Ebook424 pages6 hours
Presidents' Secrets: The Use and Abuse of Hidden Power
By Mary Graham
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
A “succinct and well-written” look at how presidents use secrecy to protect the nation, foster diplomacy—and gain power (The Wall Street Journal).
Ever since the nation’s most important secret meeting—the Constitutional Convention—presidents have struggled to balance open, accountable government with necessary secrecy in military affairs and negotiations. For the first one hundred and twenty years, a culture of open government persisted, but new threats and technology have long since shattered the old bargains. Today, presidents neither protect vital information nor provide the open debate Americans expect.
Mary Graham tracks the rise in governmental secrecy that began with surveillance and loyalty programs during Woodrow Wilson’s administration, explores how it developed during the Cold War, and analyzes efforts to reform the secrecy apparatus and restore oversight in the 1970s. Chronicling the expansion of presidential secrecy in the Bush years, Graham explains what presidents and the American people can learn from earlier crises, why the attempts of Congress to rein in stealth activities don’t work, and why presidents cannot hide actions that affect citizens’ rights and values.
“Engrossing . . . chilling and fascinating.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Ever since the nation’s most important secret meeting—the Constitutional Convention—presidents have struggled to balance open, accountable government with necessary secrecy in military affairs and negotiations. For the first one hundred and twenty years, a culture of open government persisted, but new threats and technology have long since shattered the old bargains. Today, presidents neither protect vital information nor provide the open debate Americans expect.
Mary Graham tracks the rise in governmental secrecy that began with surveillance and loyalty programs during Woodrow Wilson’s administration, explores how it developed during the Cold War, and analyzes efforts to reform the secrecy apparatus and restore oversight in the 1970s. Chronicling the expansion of presidential secrecy in the Bush years, Graham explains what presidents and the American people can learn from earlier crises, why the attempts of Congress to rein in stealth activities don’t work, and why presidents cannot hide actions that affect citizens’ rights and values.
“Engrossing . . . chilling and fascinating.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Author
Mary Graham
Mary Graham is a psychotherapist working with teens and adults. She has written this book to help young girls struggling to find themselves. Ms. Graham lives in New York with her remarkable husband and her lovable basset hound.
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Reviews for Presidents' Secrets
Rating: 3.3333333333333335 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
3 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Boring. They book often went into minute detail about government secrets. Yet the case was made that some secrecy “comes with the job.” I was left thinking that things cannot be that “secret” if they are being written about. In any case, this book was out of my comfort zone and outside my very small expertise.
Book preview
Presidents' Secrets - Mary Graham
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