By His Own Rules: The Ambitions, Successes, and Ultimate Failures of Donald Rumsfeld

by Bradley Graham

A penetrating political biography of the controversial Defense Secretary, by a longtime military affairs correspondent for the Washington Post.

Once considered among the best and brightest of his generation, Donald Rumsfeld was exceptionally prepared to assume the Pentagon's top job in 2001. Yet six years later, he left office as the most controversial Defense Secretary since Robert McNamara, widely criticized for his management of the Iraq war and for his difficult relationships with Congress, administration colleagues, and military officers. Was he really the arrogant, errant, over-controlling Pentagon leader frequently portrayed--or as his supporters contend, a brilliant, hard-charging visionary caught in a whirl of polarized Washington politics, dysfunctional federal bureaucracy, and bad luck?

Bradley Graham, who closely covered Rumsfeld's challenging tenure at the Pentagon, offers an insightful biography of a complex and immensely influential personality. What emerges is a layered and revealing portrait of a man whose impact on U.S. national security affairs will long out-live him.

Genres: Biography, History, Military Fiction

753 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 27, 2008

Reviews

[Sue Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I waited patiently for my copy of this book for over a year as the publication deadline kept being extended because I wanted to try to understand Donald Rumsfeld. I'd been opposed to the invasion of Iraq, but had been charmed by Rumsfeld in his early briefings as things progressed. His infamous dismissal of "stuff happens" as the looting took hold, though, made me take a second look at him, and as the postwar problems increased, I kept wanting to know how it had all gotten away from him.

In the end, the wait for "By His Own Rules" was worth it. I agree with the criticism that Bradley Graham needed a stronger editor .... I don't think the book needed to be as long as it is. But he writes a compelling biography of Rumsfeld that was compulsively readable. It didn't change my mind about Rumsfeld's mismanagement of the war; details of the lengths to which Rumsfeld fought for control of power at the expense of giving the army and the postwar planners the people and support they needed left me shaking my head, as did his seeming detachment as things went wrong. But Bradley does draw a complex picture of Rumsfeld that gives the reader glimpses of a different side of him when it came to friendships and family, and a clear understanding of how his personality led him to be the kind of Secretary of Defense he was. I'd recommend the book highly to anyone who wants to try to understand Donald Rumsfeld .... my only reason for not giving the book a full five stars was my reservations over the length of it.

[TR Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

You always have to wonder, when a book is 803 pages, if the author is too vain to accept feedback from an editor. In this case, I think it was just a weak editor. For all the seriousness with which Mr. Graham approaches his subject and as much as he'd probably be disgusted with the comparison ... you have to take his book in the same category as Woodward. Political fiction/gossip/probably some truth to the themes, but essentially a cereal box version of a biography. Rumsfeld is a fascinating character, so all the research and opinions about him and his style are pretty interesting. But, I found myself reading pretty fast through the 'he hurt people feelings' and 'wasn't a team player' parts. From what I can tell, the military complex of generals isn't exempt from being wrong nor do they seem to be a particularly humble group. I like the idea of a strong SecDef to balance out the very strong ideas and views of the military brass. Even through the author considered this point a criticism of Rumsfeld, his career is entirely about going on offense, rather than play defense, and I consider that an admirable and correct thing. I'll be interested to get other views on the whole post Iraq thing ... which Rumsfeld get's blamed for. Didn't feel like anyone has a complete picture of that yet.

I liked the book because I learned a lot about Rumsfeld ... but was not convinced by the author that he was a stubborn, cantankerous fool. Tough and not a real kissy huggy type ... but more strategic that he is given credit for. Hope he get's a more balanced view of his contribution, over time.

[Paul Heidebrecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure why I plowed through a 700-page book about a guy I don't like. I guess because he's a native Illinoisan. Actually, some of my impressions of him were not accurate and I understand him a lot better now. I can also see why we got ourselves into such a mess in Iraq. Tragically, thousands of people died needlessly.

[Anthony Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thorough look at Rumsfeld's life and career, the book gives credit to the former Defense Secretary for his early and vigorous career, but sends a perhaps unintended warning about the perils of letting folks over 70 into the cabinet. Worthwhile if you are particularly interested in the minutiae of defense policy, but could have benefited from tracking historical events a little more closely.

[Eric B. Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

i have advice about reading this book: skip the intro, enjoy the early years, and skim quotes. i wrote an unconventional review of this book which you can check out here:

http://therumpus.net/2009/07/the-rump...

(the review includes the following one sentence summary)

By His Own Rules, in which a middle class wrestler kid from the Midwest goes to Princeton on scholarship, fails to become a Navy fighter pilot, serves in Congress, learns hardball politics under Nixon, tries it out under Ford, earns big bucks and a cutthoat reputation as a CEO, launches a failed presidential bid, vanishes, returns as a triumphant cranky old man to transform the military but ends up launching and botching two wars although not without help from the Armed Services and his friends.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bradley Graham's biography of Donald Rumsfeld is very much a journalist's book. Primarily focused on recounting events, he mainly relies on the words of his interviewees to convey judgments and offer interpretations. This gives his subject (whom Graham interviewed several times for the book) an opportunity to offer his own explanation for events. It is perhaps because of this, though, that Graham's depiction of Rumsfeld as a domineering Secretary of Defense too committed to his interpretation of events to brook dissent is so damming. Though it's focus on Rumsfeld's tenure as defense secretary under George W. Bush (which takes up two-thirds of the book) limits its value as a biography, it is unlikely to be surpassed for some time for its assessment of Rumsfeld's service in a time of crisis and war.

[Opa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though the author did not like him and had his own agenda for writing the book, he could not obfuscate Mr. Rumsfeld's integrity or his drive to improve everything he touched. The man was inspirational.

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long and boring but somebody has to do it.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll save you the time and trouble of reading 700 pages: He's an asshole.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great gift for graduates