In My Time; A Personal and Political Memoir

Cheney, Dick, with Cheney, Liz

ISBN 10: 1439176191 / ISBN 13: 9781439176191

Published by Threshold Editions, New York, 2011

[8], 565, [1] p. Illustrations (some in color). Notes. Index. Signed by author. Slight crease/bend to several early pages. Inscribed on fep. Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney (born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who was the 46th Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009, under President George W. Bush. Cheney attended the University of Wyoming, where he earned a BA and an MA in Political Science, and began his political career as an intern for Congressman William A. Steiger, eventually working his way into the White House during the Nixon and Ford administrations, where he served as the White House Chief of Staff, from 1975 to 1977. In 1978, Cheney was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Wyoming's At-large congressional district from 1979 to 1989; he was reelected five times, briefly serving as House Minority Whip in 1989. Cheney was selected to be the Secretary of Defense during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, holding the position for the majority of Bush's term from 1989 to 1993. Cheney oversaw the 1991 Operation Desert Storm, among other actions. Cheney was chairman and CEO of Halliburton Company from 1995 to 2000. During Cheney's tenure as Vice President, he played a lead behind the scenes role in Bush Administration's response to the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks and coordination of the War on Terror. He was a proponent of the Iraq War and defender of the Administration's record on terrorism. In 2011, Cheney published his memoir In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir, written with daughter Liz Cheney. In his #1 New York Times bestseller, former Vice President Dick Cheney delivers a forty-year portrait of American politics and shares unyielding reflections on his role as one of the most steadfast and influential statesmen in the history of our country. In his enlightening and provocative memoirâ "a stately page-turner with flashes of surprising humor, remarkable candor, and powerful resonanceâ "former Vice President Dick Cheney takes readers through his experiences as family man, policymaker, businessman, and politician during years that shaped our collective history. Eyewitness to events at the highest levels, Dick Cheney brings to life scenes from past and present: He chronicles his coming-of-age as a high school athlete in Casper, Wyoming, and courting homecoming queen Lynn Vincent, his future wife. He describes driving through the White House gates just hours after the 1974 resignation of Richard Nixon, to manage the Ford transition. He portrays his response to the national crisis of 9/11, when he conveyed orders from the White House bunker to shoot down a hijacked airliner if it would not divert. And he reveals how his political vision has endured through his extraordinary ascent to the heights of American public life. Derived from a Kirkus review: Cheney is a company man through and through, a servant of Republicans from the time of LBJ to the recent pastâ "if there is anything to be learned from this memoir, it is that. The author opens with the outrage of 9/11, in which one thought was foremost on his mind, apart from clearing the sky of planes: namely, "guaranteeing the continuity of a functioning United States government." In this, he writes, he was the essential element without which that continuity was unsustainable. Cheney's memoir is political to the extent that he plays the games of hardball politics with everyone he meets, and he makes sure to constantly remind readers of American supremacy. Colin Powell was his ally until his taste for the war in Iraq weakened, whereupon it was clear to Cheney that Powell had to go. Ditto Condoleezza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld. Cheney's take on the world is scholarly, much like that of Henry Kissinger. He is methodical, as when he carefully accounts for his holdings in a certain corporation at the time of his vice presidency: The underlying point of the book is that Bush/Cheney were right in invading Iraq. Let the r. Seller Inventory # 67838

Synopsis:

In this eagerly anticipated memoir, former Vice President Dick Cheney delivers an unyielding portrait of American politics over nearly forty years and shares personal reflections on his role as one of the most steadfast and influential statesmen in the history of our country.

The public perception of Dick Cheney has long been something of a contradiction. He has been viewed as one of the most powerful vice presidents-secretive, even mysterious, and at the same time opinionated and unflinchingly outspoken. He has been both praised and attacked by his peers, the press, and the public. Through it all, courting only the ideals that define him, he has remained true to himself, his principles, his family, and his country. Now in an enlightening and provocative memoir, a stately page-turner with flashes of surprising humor and remarkable candor, Dick Cheney takes readers through his experiences as family man, policymaker, businessman, and politician during years that shaped our collective history.

Born into a family of New Deal Democrats in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney was the son of a father at war and a high-spirited and resilient mother. He came of age in Casper, Wyoming, playing baseball and football and, as senior class president, courting homecoming queen Lynne Vincent, whom he later married. This all-American story took an abrupt turn when he flunked out of Yale University, signed on to build power line in the West, and started living as hard as he worked. Cheney tells the story of how he got himself back on track and began an extraordinary ascent to the heights of American public life, where he would remain for nearly four decades:

* He was the youngest White House Chief of Staff, working for President Gerald Ford--the first of four chief executives he would come to know well.

* He became Congressman from Wyoming and was soon a member of the congressional leadership working closely with President Ronald Reagan.

* He became secretary of defense in the George H. W. Bush administration, overseeing America's military during Operation Desert Storm and in the historic transition at the end of the Cold War.

* He was CEO of Halliburton, a Fortune 500 company with projects and personnel around the globe.

* He became the first vice president of the United States to serve out his term of office in the twenty-first century. Working with George W. Bush from the beginning of the global war on terror, he was--and remains--an outspoken defender of taking every step necessary to defend the nation.

Eyewitness to history at the highest levels, Cheney brings to life scenes from past and present. He describes driving through the White House gates on August 9, 1974, just hours after Richard Nixon resigned, to begin work on the Ford transition; and he portrays a time of national crisis a quarter century later when, on September 11, 2001, he was in the White House bunker and conveyed orders to shoot down a hijacked airliner if it would not divert With its unique perspective on a remarkable span of American history, In My Time will enlighten. As an intimate and personal chronicle, it will surprise, move, and inspire. Dick Cheney's is an enduring political vision to be reckoned with and admired for its honesty, its wisdom, and its resonance. In My Time is truly the last word about an incredible political era, by a man who lived it and helped define it--with courage and without compromise.

About the Author:

Dick Cheney served at the highest levels of government and the private sector for more than forty years. He was White House Chief of Staff under President Gerald Ford and Secretary of Defense under President George H.W. Bush, overseeing America’s military during the 1991 Operation Desert Storm. Elected six times to the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming, he eventually became House Minority Whip. As the forty-sixth Vice President of the United States, he served two terms under President George W. Bush during the dawn of the Global War on Terror, playing a key role in events that have shaped history.

Bibliographic Details

Title: In My Time; A Personal and Political Memoir
Publisher: Threshold Editions, New York
Publication Date: 2011
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Near fine
Dust Jacket Condition: Very good
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: First edition. First printing [stated].