Though the book is not "out" until next Monday, Obama's Wars is getting a lot of pre-publication review.NYTimes: "Woodward Book Says Afghanistan Divided White House." http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/world/asia/22policy.html?ref=politicsWashPost: "Bob Woodward book details Obama battles with advisers over exit plan for Afghan war." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/21/AR2010092106706.html?hpid=topnewsMike Allen, "Playbook,"The book is net-positive for Obama, portraying him as thoughtful, decisive, seeking advice, and knowing what he knows and what he doesn't." I guess we'll see about that. http://www.politico.com/playbook/0910/playbook1181.htmlThe reigning conspiracy theory has been that Petraeus & Co., in securing a troop increase, boxed in the President; these stories suggest that Woodward has a different story to tell.The impact on the Afghanistan review in December looms large and the promised drawdown in July 2011 even larger. We shall see! Anyone here actually read the book yet?

Margaret O’Brien Steinfels is a former editor of Commonweal. 

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