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The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina

Frank Rich

3.88 · Rating details · 1,510 ratings · 102 reviews

New York Times columnist Frank Rich reviews the trajectory of fictions spun by the Bush administration from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina, revealing the most brilliant spin campaign ever conducted.

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Published September 19th 2006 by Penguin Audiobooks (first published 2006)

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Jan 10, 2008 Jim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Every thirty pages or so I put this book down to keep my blood from boiling.
Beginning with 9/11, President Bush was given leeway by congress and the press to pursue a “war on terror”. Watching events unfold on TV, or in the newspapers, it is difficult to get a longer perspective on the marketing, and selling, of the Iraq war as a part of the war on terror. This book provides perspective, drawing on public information to provide a richly detailed account of an administration that sold a bad ide Every thirty pages or so I put this book down to keep my blood from boiling.
Beginning with 9/11, President Bush was given leeway by congress and the press to pursue a “war on terror”. Watching events unfold on TV, or in the newspapers, it is difficult to get a longer perspective on the marketing, and selling, of the Iraq war as a part of the war on terror. This book provides perspective, drawing on public information to provide a richly detailed account of an administration that sold a bad idea.
Iraq war planning dates to days after Bush #43's first inauguration. A former cabinet member confirmed the fixation on Iraq began in the first national security meeting, months before 9/11(1). Early ideas included goading Hussein into attacking first.
After 9/11 Orwellian machinations began. The Bush team rewrote, or made up, history, emphasizing shaky 'evidence' such as yellowcake uranium from Niger, vague, unsubstantiated meetings in Prague, photographs of mobile biological weapons labs (aka port-a-potties being trucked to a construction site) and other misleading, or misinterpreted, 'evidence'. The hope was that repetition would lead to belief that Iraq had WMD and was tied to international terrorism.
For this plan to work, the administration had to prevent the United Nations Weapons Inspectors from finishing their job, since there was not only no credible evidence of WMD, there were none – but facts would not interrupt war plans. Inspectors were fired, impossible deadlines were set, and once the UN was stopped the alternative story could be shaped and sold in prime time as a cause for war.
Many people don't remember Dan Rather's interview with Saddam Hussein two months before the war. Rather pressed on WMD, and Saddam said I don't have any and haven't been since the first Gulf War. Hussein was a truthful government spokesman in the whole sordid run up to war.
The three overriding government principals in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four are:

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

I reread Nineteen Eighty Four last year during banned book week. The Nineteen Eighty Four Ministry of Truth and the current administration's PR machinery tried to remake or rewrite history to suit ill conceived notions. Fortunately, we have an independent press, and government officials that spoke out about the decision process. Too much wasn't adding up; journalists did their homework, dug out the truth, exposed manufactured 'evidence'. Even slavish early Bushs followers are turning on the administration, having been duped and taken for fools. One thing we have relearned is, the emperor has no clothes.
If your heart can stand it you should read this one.

1. Page 113, paraphrased from Paul O'Neil's book

Rating 4.5 of 5 ...more

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Apr 24, 2019 Jim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, audio

II read The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina, Frank Rich’s account of George W. Bush’s presidency, during the run up to the release of the heavily redacted Mueller Report. This was definitely not a good idea.

Donald Trump’s uniquely despicable personality makes him an easy target of, well, pretty much everyone who isn’t racist or rich. But Trump’s reality-warping presidency obscures the awfulness of Bush’s time in office.

The story of the Bush administ II read The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina, Frank Rich’s account of George W. Bush’s presidency, during the run up to the release of the heavily redacted Mueller Report. This was definitely not a good idea.

Donald Trump’s uniquely despicable personality makes him an easy target of, well, pretty much everyone who isn’t racist or rich. But Trump’s reality-warping presidency obscures the awfulness of Bush’s time in office.

The story of the Bush administration’s craven dissembling as they manufactured the case for the invasion of Iraq should still fill every American with rage. But they couldn’t have done it without the assistance of a compliant media. The bootlickers at Fox News fell in line, but so did so-called respectable media figures like Bob Woodward, Judith Miller and Robert Novak. They all rolled over for Rove, Rumsfeld and Cheney.

What was most disturbing to me about The Greatest Story Ever Sold was how the administration went after not just the dissenters, but anyone who exposed their lies. That included people in the CIA and the State Department.

Sadly, Bush’s playbook has been adopted by the current administration. At a time when massive spin machines churn out partisan talking points designed to keep us in front of our screens, The Greatest Story Ever Sold is an antidote to the breathless reactions to tweets, speeches and press statements.

Rich lays out the facts in the administration’s own words. These assertions are bolstered by newspaper accounts and augmented with quotes culled from various media sources. It’s an outstanding example of contemporary history that everyone should read because we clearly haven’t learned our lesson.

Strangely, Rich doesn’t consider the cost to the Iraqi people in his accounting. Rich’s story is hyper-focused on American politicians, media figures and troops. Perhaps this decision was made to present the failings of the Bush administration in a context that would appeal to an American audience. But clearly, the Iraqi people paid the biggest price for America’s unprovoked attack on their nation, and that should be acknowledged.

While history will not be kind to the Trump administration, at least they haven’t started any wars—yet. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rove had war on their minds from the moment they set foot in the Oval Office. The blood of hundreds of thousands of people is on their hands, and they know it.

Sadly, not enough Americans do. ...more

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Jun 17, 2008 Jeremy Lyon rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

If you're a member of that dwindling population of American citizens who sees George Bush, President, as anything other than disaster incarnate, don't read this book (or this review). And please don't vote in November.

For the rest of us, there's nothing in this book that you don't already know. But by packing all of the administration's incompetence, distortions, manipulations and outright lies of the last eight years into a single volume, Frank Rich brings home how completely destructive the B ...more

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May 17, 2008 Phillip rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I listened to the audiobook in my car. This book is a chronological (literally, it follows a strict timeline) account of the Bush Administration through the publishing of the book. It starts with W's upbringing and why he's so insecure of himself and rolls right into the war planning (or lack thereof). I have to admit that this was depressing as hell. I had forgotten many of the scandals and foul-ups over the last few years (since there were so many fresh ones to replace them), so to have them a ...more

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Sep 23, 2007 Karen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Are they really so manipulative? Are they really willing to put appearance and salesmanship over substance and responsible governing? Do they really have so little regard for their country's citizenry? Do they really lie that much? Do they really think we're that stupid? Do they really think they can backtrack and cover every mistake?

Well, apparently they are and they do. This book clinches it: I have no doubt that if George Bush could run again, his minions could once again manipulate the masse ...more

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Apr 15, 2008 Niki rated it liked it · review of another edition

Rich's book traces the latticework of lies built by the Bush (II) administration to guide the nation into war with Iraq. He focuses not only on the administration's public relations techniques to sell the war, but the press's complicity. But why the press choose to abdicate its investigatory role goes relatively unexamined. (Or rather, it's examined, but not as deeply as I would have preferred.)

If you hadn't lived through the build-up to the Iraq war and only had Rich's book as a guide, you wou ...more

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Feb 20, 2007 Henry rated it liked it · review of another edition

I learned most of what I know about '80s American politics by watching SNL reruns on Comedy Central; fortunately, future generations won't have to suffer that show to know what's going on right now because they'll be able to read the breezy, current events sum up that is Frank Rich. Putting everything that's happened lately (ca. 2000-2006) in context leads to some valuable insights, especially with Rich's background as a theater/pop culture critic. Exceptional sentence structure, a large vocabul ...more

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Aug 08, 2007 Evan Casey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

While certainly a book that may appeal a bit more to Democrats and those that lean to the left, his approach in tackling the Bush administration's is a reasonable, well-researched, and meticulously crafted one that few rational people could argue with. It was a joy to read not only because I strongly agree with the politics of it, but also because Rich is such an excellent writer that the story itself becomes interesting to read. In addition to that, I learned so much about the events of the pas ...more

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Nov 05, 2007 Jimbonk rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: anybody who hates Bush

This is a very good book. Eye opening on the whole "Bush is a fucking jerk-off retard" mindset. It gives you a list of all the shit this asshole (and his friends) have put the mindless country through, and why, and how. The author is of course a lefty, liberal, democrat, or what have you. But he manages to tell this story as fact and not bias. It is not a book used to rile people up to hate our current government. It is simply a chronological recount of the things that actually happened, that th ...more

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Feb 03, 2019 Rachel Brown rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Even though this book is about the Bush presidency, it offers an explanation as to how we got to where we are today. Well written, engaging, and so relevant

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Mar 30, 2011 Rajesh Kurup rated it liked it · review of another edition

Halfway into the Obama presidency and I remember why I said I'd rather vote for a shrub over Bush after reading this book. The level of deception and manipulation that occurred during the Bush administration was truly astounding. What's unbelievable is reading about people who are joining "Miss me Yet" groups on Facebook. I really wish that voters could read this book when they go to polls in November 2012.

Ok, this is a book review, not the opportunity for a rant. But, I suspect that one's reac Halfway into the Obama presidency and I remember why I said I'd rather vote for a shrub over Bush after reading this book. The level of deception and manipulation that occurred during the Bush administration was truly astounding. What's unbelievable is reading about people who are joining "Miss me Yet" groups on Facebook. I really wish that voters could read this book when they go to polls in November 2012.

Ok, this is a book review, not the opportunity for a rant. But, I suspect that one's reaction to this book will be purely based upon one's politics. Rich has thoroughly researched his subject and does a solid job of laying out his case. His case is that the purpose of the Bush administration was to serve the Bush administration. As he says, had 9/11 never occurred, Bush was setting out to be a very non-descript President. He got to power and went about handing out jobs to undeserving candidates whose sole achievement was helping get Bush elected. Which would be fine had 9/11 and Katrina never happened. But they did and the American public paid the price for the gross incompetence of the Bushies. And we will pay for a long time. 2 unfunded wars, massive tax cuts for the wealthy and an unfunded Medicare prescription later, and the economy is in shambles. Not to mention the where the poorly handled wars has left our foreign policy and reputation.

Central to his case was the media compliance early into the post 9/11 world. The media, including respected newspapers such as the New York Times gladly went along for the ride as Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney laid out the case for the Iraq war. It was only after the weapons of mass destruction never materialized that they began to actually investigate. The same also holds true for Congress. BOTH sides of the aisle played along and approved the war and it's crazy funding (outside of the budget), the tax cuts, the deregulation of Wall Street, the expansion of Medicare, etc.

So here's to hoping that we Won't Get Fooled Again. But, I doubt it. ...more

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Oct 05, 2008 Will Byrnes rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, journalism

The subtitle tells it all, “the decline and fall of truth from 9/11 to Katrina.” This book is about how the Bush administration, with their willing accomplices in the media have made a casualty of truth. It is not, as one might expect it to be, a compilation of his NY Times op ed pieces, but a well ordered, easy to read overview of what lies were told, when, by whom and to whom. Good stuff. I doubt that any Republican would get past ten pages though. Although Rich offers plenty of concrete examp ...more

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Dec 29, 2007 Samantha rated it liked it · review of another edition

I expected a lot more from this book because Frank Rich wrote it. I had seen him on some news programs about current and cultural events and knew he had written for the NY Times. I just wanted it to be more. I felt like it was a laundry list of events without detailed explanation and analysis. I thought Mr. Rich was going to give his take on events and actions, but he chose to just present them in the order that has now been discovered that they happened in. He's looking back on things that happ ...more

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Jan 29, 2009 Jon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a very interesting read. Most people know the media bends the facts and skew things to fit some agenda. But what happens when a government does this? Hires people to fake news? Fake truth? And how do they get away with it? Anyone of any political persuaion should read this book. Just because this is a critque of a Republican administration doesn't mean they are the only ones to have done this. People need to develop a healthy skepticisim and NOT buy into the Limbaughs and O'Reilly's of t ...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Barbara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

everyone was starting to salivate over bush last week as he opened his library so i read this book to recap his tenure in office. anyone who had someone killed or injured in iraq or, for that matter, any iraqi, should be irate that bush, cheney, rumsfeld, rice, wolfowitz, feitz, powell and rove are not rotting in jail for their crimes. i followed all this in real time but seeing it all presented in one book made it stunningly clear how dangerous it is to elect a shallow-thinking ambitious person ...more

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May 10, 2009 Alison rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Just when you thought you'd been furious with the Bush administration for the last time, another book comes along to get your blood boiling all over again. Rich concentrates on the "selling" part of everything from the wars to Katrina, with emphasis on the complicity of the media. Compelling reading. And there's even a "final word" on why we went into Iraq--which is more cynical than any I had heard before but pretty convincing when you've read the whole saga. And the man can write. ...more

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Feb 19, 2017 Bren rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, biographical-and-autobiographical, political-non-fiction, educational, read-and-reviewed

Read it awhile ago. I was not a fan of Bush though he looks like Prince Charming next to who have we now.

The book goes over everything from 9/11 t o Katrina and does not take it easy on the Bush administration at all .

It also offers the reader alot of information about what was going on behind the scenes. An incredible read but guarenteed to get your blood boiling so maybe read it when you are in a bit of a mellow mood.

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Mar 04, 2008 Travis Kirk rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: political, sociology

A quality Bush/Media bashing book, though not quite as good as Al Gore's "The Assualt on Reason". This books focuses on the media's complicity in feeding lies to the public rather than pointing out the ignorance of the masses as the blame. ...more

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Sep 03, 2017 Richard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history

this tells you a lot about the bushes and cheney and rumsfeld ...

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Apr 29, 2018 Lesley rated it it was ok · review of another edition

The only reason it gets 2 stars is because a of the few points that were presented seemed as though the author was grasping, therefor making everything a little suspect.

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Oct 03, 2019 Eric Grunder rated it really liked it · review of another edition

If you think politial spin at the top began with the Trump administration, think again.

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Jul 04, 2012 Tucker rated it liked it · review of another edition

The organizing principle of this book is clear: It is a comprehensive list of everything the Bush administration did wrong, big and small, in the arguments leading up to the war in Iraq and in the handling of the war itself, until 2006 when this book was published. If you cannot name any of these mistakes, you would do well to choose this book; if you're basically familiar with the accusations that eventually came to light in the press, you won't learn anything new, but you might still appreciat The organizing principle of this book is clear: It is a comprehensive list of everything the Bush administration did wrong, big and small, in the arguments leading up to the war in Iraq and in the handling of the war itself, until 2006 when this book was published. If you cannot name any of these mistakes, you would do well to choose this book; if you're basically familiar with the accusations that eventually came to light in the press, you won't learn anything new, but you might still appreciate having all the references to the famous gaffes and falsehoods in a single volume.

The author strongly criticizes the "spin" that the Bush administration put on the war, that is, he argues that they used a propagandist slant that selectively ignored reality. The problem is that the author could be criticized for doing the same thing. The book is several hundred pages long; each page includes several points on which the Bush administration did something ridiculous or deceptive. So there are about a thousand negative statements about the presidency. Notably, there is not a single positive statement about the Bush presidency anywhere in the book. There is not a single mention of anything he did right. It is one long rant about everything wrong.

I am not the best person to defend the Bush administration. I'm not fluent in the "other side's" talking points and I don't wish to be. Yet it seems to me that even if a president set out to deliberately commit a thousand sins, he would do at least one thing right by accident. The author's inability or refusal to identify anything that the Bush administration might have done well indicates that the author, too, is creating a work of spin.

Some of his complaints against the Bush administration are more serious than others. That military officials attended an inaugural ball where a war journalist joked that he was overpaid and the musical performers sang "Clap your hands!" to the amputee soldiers in attendance is surely a minor embarrassment compared to the allegation that the invasion of Iraq was based on false information and that the entire war was mishandled.

Missing from this book is any sustained attempt to inquire into the administration's motive for lying or otherwise coloring the truth about Iraq. "If Bush, Cheney, and company were lying to themselves at the same time they were lying to the country," Rich writes, "the best that can be said in their defense is that they made the same tragic error of all propagandists who come to ruin: they fell for their own scam." But why was there a scam in the first place? This question will be left to other psychologists and historians. ...more

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Feb 12, 2010 Steven Peterson rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is a book that gets one to thinking, but it can also irritate one.
Its unremittingly critical tone toward the Bush Administration puts one off. Goodness knows that the Bush Administration engaged in "Swift Boating" at the slightest provocation (i.e., if one disagree with the official Administration line), but critics might better refrain from going over the top.

Nonetheless, that said, the volume is interesting and valuable reading. By now, it is clear that much of the information used to j This is a book that gets one to thinking, but it can also irritate one.
Its unremittingly critical tone toward the Bush Administration puts one off. Goodness knows that the Bush Administration engaged in "Swift Boating" at the slightest provocation (i.e., if one disagree with the official Administration line), but critics might better refrain from going over the top.

Nonetheless, that said, the volume is interesting and valuable reading. By now, it is clear that much of the information used to justify the invasion of Iraq was bogus, whether through honest errors or through manipulation. The book provides ample illustration of such errors and certainly suggests that there was some degree of manipulation of information to "hype" the case for war.

Rich's book argues that both the media and the so-called "loyal opposition," Democrats, were unwilling to explore the contentions and evidence advanced by the Administration in the run up to the Iraqi invasion. They accepted without much reflection the "spin" of the Administration, its constructions of reality. If accurate, of course, this reflects poorly on the political system's ability to develop "checks and balances" to address key issues. Democrats appear to have been cowed by the political implications of resisting the movement toward war; some media figures appeared all too willing to join the Administration's "spin" machine.

One additional twist to the volume is the inclusion of a nearly eighty page appendix at the end, in which Rich notes in the left hand column what the Administration knew and, listed in the right hand column, what it was expressing publicly. By juxtaposing the two, readers can assess in their own minds the extent to which the Administration was spinning when it was aware that evidence did not live up to public expressions. This is a most intriguing, and useful, feature of this book.

While this book would be more effective with less anger, it is a valuable part of the discourse on the "War on Terror" that adds considerably to the larger discussion.
...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Richard Gill rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

The Greatest Story Ever Sold
By Frank Rich

I’ve had this Audio book for quite a while but it took me a long time to get to it. It wasn’t because I was too busy, but I think because I was afraid to read it. The title itself provides a strong indication of what the contents might contain, and suggests the book will provide at least a summary of the author’s research that led to his conclusion. Frank Rich did not disappoint. He uses certifiable facts to build a case proving the second Bush adminis ...more

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Feb 07, 2016 Greg rated it liked it · review of another edition

I think what I liked most about this book was that it reminded me of the feelings I was having during the years following the 9/11 attacks and wondering if it was so wrong to not feel a particular sense of pride in the country or patriotism surrounding our decisions to go to war and engage in war in the ways we did. I won't pretend I had a full understanding of the situation and the issues the world and America were facing(I was quote young and didn't even remotely read a newspaper or otherwise ...more

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Sep 02, 2011 David rated it liked it · review of another edition

pretty thorough takedown of the G. W. Bush administration on the theme that they were incompetent, manipulative (esp. of the mainstream media, who come in for a lot of bashing here), and deceitful. Most of the focus is on the run-up to the Iraq War, but there is also Hurricane Katrina recovery effort etc. Helpful timeline in the back of the book contrasts what document discovery shows was known when vs. what was said publicly about the hunt for Weapons of Mass Destruction (or "weapons of mass de ...more

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Sep 01, 2008 Michel rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: pol

Nothing new, alas…
"Why, of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can hope for is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war, not in Russia, not in England, not in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy ...more

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Nov 21, 2007 Sonny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: people are concerned about our country

If you follow Frank Rich in the NYT, you can think of this book as one long column about one thing. Rich defends his premise in an organized and data-driven manner which, although I'm already pre-disposed to believe, try to remain skeptical even to my own point of view. If his perspective can be refuted, I'd like to see it.And if this is even close to truth, we've got some criminals in the Bush administration. Read this to validate your opinions, win bets and arguments with in-laws by providing ...more

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Aug 09, 2009 David rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book is exactly what it says it is: a comparison of the official Bush administration story with the truth, all the way from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina. After 9/11 the administration began a long campaign to increase its power, a campaign that was ultimately exposed for what it was in the aftermath of the hurricane and the government's handling of it.
There isn't really anything new here, as it came out in 2006 and many of the stories in this timeline have already been told. Mostly this is jus ...more

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May 24, 2011 Catherine rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mainstream-us, work, 2011, afghanistan, iraq

A readable, well-written summary of the selling of the Iraq war to the American public, The Greatest Story is perhaps most compelling in the last third of the book, where Rich provides a side-by-side timeline of what the Bush administration knew, and what it was telling the public was true. Each item in the timeline is meticulously sourced, and the original citations of the newspaper articles, books, and reports Rich references are easily found in the footnotes to the main chapters. It makes for ...more

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About Frank Rich

Frank Rich

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Frank Rich is a columnist (and former chief theater critic) for The New York Times who focuses on American politics and popular culture. His column ran on the front page of the Sunday arts and leisure section from 2003 to 2005; it now appears in the expanded Sunday Week in Review section.