Product Description

Veil is the story of the covert wars that were waged in Central America, Iran and Libya in a secretive atmosphere and became the centerpieces and eventual time bombs of American foreign policy in the 1980s.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35413 in eBooks
• Published on: 2007-03-26
• Released on: 2007-03-26
• Format: Kindle Book
• Number of items: 1

From Library Journal
Woodward's books on Watergate, the Supreme Court, and John Belushi were not so controversial as Veil. His deathbed visit to William Casey, former CIA head, has been disputed by Casey's wife. What Woodward knew about Casey's Iran-contra role was apparently withheld from Congress. All this smoke has drawn attention from the fire. Woodward's tale of attempted murders, payoffs to foreign leaders, covert contra aid, covert aid to Britain in the Falklands War, and anti-terrorist squads is formidable. He presents Casey's CIA as a dangerously illegal loose cannon on the deck of U.S. foreign policy. Richard B. Finnegan, Stonehill Coll., North Easton, Mass.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Woodward has established himself as the best reporter of our time. He may be the best reporter of all time."

-- Bob Schieffer,CBS News Face the Nation

"Bob Woodward, the master chronicler of Washington's deepest secrets, has produced an investigative record of the CIA's turbulent years under the late William Casey....Veil plows more new ground than a dozen tractors in Iowa."

-- U.S. News & World Report

"Veil lays bare, in a way that no reportage has done before, the power struggle between contending factions -- both inside and outside the CIA -- for control over the nation's foreign intelligence apparatus...."

-- The Washington Times

"To read Veil is to be astonished at the access Woodward achieved....The reader is invited to understand Casey. The author dared open himself to Casey's charm, to Casey's rationale...."

-- New York Daily News

"Fifteen years after he unraveled Watergate as little more than a policebeat reporter, Woodward has lost none of his edge as one of the finest journalistic investigators of our time....Woodward has succeeded brilliantly in cracking state secrets...."

-- Los Angeles Times Book Review

Customer Reviews

Superficial, but readable
Anyone interested in the Iran-Contra issue should have read this book. But the title, is a bit misleading. Woodward focuses too much on the Iran-Contra issue (and superficially at that) to the detriment of other CIA and DoD paramilitary/covert activities during the era of the 80s.
Furthermore, the way Woodward wove himself into the storyline would lead one to believe that he was a key character in the whole Casey-era saga. Fortunately, this is hardly the case.
Nevertheless, the book is a good review of the key players at the macro-level who were creating policy. Of note, the interaction between Goldwater and Casey is enlightening.
If you really want to get to the meat of CIA/DoD secret activities during this era, Steve Emerson's "Secret Warriors" will provide far more insight into the covert activities of the 80s.

Always An Interesting Author
I am a big fair of Woodward, so much so that I would even consider reading his shopping list. With that said I will give him a little slack on the Casey deathbed revelations. I think if the author would have know the level of scorn he has received concerning the "Casey confession" he may have used a tape recorder.

Overall this book gives the reader some very interesting stories about the Regan years and his use of the CIA. The reader of any book covering a review of a set of government policies that had a very firm stamp of approval or even the direction of the President will always fall on side or another on if the book is a truthful and "shocking" exposé or a "political bias hatchet job". I think that is one of the fun things about this book, no matter what side of the argument you are on; you will experience some emotion while reading this book. If you are also very interested in this subject it is interesting to go back into time and read his review and then compare it to some of the new facts on the subject.

Overall, this is another Woodward book, well written and constructed, very detailed and full of a lot of conversations that make you feel that you are involved, not just page after page of monotone lecturing. I wish he spent a little more time on footnotes so that the reader could be a better judge to the research he puts into the book and the sources used. If you like Woodward, you will love this book. If you have leanings to the left then you will have a lot of "you see" stories to tell, and if you are a strong Reaganite then you will be happy with the strong effort described in the book to defeat the USSR.

The Veil...dive into the secret world of William Casey's CIA
This is an excellent read where Bob Woodward with his astonishing access to sources deep inside the White House and CIA reveals the secret wars conducted by the CIA led by William Casey (1981-1987) during the Regan years. From Nicaragua to Afghanistan to the Iran-contra scandal Casey was involved in and controlled it all. The repercussions of his feverishly misguided policies and the secrets he kept from the U.S. Congress would have drastic effects on future generations of Americans and the world. One of Woodward's best!