Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-up

by Lawrence E. Walsh

In its chilling and unsparing revelations, Firewall is the definitive account of the most dangerous breach of presidential authority since Watergate. With Ronald Reagan's knowledge and support, the United States attempted to trade arms for hostages held by Iranian terrorists; some of the secret money then funded the guerrilla activities of the Nicaraguan Contras, a counter-revolutionary group that Congress had specifically forbidden the administration to support. In this historic, first-person account, the independent counsel in the Iran-Contra investigation exposes the extraordinary duplicity of the highest officials of the Reagan administration and the paralyzing effects of the cover-up.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, American History, United States

544 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bold in its exhaustiveness, though perhaps the pace suffers for it. I am impressed by the law (good law, I mean) for its fetishization of rigor and Walsh proudly struts this trait here, eager for a forum where he can be applauded for it, instead of criticized by impatient media and Congress.

I picked up the book because I suspected that the topic was more important and more complex than the forty-five minutes we spent on it in 12th grade American History, and boy was I right. If you've got two months to spend completing the education you should have already received, this is precisely the right book.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book after being told that the Ukraine affair that currently plagues the nation is more like a Iran-Contra than it is like Watergate or the Clinton impeachment. Reading this help me understand that this comparison is absolutely true.

It’s uncanny to hear the same arguments - sometimes by the same people - in this book about an old scandal as what we hear daily from the House and Senate. Overall, given the similarity between that historical moment and this one, this shows me that the United States and our people have come through horrible times like these before, and that we can do so again.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly detailed story of the experiences of the Independent Council, Lawrence E. Walsh, and his team in unraveling the details in the Iran-Contra conspiracy. These cases took a long time, because the deck was really stacked against Walsh. It is not a light read, being 544 pages on the Iran-Contra investigation, but this well-organized book really explained the scandal, the coverup, and the court cases.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walsh was the independent counsel who prosecuted the Iran-Contra conspiracy. The events of the conspiracy itself are disposed of in the first chapter, and the remainder of this thick (500+ page) volume consists of of an intensely detailed account of the investigation, and the ways in which many in government (notable George Bush and Bob Dole) tried to interfere with the investigation in order to prevent Reagan for being held to any accountability.

Consisting primarily of discussions of legal strategies, this is not at all a casual read, but a vital document for anyone researching Republican interference with the rule of law.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repetitive and lifeless.

[Luke White · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good lord this book is boring. Honestly, if you’re interested in Iran-Contra just read the Wikipedia page.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating account but definitely one for the cognoscenti, if not perhaps only for those with legal minds. This is an exhaustive and exhausting narrative, going into the sort of detail needed to assess the legal niceties. But it does give a strong impression of the sheer weight of evidence about the Iran-Contra conspiracy, and the complicity of everyone from Reagan and Bush downwards.

Strangely, given subsequent events, there is no mention of drugs. I've just moved on to Gary Webb's 'Dark Alliance', on which the film 'Kill the Messenger' is partly based. This shows there was a whole other side to the Contra scandal that Lawrence walsh never touched. It also shows that - contrary to the impression he sometimes gives - the Contras were not 'freedom fighters' so much as freedom destroyers, blowing up schools, torturing captives and generally attempting to create hell on earth in the parts of Nicaragua in which they marauded during the 1980s.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

gets three stars for going into incredible detail on an interesting topic. which it well should considering author was Special Counsel in investigation of Iran Contra. But man... get a ghost-writer. Reads like a 500 page legal brief.

[Pallavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

so much information i could not even decide whether Reagan himself should have been impeached....

[Toby Galloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good first hand-account of the special committee's investigation of the Iran-Contra scandal