Confront and Conceal
Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power
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Narrated by:
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Robertson Dean
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By:
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David E. Sanger
About this listen
From inside Obama's situation room…
…the critical moments in the covert war against Iran, the struggles to deal with a recalcitrant Pakistan and its fast-growing nuclear arsenal, the tensions with the American military over Afghanistan and with allies swept up in the chaos of the Arab Spring.
Three and a half years ago, David Sanger's book The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power described how a new American president came to office with the world on fire. Now, just as the 2012 presidential election battle begins, Sanger follows up with an eye-opening, news-packed account of how Obama has dealt with those challenges, relying on innovative weapons and reconfigured tools of American power to try to manage a series of new threats. Sanger describes how Obama’s early idealism about fighting “a war of necessity” in Afghanistan quickly turned to fatigue and frustration, how the early hopes that the Arab Spring would bring about a democratic awakening slipped away, and how an effort to re-establish American power in the Pacific set the stage for a new era of tensions with the world’s great rising power, China.
As the world seeks to understand the contours of the Obama Doctrine, Confront and Conceal is a fascinating, unflinching account of these complex years, in which the president and his administration have found themselves struggling to stay ahead in a world where power is diffuse and America's ability to exert control grows ever more elusive.
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Today when you factor in the interest on the national debt from past wars and total defense expenditures the United States spends almost 40% of its federal budget on the military. It accounts for over 46% of total world arms spending. Before World War II it spent almost nothing on defense and hardly anyone paid any income taxes. You can't have big wars without big government. Such big expenditures are now threatening to harm the national economy.
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Surprisingly Good
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By: Michael Swanson
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1983
- Reagan, Andropov, and a World on the Brink
- By: Taylor Downing
- Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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A riveting, real-life thriller about 1983 - the year tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union nearly brought the world to the point of nuclear Armageddon. The year 1983 was an extremely dangerous one - more dangerous than 1962, the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the United States, President Reagan vastly increased defense spending, described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire," and launched the "Star Wars" Strategic Defense Initiative to shield the country from incoming missiles.
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Great story, poor narration choices.
- By John Gray on 02-11-19
By: Taylor Downing
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The Finish
- The Killing of Osama bin Laden
- By: Mark Bowden
- Narrated by: James Lurie
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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From Mark Bowden, internationally best-selling and acclaimed author of Black Hawk Down and the preeminent chronicler of the actions of our military and special forces writing today, comes an intensely gripping account of the hunt for and elimination of Osama bin Laden. With unprecedented access to key sources and his great gift for storytelling, Bowden takes us inside the rooms where decisions were made and on the ground where the action unfolded.
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Listen to No Easy Day...much better
- By JMM on 10-20-12
By: Mark Bowden
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Directorate S
- The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
- By: Steve Coll
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 28 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Resuming the narrative of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars, best-selling author Steve Coll tells for the first time the epic and enthralling story of America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 9/11.
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Slow At Times But Always Horrifying And Engaging
- By Gillian on 02-20-18
By: Steve Coll
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The Making of the Atomic Bomb
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Here for the first time, in rich human, political, and scientific detail, is the complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan. Few great discoveries have evolved so swiftly - or have been so misunderstood. From the theoretical discussions of nuclear energy to the bright glare of Trinity, there was a span of hardly more than 25 years.
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Beware limitations of the reader
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By: Richard Rhodes
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The Iran Wars
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The Iran Wars is an absorbing account of a battle waged on many levels - military, financial, and covert. Jay Solomon’s book is the product of extensive in-depth reporting and interviews with all the key players in the conflict - from high-ranking Iranian officials to Secretary of State John Kerry and his negotiating team. With a reporter’s masterly investigative eye and the narrative dexterity of a great historian, Solomon shows how Iran’s nuclear development went unnoticed for years by the international community only to become its top security concern.
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Titled Towards Confrontation
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By: Jay Solomon
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Obama's Wars
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- Narrated by: Boyd Gaines
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Working behind the scenes for 18 months, Bob Woodward has written the most intimate and sweeping portrait of President Obama making the critical decisions on the Afghanistan War, the secret war in Pakistan, and the worldwide fight against terrorism.
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Woodward Does a Service
- By Roy on 10-01-10
By: Bob Woodward
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Hard Choices
- By: Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Narrated by: Kathleen Chalfant, Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Length: 26 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Hillary Rodham Clinton's inside account of the crises, choices, and challenges she faced during her four years as America's 67th Secretary of State, and how those experiences drive her view of the future. In the aftermath of her 2008 presidential run, she expected to return to representing New York in the United States Senate. To her surprise, her former rival for the Democratic Party nomination, newly elected President Barack Obama, asked her to serve in his administration as Secretary of State. This memoir is the story of the four extraordinary and historic years that followed.
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Senior Stateswoman in need of Editor
- By Cynthia on 07-20-14
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Ghost Wars
- The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
- By: Steve Coll
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 26 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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The explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan. With the publication of Ghost Wars, Steve Coll became not only a Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the expert on the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of Bin Laden, and the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill Bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998.
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An Exceptional Accomplishment
- By Joe on 11-08-13
By: Steve Coll
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Legacy of Ashes
- The History of the CIA
- By: Tim Weiner
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 21 hrs and 37 mins
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This is the book the CIA does not want you to read. For the last 60 years, the CIA has maintained a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, never disclosing its blunders to the American public. It spun its own truth to the nation while reality lay buried in classified archives. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Tim Weiner offers a stunning indictment of the CIA, a deeply flawed organization that has never deserved America's confidence.
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Flawed but Important
- By Michael on 07-18-08
By: Tim Weiner
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Kissinger's Shadow
- The Long Reach of America's Most Controversial Statesman
- By: Greg Grandin
- Narrated by: Brian O'Neill
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
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A new account of America's most controversial diplomat that moves beyond praise or condemnation to reveal Kissinger as the architect of America's current imperial stance. In his fascinating new book, acclaimed historian Greg Grandin argues that to understand the crisis of contemporary America - its never-ending wars abroad and political polarization at home - we have to understand Henry Kissinger.
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A Rehash of Rehashes...nothing new
- By A. M. on 10-06-19
By: Greg Grandin
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What listeners say about Confront and Conceal
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Karyn
- 02-10-19
Yes and no
The good: It was a good story, an interesting review of the issues both a President and our nation faves in the changing world around us. It concedes idealism and the “right thing” is at odds with our own interests and the careful and often painful choices a President must make.
The bad: Biased on the “greatness of Obama”, with snarky remarks about previous administrations and the usual diatribe that Obama inherited a mess (as if each President hasn’t). I’m tired if this line. Obama did some good and some bad. Welcome to the club- you did an average job and kicked the can down the road a bit.
That said- worth a read. Well thought out, interesting writing. Good descriptions and insight.
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- E. P. Dowd
- 09-17-12
Scary but revealing and informative
This was a very engaging book. I knew many of the broad strokes of topics covered by the books just from following the news, but the in-depth examination of Obama' responses to various events was incredibly interesting. I was struck by 1) how scary many of the questions are that the president has to make essentially unanswerable answers to (what do we do if terrorists actually just got their hands on a nuclear weapon?) and 2) how, after reading this, I had much more respect for the decisions Obama had made.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Bradford C Rowland
- 09-03-12
Put yourself in the shoes of the President
This was an informative book that takes you behind the scenes of the presidency in its most difficult and sometimes scary role of commander in chief. This peak behind the curtain was incredible and I am greatly appreciative to the author for reporting on the leaders of our country as they took on the momentous events covered in the book.
I felt I got to know the people behind the decisions and the differing views each of these situations involved. For example, the Bin Laden raid could have been a bomb, or could have included Pakistani buy in. Why did we choose a raid that could have ended like Black Hawk Down and to what extent did we feel confident that Bin Laden was even there? These were just a few of the issues discussed and I was absolutely enthralled with the way the story was told.
In this book you get in-depth context and the “why” behind some of the directions we’ve gone and I can’t recommend it more.
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4 people found this helpful
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- BGN8
- 08-13-12
Masterful Insights
Where does Confront and Conceal rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Probably in the top three books that I've listened to so far.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Confront and Conceal?
This book is so packed with revealing insights from so many Washington and military insiders that no one moment can be singled out.
What does Robertson Dean bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
So many different inflections that really give you a sense of the characteristics and intensity of the various contributors to this dialogue.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Surprise. I was surprised at the strength and tenacity of President Obama. Certainly a very shrewd leader and far stronger than the media and the "right" give him credit for.
Any additional comments?
David Sanger does a fantastic job of fairly and impartially reporting the facts that he gathered for this book (except for his position on the Drone strategy). There are times when you will strongly agree with positions and times when you will get a bit ruffled . . .but that's what happens when both sides are told fairly and accurately. GREAT BOOK!
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4 people found this helpful
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- Charles
- 07-30-12
First Reveal of secret insider information
Would you try another book from David E. Sanger and/or Robertson Dean?
I would definitely buy another Sanger and Dean book. The insider national security information was startling.
If you’ve listened to books by David E. Sanger before, how does this one compare?
first Sanger book
What about Robertson Dean’s performance did you like?
good job
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
Don't know.
Any additional comments?
no
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- Syed
- 06-13-24
A good read overall but had a biased one
This is a very informative read on the approaches the American government took in the Middle East against dictators. However, it shows some bias by portraying Obama's administration as the good guys, attempting to sugarcoat Obama’s interference in other countries' affairs under the guise of bringing democracy to those nations.
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- Chris Reich
- 07-18-24
Fascinating Look at the Use of Power
I enjoyed the behind the scenes look into Obama's analysis of problems and. his assessment of risk. Obama deserves a victory lap for taking out Bin Laden. We should have left Afghanistan after that...but, love our military.
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- Marilyn
- 09-03-12
Sobering reminder on what the presidency requires
Would you listen to Confront and Conceal again? Why?
I would. Having read "Wired for War" by Peter Singer, I was curious as to how Sanger was viewing President Obama's policies on the use of drones - and other high-tech warfare. POTUS has to be smart enough to understand how 21st century technology is changing what it means to be at war. My first go-round I would say Sanger is as conflicted as I, but some of the reviews I read say Sanger feels Obama has too much power and is using it improperly. Either I missed something or the reviewers are using their own spin.
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6 people found this helpful
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- B
- 08-11-13
They Would have Impeached Bush for This
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
Sanger has his sources and does an excellent job of uncovering the motivations and personal histories that set the stage for the administration's decisions over the last few years. Much more compelling than his preceding book The Inheritance. A great first pass at the Obama administration's foreign policy.
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- Styff
- 05-17-17
An interesting story told at a dull pace
The topics were quite interesting, but the book doesn't finish as strongly as it starts. The Stuxnet/Olympic games part at the start of the book is by far the best part and the story doesn't really conclude, I guess because Obama's second term hadn't started at the time of writing.
I had to set the narration speed to x1.1 to stop the author from putting me to sleep. Fine voice but such a slow reading speed...
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