Reviewing these two books together makes a great deal of sense, since both deal with the deception and lies committed by US Presidents since World War II. The basic differences in the two books are that War Made Easy looks at the concurrent deception of both US President's and the US Media, whereas Lying for Empire focuses on the deception of US Presidents and the resulting war crimes committed by each administration.

In Lying for Empire, author David Model looks at the administrations of Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton and Dubya. Norman Solomon, author of War Made Easy, begins with the Johnson administration and continues up to and including the present administration. Solomon focuses a great deal on the US media's collaboration with the official position during the Vietnam War. Despite popular belief that the US media was antagonistic to the war in Southeast Asia, Solomon demonstrates that the US news media were basically stenographers to power. One case in point is the US government's lie about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which justified a major US escalation of the war in Vietnam. It never happened, there is no record of a North Vietnamese attack on the US, and even former Johnson administration Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara admits there was deception. Did the US news media scrutinize this lie? On the contrary, the US media was an echo chamber for the administration. In the words of Washington Post reporter Murrey Marder "If you were making a retraction (for the Gulf of Tonkin story), you'd have to make a retraction of virtually everyone's entire coverage of the Vietnam War."

Model, in Lying for Empire, identifies several strategies employed by US administrations, that are then embraced and promoted through the media, what the author calls a "pattern of lies." These strategies are: a government propaganda campaign, embedding reporters, the use of language, demonizing the enemy, the need to demonstrate that the US are liberators, marginalizing dissent, an imperative to conceal the real motives for the policy, falsifying evidence, coverage of only American deaths, and the possible use of covert forces when necessary. Solomon follows a similar pattern in War Made Easy since he uses themes to present his case about administration lies and media complicity, themes such as "This is About Human Rights" or " "Opposing the War Means Siding with the Enemy."

Both books are very timely for two main reasons. First, they demonstrate that government deception has been integral to US policy despite who occupies the White House, and secondly, that the US media has failed to hold power accountable for decades. Both books should help make the case that the current administration is just continuing long held traditions and policy decisions to further Empire. If those of us who are committed to serious change in the US are to confront the policies of the current administration our analysis must acknowledge that wars and economic hegemony are what all administrations have pursued in favor of Empire. In the closing chapter of Lying for Empire, the author looks at the traits of a psychopath to see if Bush fits the basic traits. The author concludes that he does, but then states "What this means is that no person in either the Democratic or Republican Party could be a serious contender for their party's nomination if they were not prepared to maintain and expand the American empire. The imperatives of empire have become larger than any one person, even the President. His job is to lie and serve empire."