presidency is ongoing. I enjoyed the humor and the patriotism in the book and the alignment with real national issues.
3475164
This is a very fast paced read and a timely topic. There were many moving parts that seemed very separate but came together neatly at the end.
2152803
This is how a President got confused about who he serves and why. As the story progresses he realizes that the American people understand little about what truly matters and is only interested in getting reelected. A true politician. Its entertaining and very close to real life.
2137384
In Presidential Declarations, Doug Wood brings Samantha Harrison (the political animal we met in Presidential Intentions) head to head with many of the players in the real world politics of the near future and the real fears of global tensions.  His astute understanding of the political landscape, illustrated though snippets of her past campaign speeches and strong character reminds the reader of how much we long for leadership with a strong pragmatic view putting patriotism before partisanship.

Written in the style of a dramatic thriller, we also get a little political history lesson, albeit with a slight conservative slant.  I couldn't put it down once I picked it upa great read for where we are in the current political cycleit certainly had me holding todays real candidates and politicians to the standard set by Sam.
2912749
This book is not about the assassination of JFK.  It is about the two factions of government and the new president, LBJ.  Kennedy's Irish Mafia tells its' side of the what the new president was like right after the assassination, and then leads us though the first 24 hours of the Johnson Administration.  The Johnson cronies tell us their idea of what happened, as their man tried to assume power from the horrible tragedy that killed a very popular and elite president.  Very fast paced and a good read.
1950873
Together with "Decision Points" by President Bush 43, readers get a behind-the-scenes impression of the Bush administration; but Donald Rumsfeld, so far, plays the trump card, in my opinion.

I enjoyed this book, learning of Karl Rove's early years and career, and how his ambition led him to the seat of power as senior advisor to the president. Shrewd, shameless, and dedicated to winning elections for Republican candidates, he is far from perfect,and his expertise lies in campaign strategy, not so much in advising a president after the election. Read and discover just how Bush 43 really won his elections - Rove to the rescue!

The Plame affair takes up too much of the book as Rove defends his part.  Karl would have done everyone a favor had he simply told the truth (that Richard Armitage was involved) - this was a distraction and we all know that distractions can lead to chaos (think Ken Starr investigations while Bin Laden was planning his terror attacks, or Watergate, when Vietnam needed attention) Scott McClellan tells his side of this sorry affair in his memoir "What Happened....".

Pictures and pages of notes/facts are great! The critique on our current president, and swipes at certain democrats are not. Rove advised Bush 43 for seven years and not really very well on many occasions! Rove writes about this candidly. As Texas buddies, Rove and Bush have enjoyed a long friendship together within the Republican party.  If you have the time and like political memoirs, you will definitely want to read this thru (easy) and have fun debating the merits.
3593188
I felt like I was reading the literary version of "House of Cards."  The characters were well developed, with a suspenseful plot.  The inner workings of Washington politics were revealed along and it was coupled with many twists and turns.

It was fast paced, easy to follow.  If you like suspense and love politics, this is the one for you.
132623
Not too much new here that I did not know already, but a good review of Agency failures--perhaps fiascos is a better word-- and a chronology that demonstrates how politics really drives our (and probably our competitors') intelligence services.  Overall, it is surprising to me that there aren't more similar revealing chronologies, but we shall see what transpires after the current administration leaves office.  They will eventually get what is deserved; at least we can hope.