What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception

by Scott McClellan Narrated by Scott McClellan

Overview

In the bestselling book that provoked a media sensation, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan takes readers behind the scenes of the presidency of George W. Bush.

McClellan belonged to Bush's select inner circle of trusted advisors during one of the most challenging and contentious periods of recent history. Over a period of more than seven years, he witnessed day-to-day exactly how the presidency veered off course: not only by its decision to topple Saddam Hussein but by an embrace of confrontational politics in the face of an increasingly partisan Washington and hostile media.

In this refreshingly clear-eyed book, McClellan provides unique perspective on what happened and why it happened the way it did, including the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina, and two hotly contested presidential campaigns. He gives readers a candid look into who George W. Bush is and what he believes and explores the lessons this presidency offers the American people as we look to the future.

Editorial Reviews

Scott McClellan was there: From 2003 to 2006, he served as White House press secretary, functioning daily as one of President Bush's inner circle. What Happened is neither a conventional apologia or a critique: "This is not a book to settle scores or enhance my own role, for better or worse…as a member of the President's senior staff. What I want to do is write in detail about what I know and what I learned in hopes that this account will place the events of the time, particularly after September 11, 2001, into a framework that make sense to me, to readers and later, to historians." To achieve his purpose, McClellan writes candidly about the president, the vice president, and their advisers; Iraq and the war on terror; Congress and the media.

Seattle Times

The former press secretary of President Bush (No. 43 version) empties out his notebooks, and all of Washington will be holding its breath.

JUNE 2008 - AudioFile

When it comes to lying, tone of voice is the best way we can tell. It was the exact right choice to have President Bush’s former White House press secretary read his own book. He’s got an strong, even baritone, with just a fringe of his Texas background. McClellan’s a professional and speaks clearly and with conviction. We believe him. On the other hand, he is a professional and sounds as if he might be reading about somebody else. He sounds an even-tempered, likable guy. But that’s how he sounded when he was living the life he now so regrets. Is he a great actor, or no actor at all? I wouldn’t know how to bet. But the drama of that question makes this timely book a thrilling piece of audio. B.H.C. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169551204
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	06/02/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.

There was one problem. It was not true.

I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the President himself.

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