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The Great Rift: Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and the Broken Friendship That Defined an Era by James Mann tells about the careers of the two men and how they constantly intertwine since the 1970s. Mr. Mann wrote several books about politics and national security issues.

I always admired Colin Powell, and had a healthy respect of Dick Cheney, but I never had any idea that the two worked closely together for decades, or that they were great friends. The Great Rift: Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and the Broken Friendship That Defined an Era by James Mann tries to analyze this friendly, cordial, yet complex relationship between the two powerful men.

The book follows 4 decades of public service, from Mr. Powel’s service in Vietnam and Mr. Cheney’s entrance to government, to the administration of George W. Bush (43). The two men became great friends, but fell apart in later years.

While Cheney’s career was made in the halls of power in Washington, Powell witnessed the Army’s actions in Vietnam and the sting of it. Cheney was always remote, but Powell’s personal warmth helped him immensely. The two men, however, both possess great bureaucratic prowess, and a talent to find powerful mentors who pushed them, and gave them the tools to succeed.

Serving together under President George H. W. Bush (41), the two men saw eye to eye. Mr. Cheney was the Secretary of Defense, while Powell was Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The two orchestrated a textbook implementation of the Powell Doctrine (a clear objective, overwhelming force, and political backing) of the war.

The narrative tells of how the two man fell apart during the presidency of George W. Bush (43) and his 2003 push to invade Iraq. It was depressing to read how a great man like Collin Powell was unable to muster political courage and moral valor which were necessary to counteract Dick Cheney’s plans. While reading this part I could only wonder what would have happened if Powell resigned in protest during those times, even though hindsight is 20/20 and I’m sure Mr. Powell felt he needed to be next to the inexperienced President instead of simply leaving.

To this day I remember Mr. Powell’s speech to the UN, I was watching it with my father, both of us had tremendous respect for h im. At end, my father turned to me and said: “even he doesn’t believe it”.

I remember during the 2000 election, those who decided to vote for Bush said it was because of “the team he’s putting together”. Many people thought that if Bush (43) would make a mistake, a bunch of seasoned professionals would be there to step in and save the day. Colin Powell was viewed as the leader of that group, but as the book points out this was not to be the case.

The last book I read about dealing with former Vice President Dick Cheney was Peter Baker's great work Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House which told the story of Cheney's relationship with former President George W. Bush. James Mann's book tells the story of the relationship between Cheney and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. This excellent book chronicles their 40 years of public service from the Vietnam era to the Second Bush Administration. Mann does a great job showing how Powell's and Cheney's views on government and foreign policy have mostly stayed consistent throughout their careers. Powell, since his service in Vietnam, tended to be hesitant in advocating for military force while Cheney, who never served, took the opposite position. Mann writes how they became friends during the Reagan administration. However the rest of the book, as the title states, answers the following question: What happened between Cheney and Powell? If you are like me then you think the cause was the Second Iraq War which ended their partnership. Mann argues that Iraq was important but that the roots of the rift started a decade prior. In one sentence the answer is this: It's nothing personal it's just politics. Read the book to learn more.

As a conservative/republican I enjoyed learning more about these two men. It saddens me that there was a rift but I enjoyed learning more

This was an interesting read about Dick Cheney and Colin Powell. It spans the arc of their respective careers and gives a behind the scenes look into how each thought, acted, and strategized. If you're interested in the Iraq War, Desert Storm, or either Powell or Cheney, this would be a good book to pick up.

The Great Rift: Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and the Broken Friendship That Defined an Era by James Mann is a book I requested and the review is voluntary. I learned a lot about both men in this book. I did have a 'rock star' view of Colin Powell until he lied about the pictures but I found out in the book he had his hands in dirty places in the Iran/Contra affair which I didn't know and he was pardoned for. I knew a lot of people were pardoned and that the guilty went to the VP but claimed not to the President. Just watching the news is enough to see shady dealings with Dick Chaney, his oil company, and more. Reading this book you get a look behind the scenes and see he planned for a very long time to give the President a lot of power like he had designs on it in advance. It didn't matter how he got what he wanted either. The story tells how each grows up, which is totally opposite and how they end up meeting and working together. Rumsfield and other key actors are in there too with comments on how they interacted with those people.
This book was not only a wonderful view into the two men's lives but a good history lesson to boot. I loved the easy writing style which made understanding the situations and men easier.