Book Description
In this age of uncertainty we are all looking for answers. Every day we cope with another report. Anthrax in New York, Florida and Washington, D.C. Arrests nationwide. Threats from Afghanistan. While we may not be able to stop terrorism, we can stop terror. Fear Less shows readers how to manage their own fear and enhance their own safety. It anwers the questions we are currently asking. Where can I be safe? What is the risk of further attacks? How can I protect my family? Is it okay to be afraid? What should I avoid? At this moment, its hard to imagine a more important, more comforting, and more necessary book. The world may not be all right, but you can be, with Fear Less.
Customer Reviews:
A Terrific Book.......2007-04-20
This book calms down silly fears and brings rational thought and analysis to what is truly to be feared and what is not. Very good reading.
Fear Less by Gavin DeBeckker.......2006-07-17
This book was purchased and sent to Iraq to my grandson
who is in the Military Police in Baghdad. He should be
home on a two-week leave next month.
So, I can't review the book. He has the second book by
Gavin DeBeckker, which I purchased from your company and
has indicated he thought it was very good and helpful.
Elizabeth Ergovich
Great Quick Read.......2006-02-13
Quick easy read. I wish I had read this right after 9/11 as it has taken me some time to come to the same conclusions this book offers. Even though that is when this book was written to be read, it didn't hurt to get some reasurance I am now on the right track. I like de Becker's style. He seems like a real classy guy.
Excellent Ideas.......2005-09-02
Another hit from Gavin De Becker. Once again his common sense, see-it-for-what-it-is approach is on the mark. After reading this book you will not look at the news media the same, if you care to look at it much at all! The scare tactics thrown in our faces every day take on an almost comical appearance when you see them for what they are. Do yourself a favor and do as the title suggests, read this book and fear less.
Good Read.......2005-05-15
de Becker does a good job at putting the risks of terrorism into perspective with other risks we face everyday. Also, de Becker encourages the reader to be informed and aware of situations that could be indicators of trouble. Well worth the read.
Book Description
Charles Perrow is famous worldwide for his ideas about normal accidents, the notion that multiple and unexpected failures--catastrophes waiting to happen--are built into our society's complex systems. In The Next Catastrophe, he offers crucial insights into how to make us safer, proposing a bold new way of thinking about disaster preparedness.
Perrow argues that rather than laying exclusive emphasis on protecting targets, we should reduce their size to minimize damage and diminish their attractiveness to terrorists. He focuses on three causes of disaster--natural, organizational, and deliberate--and shows that our best hope lies in the deconcentration of high-risk populations, corporate power, and critical infrastructures such as electric energy, computer systems, and the chemical and food industries. Perrow reveals how the threat of catastrophe is on the rise, whether from terrorism, natural disasters, or industrial accidents. Along the way, he gives us the first comprehensive history of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security and examines why these agencies are so ill equipped to protect us.
The Next Catastrophe is a penetrating reassessment of the very real dangers we face today and what we must do to confront them. Written in a highly accessible style by a renowned systems-behavior expert, this book is essential reading for the twenty-first century. The events of September 11 and Hurricane Katrina--and the devastating human toll they wrought--were only the beginning. When the next big disaster comes, will we be ready?
Customer Reviews:
Too much politics, too little thoughtful analysis.......2007-05-17
Perrow's book, Normal Accidents, is a classic in its field. I purchased The Next Catastrophe assuming that it would be a worthy successor. Boy, was I disappointed. Instead of careful argumentation, Perrow gives political commentary, based on nothing more than his own biases and preconceived notions. Normal Accidents was marred in a few places by clear political bias, but the overall analysis of the book was so well-done that overlooking those few places was easy. This is not true of The Next Catastrophe, in which good analysis and argumentation is hard to find amidst the diatribe. If you are interested in knowing about Perrow's political views, buy this book; otherwise, do not waste your money.
Book Description
Central banks and stock exchanges are bombed. Suicide bombers ravage cinemas, nightclubs, and theaters. Planes crash into skyscrapers and government buildings. Multiple bombs explode on commuter trains. Thousands of people are killed and injured while millions are terrorized by these attacks.
These scenarios could be part of a future Hollywood movie. Sadly, they are representative of previous terror attacks against industry and government interests worldwide. Moreover, they are harbingers of global terror threats.
Industry constitutes a prime target of contemporary terrorism. This timely book analyzes the threats companies face due to terrorism, industry responses to these dangers, and terrorism’s effects on conducting business in the post-9/11 environment. Dean C. Alexander details the conventional and unconventional terror capabilities facing industry. He describes the activities of terrorists in the economic system and the ways they finance their operations.
Alexander discusses how companies can reduce terrorist threats and that corporate security can minimize political violence. He outlines the dynamics of the public-private partnership against terrorism: government aiding industry, business supporting government, and tensions between the two. He also delineates terrorism’s effects—financial, physical, and emotional—on workers and employers. He highlights the negative financial and economic consequences of terrorism. He discusses the impact of terrorism on traditional business practices and concludes with an assessment of future trends.
Customer Reviews:
An overview of terrorist threats to business.......2004-11-09
Business Confronts Terrorism: Risks And Responses by Washington DC political consultant Dean C. Alexander provides the reader with an informed and informative overview of terrorist threats to business both abroad and here at home. Alexander also explains the ways in which terrorists take advantage of our ordinary, everyday economic system to finance their activities. He goes on to explore corporate security measures; analyses the relationship of the public and private sectors as they collaborate to defeat terrors groups; and reveals how the threat of terrorism has affected American labor, management, and business in general since September 11, 2001. Simply put, Business Confronts Terrorism should be considered mandatory reading by every American private citizen, business owner, labor leader, and government policy maker.
A good summary of what's been happening........2004-09-01
We think of terrorist attacks as something that should be the responsibility of governments. But as this book points out, most of the targets are not government buildings or institutions, they are businesses. Targets have certainly included aircraft and also banks, theaters, churches, buses, trains, pipe lines, gas stations, restaurants, department stores, hospitals churches and of course office building such as those at the World Trade Center.
Security tends to follow the last successful attack. After 9/11 a tremendous amount of effort was spent on air line scurity, almost nothing on subways, bridges, tunnels - can you imagine the effect of blowing up a few of these in New York City?
This is not a prescription of what to do to avoid or stop terrorist activity, as the title suggests, it is an introduction to the risks involved and an explanation of what is happening on a world wide basis as a result. A small book, it covers these aspects very well.
Amazon.com
Walter Russell Mead, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, offers an historical examination of U.S. foreign policy and the way it has become so complicated, divisive, and fraught with unintended consequences that it is beyond the control of any one group or ideology. Looking back at the 20th century in an attempt to identify a grand strategy for the future, he declares the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the attacks of September 11, 2001 to be "lost years" in which a difficult global shift began to take shape. He identifies this transition as the beginning of a shift from a "Fordian" (as in Henry Ford) system of mass production and mass consumption to a more dynamic "millennial capitalism" in which the free market is changing to benefit more people around the world, particularly those in developing countries. Mead also looks closely at how the Bush administration has reacted to the September 11 attacks and the threat of further terrorism, offering both thoughtful praise and sharp criticism in nearly equal measure. (The book is worth reading for these incisive comments alone.) In explaining the distinctions between "sharp" (military), "sticky" (economic), and "sweet" (cultural) power as tools for shaping the world, he makes clear that he believes the U.S. should be shaping the world—ideally by example and shared values, but also through military force and economic coercion when necessary. A strong "advocate of the American project," Mead remains optimistic about the future and predicts that the U.S. will be successful in spreading economic and political freedom far and wide, including regions that will offer great resistance to such changes. At times the narrative gets bogged down in potentially confusing academic terminology, but overall the book is filled with thought-provoking ideas and intriguing details about the role and limitations of U.S. influence and what it bodes for the rest of the world. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
International affairs expert and award-winning author of
Special Providence Walter Russell Mead here offers a remarkably clear-eyed account of American foreign policy and the challenges it faces post—September 11.
Starting with what America represents to the world community, Mead argues that throughout its history it has been guided by a coherent set of foreign policy objectives. He places the record of the Bush administration in the context of America’s historical relations with its allies and foes. And he takes a hard look at the international scene–from despair and decay in the Arab world to tumult in Africa and Asia–and lays out a brilliant framework for tailoring America’s grand strategy to our current and future threats. Balanced, persuasive, and eminently sensible,
Power, Terror, Peace, and War is a work of extraordinary significance on the role of the United States in the world today.
Customer Reviews:
Insightful, But Could Have Been Better.......2007-04-01
It almost goes without saying these days that the presence of the United States in the world in one form or another is a major issue. Whether you're an American or from another country, American foreign policy and cultural hegemony is an important topic worth considerable attention. In this book, Mead attempts to catalog the character of American foreign policy as it exists today and the character it must exemplify in the future in order to be successful. In this way, "Power, Terror, Peace, and War" is a sequel to Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World. For those who have read "Special Providence", this book is not nearly as good, as the writing here sometimes reflected a lack of focus on Mead's part.
Nevertheless, Mead makes some very interesting insights that make the book more than worth reading. He differentiates the four types of American power: Sharp (Hard: namely military), Sticky (Hard: namely economic), Sweet (Soft: namely cultural), and Hegemonic (Soft: the three previous provide a symbol of inevitability). He also deals with two groups of countries who don't agree with the American vision for world order:
1. Extreme internationalists who want more rapid development of international law and "world government". Examples are Canada and Germany.
2. Those countries, such as France and Russia, who promote traditional power politics and are "realists" in terms of foreign policy.
After examining these to categorizations, Mead seems to simply go through a litany of other related issues, such as Evangelical conservatives, the Kyoto Protocol, September 11th, and globalization. Dealing with these issues makes for interesting insights, but Mead's sense of focus suffers. Mead is a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, so this book is more than worth reading. However, if you're only going to read one of his books, read "Special Providence".
Brief Yet Comprehensive.......2005-04-23
One of the positive by-products of 9-11, is an increased interest in Geo-politics across all spheres of American society. Mead's book is a perfectly succinct and comprehensive answer to "no blood for oil" and other slogans that are bandied about by good people who feel at a loss faced with the seemingly inexplicable actions of their government, and its friends and adversaries. Ought to be required public school reading.
Falls Well Short of His Previous Work.......2005-01-17
Walter Russell Mead had the unfortunate timing to publish one of the best new books on U.S. foreign relations just as 9/11 changed the American security landscape forever. His remarkable "Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and how it changed the World" hit bookstands around the country within weeks of Al Qaeda's attack. The work, which was part revisionist history and part typology of U.S. foreign policy traditions, had everything going for it except one thing: it called for an American global pullback, and cautioned against international overreaching, just as 9/11 ensured the U.S. would be extending itself around the world with a vengeance. What's a talented foreign policy specialist to do? Why not write another book?
The result is something of a disappointment. "Power, Terror, Peace, and War: America's Grand Strategy in a World at Risk" feels rushed and light. Weighing in at just over 200 pages, and with no bibliography, the book is thin in both original thinking and scholarship. Mead obviously felt he had to say something about 9/11 without delay. He should have taken his time. Where "Special Providence" had much that was useful and interesting, even after events had overtaken its conclusion, this book is likely to sink out of view without a whimper. Comparing the two books is an object lesson to authors who believe that topicality is of primary importance to the quality of their book.
A problem of Mead's that was not apparent in reading just one of his books, but which appears with more clarity after reading two of them, is his addiction to classification systems. His four part typology of American foreign policy -- Jeffersonians, Hamiltonians, Wilsonians, and Jacksonians -- is the centerpiece of "Special Providence." In "Power, Terror, Peace, and War", he comes up with a three-part division of sharp power (military), sticky power (economic), and sweet power (cultural), because he apparently wasn't satisfied with the traditional dichotomy of hard and soft power. He also speaks of Fordism and millennial capitalism, hegemonic power and harmonic convergence, and he reprises his classification of Jeffersonians, Hamiltonians, Wilsonians, and Jacksonians from the previous book. Not all of these terms are Mead's creations, but most of them are, and the result is the book has a strained quality to it. Even informed readers might feel a little at sea when contemplating ideas such as whether revivalist Hamiltonians' post-Fordist strategy of sticky power helps America's harmonic convergence. (Mead doesn't actually say that word for word, but it sometimes feels like he wants to.)
Despite this compulsive desire to come up with neologisms, Mead says very little that is interesting or new. In "Special Providence", he changed the way I thought about U.S. foreign policy in the nineteenth century. This book, on the other hand, is instantly forgettable. Mead makes general comments on economics that are weakly supported (how does Mead know whether millennial capitalism is here to stay?) and throwaway remarks on current events which were already dated by the time the book was published. Rather than waste your time with this work, I recommend reading his "Special Providence", a superior book in every way.
The American Project.......2005-01-01
Walter Russell Mead is the Henry A Kissinger Senior Fellow on US Foreign Policy at the Council of Foreign Relations and the intellectual power that he brings to bear on the issues of foreign policy are as impressive as his job title. He marshals the disciplines of politics, economics, sociology, history and religion to produce a provocative and compelling analysis of America and its role in the world.
This important book describes what Mead calls the "American Project...to protect our own domestic security while building a peaceful world order of peaceful states linked by common values and sharing a common prosperity." This project is rooted in American history and tradition. (This work should be read in tandem with Surprise, Security, and the American Experience by John Lewis Gaddis.)
Mead identifies four schools of thought that animate our way of thinking about foreign policy. 1)Wilsonians are idealistic internationalists who believe the spread of democracy abroad will give us security at home - many of the neoconservatives are of this persuasion. Present-day Wilsonians are notable for their lack of confidence in international institutions. 2)Jeffersonians adhere to isolationism, even less of an option today than it was in the 19th century. 3)Hamiltonians are the business class that promote enterprise at home and abroad; they believe that globalization contributes to peace and security. 4)Jacksonians are described as "populist nationalists." They have the individualist's suspicion of government. And, oh yeah, they like to fight. In foreign policy that translates into overwhelming force and total victory.
The Bush administration's war on terror has been, according to Mead, a combination of Revival Wilsonianism and Jacksonianism. The internal conflict between these two approaches are never more obvious than in the present occupation of Iraq. While the Wilsonians are delicately trying to plant the seeds of democracy, the Jacksonians want victory over the evildoers regardless of the consequences.
Another trend that Mead describes is the shift from managed capitalism ("Fordism") which is a cooperative arrangement among the managers of state, business, and labor to a global capitalism ("millenial capitalism") which is less regulated and less equitable in its distribution of winners and losers. The Hamiltonians are promoters of millenial capitalism. It is a worldwide phenomenon that the state elites dislike because it diminishes their control over the economy. One more reason they hate us. The poor also liked the old system because it brought government subsidies. Alas, they too hate us.
Mead's prescription for helping the poor is of course in tune with millenial capitalism. The money for old style foreign aid is no longer there since Western governments are all running huge deficits already. He advocates private banks lending money in the form of microloans. This has been done succussfully in Bangladesh and elsewhere. (Read Banker to the Poor:Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus.) Outreach to the poor is not only a good in and of itself but it also provides fewer soldiers for international terrorism.
The Revival Wilsonianism of the Bush administration also has a religious element. Mead believes that the religious aspect of the foreign policy agenda should be embraced by us and the rest of the world as a basis for action since international institutions are not providing us with the proper values necessary to guarantee our security. This is where I part company with Mead. Even though international institutions have failed on many occassions, I still have more confidence in the United Nations than evangelicals in charge of foreign policy. We must guard against becoming like the enemy; trying to fight Islamic fanaticism or fascism with evangelical Christianity is not the proper course. The proper solution would be reforming existing international institutions to reflect new realities. Long live the separation of church and international governance.
This book is very good at identifying the domestic sources of our search for solutions to our international problems. The goal of this book was to offer important discussion on securing America domestically within a network of states that share our values and it achieves that goal reasonably well.
A mixed bag.......2004-09-29
Mead's book is very stimulating. His review of foreign policy and domestic politics is wide-ranging. He creates memorable labels that help highlight the main points of his argument, even if (see the editorial reviews) they may oversimplify or distort somewhat. He lays out more compelling reasons for US interventions in the Middle East than does the Bush administration, while noting some of the ways in which the administration has fumbled the ball.
Yet there is a deep flaw in Mead's argument. In his account, Millenial Capitalism and American Revivalism are inevitable, the working out of the inner logic of capitalism and US politics. They are explicitly progressive, replacing an inferior Fordist system. Millenial Capitalism will do a better job than Fordism of providing for the poor and spreading the benefits of growth.
These are elements of faith to Mead - the foundation on which he builds his analysis rather subjects of analysis. Assuming progress, he overlooks past cycles of the rise and fall of economic liberalism and imperialism. Ignoring the cycles, he misses the reactions to the disruptions caused by trade and imperialism, and how they lead to the creation of the Fordist system. He pays too little attention to the reactions to the neoconservative project for global hegemenony and how they will affect international relations. The cold war arms race is reviving even now; Mead misses it.
Mead's America is also largely devoid of human agency. The role of a 40 year ideological project by the radical right in undermining Fordism and fostering the idea that Millenial Capitalism will lift all boats, and that the world requires American dominance, is substantially ignored.
Finally, Mead seems to be under the spell of American exceptionalism. He tells us of his world travels and talks, and how many people's views were enlightened by his explication of US foreign policy. I waited in vain for an admission that someone outside of the US might have valuable insights into international politics or that Mead himself has learned anything that informed his policy proposals.
In short, Mead's book represents thinking "inside the box". He is informative and educational, but his vision is limited by disciplinary boundaries and ideological commitments.
Average customer rating:
- A Compelling Battle of Wits
- Awesome new British talent
- Smart intelligence procedural makes a good read
- Great procedure, shallow personae
- Compelling and character-driven
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At Risk
Stella Rimington
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ASIN: 1400043700
Release Date: 2005-01-11 |
Amazon.com
The woman who formerly headed Britain's intelligence service (and what would Ian Fleming have made of that?) comes in from the cold with a smart, clever, and brilliantly paced thriller that seems ripped from the headlines--if not today's, then probably tomorrow's. Liz Carlyle is an agent-runner in MI-5's Joint Counter-Terrorist Group, which is facing the ultimate intelligence nightmare; an "invisible," a terrorist who's an ethnic native of the target country and thus able to cross its borders unchecked and move around its environs unquestioned. All Liz and her team have to go on is the suspicion that a local fisherman who was shot with an unusual armor-piercing gun known to be favored by foreign agents and whose body was found in the restroom of a transport café near a smuggler's beach may have been involved in helping an undercover operative known as "Vengeance Before God" enter England without benefit of passport or visa--a man whose mission, if not his identity, has been the subject of recent intelligence "chatter" from militant Muslim sources. And while Liz thinks she knows who the operative is--an Afghani with forged papers last seen in a German port city--she doesn't have a clue about the "invisible" who's helping him, or the target in their crosshairs.
This is a tightly drawn, expertly told tale that wastes few words in describing the shadowy world of the intelligence services, the turf battles and infighting, and even the romantic entanglements that attend the lives of those involved. It marks a promising second career for its author, whose future success will doubtless be much more public than her earlier accomplishments. --Jane Adams
Book Description
An announcement is made at a meeting of the British Intelligence Joint Counter-Terrorist group: “The opposition may be about to deploy an invisible.” An “invisible” is CIA-speak for the ultimate intelligence nightmare: a terrorist who is an ethnic native of the target country and who can therefore cross its borders unchecked, move around the country unquestioned, and go unnoticed while setting up the foundation for monstrous harm.
Intelligence officer Liz Carlyle has had to prove herself in countless ways as she’s come up through the ranks of the traditionally all-male world of Britain’s Security Service, MI5. But this announcement marks the start of an operation that will test all her hard-won knowledge and experience–and her intelligence and courage–as nothing has before. Having analyzed information from her agents, she realizes that there is indeed an imminent terrorist threat. She may even have the invisible’s point of entry. But what she cannot draw out of all the “chatter” is the invisible’s identity and intended target.
With each passing hour, the danger increases. As the desperate hunt continues, it becomes clear that Liz’s intuitive skills, her ability to get deep inside her enemy’s head, are her best hope for tracking down the terrorist. But will that be enough? And can she succeed in time to avert a disaster?
Drawing from her experience as the first woman director general of MI5, Stella Rimington gives us a story that is smart, tautly drawn, and suspenseful from first to last. At Risk is a stunning debut novel that plunges us headlong into today’s shadowy and fever-pitched battle between terrorism and Intelligence.
Download Description
Stella Rimington joined Britain’s Security Service (MI5) in 1969. During her nearly thirty-year career she worked in all the main fields of the Service’s responsibilities–counter-subversion, counter-espionage, and counterterrorism–and became successively drector of all three branches. Appointed drector general of MI5 in 1992, she was the first woman to hold the post and the first director general whose name was publicly announced on appointment. Following her retirement from MI5 in 1996, she became a non-executive director of Marks and Spencer and published her autobiography, Open Secret, in the United Kingdom. She is currently at work on her next novel.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
A Compelling Battle of Wits.......2007-06-25
This is not the edge-of-your-seat action-packed thriller that some fans of the genre might expect, nevertheless Rimington grabs the reader's interest and holds it by showing us a much more subtle, and doubtlessly more realistic, form of spycraft. The heroine is not risking her life at every turn; instead she is in a chess match trying to piece together the clues to unravel the terrorists' plot before they can hit their target.
Awesome new British talent.......2006-12-02
If you love British mysteries, you will love Stella Rimington's "At Risk." I couldn't put this book down and I immediately ordered her next book. The characters are very real. Fast-paced, gripping novel. I recommend it highly!
Smart intelligence procedural makes a good read.......2006-11-04
Thirty-four-year-old Liz Carlyle, the protagonist of Stella Rimington's debut novel, is an intelligence officer with MI5, Britain's Secret Service. At Risk finds Liz heading up an investigation into the possible infiltration of Britain by an "invisible," a terrorist who is or can pass as English and so not arouse suspicion: a nightmare, in other words. Rimington leads readers through the investigation, following Liz as she and her team track and analyze the terrorists' activity, and following the terrorists as they make small but significant errors that render them vulnerable to capture.
Rimington tells her story from multiple perspectives, including that of the invisible, whom she is able to make three-dimensional--not sympathetic, surely, but human. Among the good guys, Liz is a well-rounded character, and those working around her emerge as distinct personalities, though they are not explored in depth. The interaction between Liz and her colleagues feels right, in part because Rimington writes dialogue well, weaving together the personal and work-related threads of small encounters realistically. Rimington's writing also shines when she is introducing background information--most noticeably in the first chapter--which she does very deftly.
It should hardly surprise us if the intelligence-related details in Rimington's thriller ring true. The author worked for the Secret Service for almost thirty years prior to her retirement in 1996, and she was appointed director general of MI5 in 1992. What is surprising is that Rimington has pulled off such a great piece of fiction her first time out, telling a complex story that is both riveting and well-written. The only criticism I have is minor, that Liz's problematic personal relationship--an affair with a married man who cannot know the nature of her work--plays as an afterthought and might well have been omitted. (Perhaps this relationship will be explored further in Rimington's sequel, Secret Asset.) Fans of spy novels take note: this smart intelligence procedural is a great read.
Debra Hamel -- author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece (Yale University Press, 2003)
Great procedure, shallow personae.......2006-09-04
At Risk is a great read: taut time-line, well-described settings, lots of varied action. It's a treat to get a sense of the slogging work of counter-terrorism - the lists to check, the records to dig out, the sources to wake up - as well as the insights that arise from that work. Too many novels skip over the hard stuff and cut to the blinding insights, a la Jack Ryan. One assumes that Rimington's own background serves to make this aspect of the thriller more believable than the plots of other writers in the genre. Here, when there's a break-through, the reader knows exactly how much grunt work went into it. The excellent pacing of the plot keeps this work from being even slightly tedious.
Not as believable are her characters. While she captures the petty inter-agency frictions with vivid exchanges between Liz and others, and while she is very good at interesting minor characters - the lady of the manor with her garden, the local police force members - the major characters are too lightly sketched. Liz's career obsession is used as an excuse, not a motive, for her reaction to both her mother and a married lover's attempt to get closer. Liz is all over the place emotionally one minute and a wind-up toy the next. Background please? The female terrorist is carefully drawn right up to the point where she makes a totally out-of-character decision. It's as though Rimington needs to end that plot line so just throws up her hands and says "enough."
Liz Carlyle at MI-5 could be a fit companion for Jane Tennison or one of Linda Davies' early wonder-women, but we need to learn at least as much about her as we learn about the nuts and bolts of the investigation.
Compelling and character-driven.......2006-06-18
I appreciated how this book was realistic, and was mostly about watching its characters adapt to normal life as it must be when one works in intelligence. The protagonist was the kind of person you would want to meet, even though she is far from the contrasts in trends and rock-star attitude of most detective novel primary characters. It captures everyday life when life is anything but ordinary. I hope this author has written more.
Amazon.com
Former national security advisor Anthony Lake examines major security threats facing the United States at the start of the 21st century: biological terrorism, cybercrime, the perils of peacekeeping, and so on. Each of the scenarios he describes in Six Nightmares begins with a fictional introduction to the topic; one, for instance, is a transcript of a conversation between the presidents of the United States and South Korea, discussing a civil war in North Korea and worrying about what China intends. The best parts of the book read like a memoir. Lake served under President Clinton for four years before he was nominated to head the CIA. When it became clear the GOP-controlled Senate was not likely to confirm him, Lake withdrew his name. The experience left him disappointed with "a Washington obsessed with political gamesmanship"--and also eager to settle a few scores, which he does between these covers. He strives for evenhandedness in a critique of Congress, but he's also quick to attack Republicans. The Senate's rejection of the comprehensive test-ban treaty in 1998, he writes, showed that "a handful of Republicans cared more about their hatred of the President than about their undoubted love for their country." He also takes digs at Clinton political advisor Dick Morris (for believing, he says, in poll-driven foreign policy) and The Washington Times (for breaking sensitive stories that he thinks hurt the national interest).
His view of modern journalism is tempered by his own failed CIA confirmation experience, and he pointedly describes how a scandalmongering press goes about its destructive business: "Take the charge, call the alleged miscreant and get the denial or explanation, and print both. Let the reader decide which is true." He does have fond memories of his time serving under Clinton, recalling, for instance, the aftermath of a decision to bomb Baghdad: "Years later, the President was to remember the name of one of those who died, with concern for the loss of life but not, I believe, regret for having ordered the attack." Moments like these make one wish the book were more autobiographical than it is. Yet it is a fine volume nonetheless, and a good introduction to the foreign-policy headaches America is likely to face in the years ahead. --John J. Miller
Book Description
Though we live in a time of peace, serious threats lie just beyond the horizon. In Six Nightmares, former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake examines six major threats to North Americas safety that could arise from global terrorism, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and other serious risks.
Download Description
Though we live in a time of relative peace and prosperity, serious threats to our national security lie just beyond the horizon. Threats beyond any the United States has faced before, or possibly even imagined. Should these situations become real, will our government be ready?
In Six Nightmares, former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake draws on his experience coordinating foreign policy to examine six major threats to the security and well-being of American citizens. Lake details scenarios that could arise from global terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, international crime, new forms of warfare, and other serious risks to our security, and shows how it is all too plausible that these threats could become real. He analyzes what the government is doing to prepare for these potential disasters, and the alarming ways in which we aren't yet ready to face them.
At the same time, Lake looks back firsthand on key decisions made during his tenure in the Clinton administration, including flying Tomahawks over Baghdad in 1993, the anguish over Somalia, and the decision to go into Haiti. At once strategic and personal. Six Nightmares is no conventional foreign policy book, but an important warning about future dangers and a riveting memoir of the past.
Customer Reviews:
Some Warnings Are Not Heeded...........2004-10-31
Apropos of this day, I decided on this book written by a former national security advisor to President Clinton (who apparently was too engrossed in his personal problems that he failed to take these possibilities seriously). Not only were his predictions ignored, he compared the barren 'low-tech' White House Situation room as symbolic of America's position in addressing threats to our nation's security.
"We are embarking on a new century with the mental furnishings of the century past," he wrote five years prior to 9-11. During the Clinton administration, they were more concerned with chemical or biological terrorism, preceding the Atlanta Olympics scare. Mr. Lake challenged the procedures on dealing with a nationwide basis and there were no answers, only silence.
He was in a position to see firsthand that our military and diplomatic strategy had not kept pace with our hardware. Today, in Iraq, it is not the military who are losing their heads but innocent people who look American and are in the wrong place at the wrong time. I've lost count of the number of be-headings there (it's got to be a 'given' thing and our government has done nothing to help our civilian casualties in the God-forsaken war.)
In this book, written before Bush 'bushwacked' the electoral college four years ago and took the office of President away from the victor of that election, he predicts that threats to America's security are based on 'globalization' and 'to meet them we must anticipate, help to shape, a world of change.'
As events have played out, his advice was ignored as if he were talking to the wind. Of course, he was from the wrong political party (a year later) and I doubt that his reports were ever read by the new administration. If they had been, we'd have been prepared as he clearly states how the Internet could be used by terrorists to hatch their plans and hide their tracks. Which they did! But, I'd like to know how they got into this country unobserved to perpetrate their dastardly deeds.
He blames globalization on America's downfall. It eroded our government's ability to act on behalf of the people as they sought to placate other countries. He calls it the 'devil's work.' The neutral reaction to seek refuge within the familiar and not be aware of the enemies' abilities to infiltrate is dangerous. "The natural reaction is not always the smartest," he writes.
He lists his six concerns of what would culminate in an actual nightmare. We are living that nightmare now. How can America survive if this atrocity is allowed to continue? Partisan politics and complacency (plus abuse by the press) has allowed this to happen -- and to continue.
He gives some background of the Marshall Plan, United Nations, and NATO as created by America's great post-war leaders in the 1940s -- Truman, Acheson, Cordell Hull, Vandenberg and others. They worked to lay the foundation for half a century of peace and prosperity. At the start of the 21st century, we were reaping the returns of their farsighted vision.
We need to strive to get that vision back. His worries about chemical and biological weapons haven't become the worst nightmare you've ever had, but it's just around the corner. He reiterates something from the book, WHY ENGLAND SLEPT, about Churchill's description of the 1930s as the 'years the locusts have eaten.' They've had another turn!
Decades after Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy planted seeds of a nuclear test-ban treaty, President Bill Clinton was the first world leader to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996, which was supposed to be a historic milestone toward reducing nuclear threat and building a better safer world. That treaty wasn't worth the paper on which it was printed. It's one thing to sign a bill or 'treaty' and another to act on it. Partisanship got in the way.
McCarthyism was more evil than the pre 9-11 days but it was part of a debate about an issue of great consequence -- how to pursue a Cold War in which our very existence was at stake. Politics has become an end in itself. Now, the only test of victory is whether an adversary's moral standing is thoroughly shredded and destroyed -- mostly on the national level.
Knoxville's mayoral race was exactly the opposite with courtesy and kindness exemplary action by the winner over an unprepared, but 'nice', female opponent who didn't know what hit her. She can't say she wasn't warned, as I told her plainly that it is not the time for a woman Mayor. It was a learning experience.
Our politics have become absurd almost beyond the point of parody, a form of show business. There is a communications gap between politicians and the public, leading to damaging consequences. He mentions global warming as an increasing possible 'nightmare' when the ice cap melts.
The greatest nightmare of all, according to Mr. Lake, is further erosion of the 'democratic' compact which brought us through past crises but is sadly lacking today. He said, "Washington must go back to governing, rather than letting the political games of 'gotcha' consume its energies." Else, we will have further 'nightmares' and pay a terrible price down the road. That, we are doing in Iraq, which may consume this country internally.
Anthony Lake, who was a professor at Georgetown University when he penned this prophetic memoir, has written and edited other books including THE 'TAR BABY' OPTION, OUR OWN WORST ENEMY, and THIRD WORLD RADICAL REGIMES. His warnings went unheeded by father and son presidents, to our detriment. We'll have more nightmares. I'm already having a few of my own.
The 7th Nightmare Being this Book.......2004-03-27
Ok so the title I used for this review was a bit harsh in relation to this book. This review could be titled the tail of two books. The book that was advertised in the title and dust jacket is a review by a Clinton Administration National Security Advisor of what he thinks are six negative situations that could face the United States and the responses we should take. Similar to the old Nixon book Six Crises. Unfortunately for Mr. Lake, unlike his name he takes a rather shallow approach to his writing. The situations he chooses are interesting and with merit, it is just that all he gives the reader is a rather light, fat free, skim the top version. It really read almost like a magazine article and if you pulled this section out of the book it would probably be no more the 80 pages. This was disappointing, because the book dust jacket lead me to believe the reader was going to get a detailed book full of insight from an inside guy.
The second book was a split between what the Clinton Administration did in relation to similar issues to the six highlighted by the author and a sudo memoir that is a good outline, but not much else. Again, the author just did not develop either of these two directions. I kept finish sections and chapters saying to myself . . . and then what. The Clinton Administration had some interesting foreign affairs issues, Ireland, the Middle East, Bosnia, Haiti, Terrorism, China etc, how this author and inside player managed to miss half of the detail is beyond me. And while I am on a role, there was the authors overriding and unending positive verse. This guy needs to write self-help books, because even though I was disappointed in the substance, the writing had an almost pick me up vibe to it. The author is a very positive guy.
I do not want to be all negative about this book. He did touch on some threats to the US. He gave a brief overview of what would need to take place if any of the crises came to pass, and the items I found most interesting were his comments on terrorism. With all that is going on today with the 9-11 commission and the election, it was interesting to her his thoughts on the terrorism threat. Although I did not come across any smoking guns, I get the feeling that if this book had come out after 9-11, the section on terrorism and the efforts of the Clinton Administration would have been beefed up some. Overall the book is a light, easy to read overview of some Clinton Administration foreign affairs issues. If you are looking for a quick read on a weekend it will serve the purpose.
Don't Buy This Book Unless.......2002-09-08
you want to read more about how wonderful Clinton was from a syocophant who spends too much time writing about the magnificant people in Clinton's administration. Once he gets away from his pandering, some of the information is interesting. One of his nightmares was actually his for he was considered to far to the left to be approved for head of the CIA. Because of that, he bad mouthed Washington DC which became his 6th. nightmare. The fictionalization of his scenarios are sophomoric to the extent of embarrassment.
David Gorman.......2002-03-08
6 Nightmares was actually only one or two nightmares. Anthony Lake begins discussing the global dangers facing our nation today, but eventually digresses and gives us his autobiography instead. He also dedicates quite a bit of space towards how Bill Clinton really wasn't as bad as he seemed to be and how we are all victims of the vast right-wing conspiracy.
There were plenty of interesting insider tidbits, but I think an article in TIME might have been more appropriate than dedicating a whole book to Anthony Lake.
Excellent Analysis From Someone Who Has Been There.......2001-12-08
Anthony Lake's book outlines six potential threats to our nation's national security. Unfortunately the reality of ambigious warfare (chapter 3) has already reared its ugly head...Anthony Lake has unfortunately made himself into somewhat of a prophet. The other chapters are incredibly pertinent also.
As someone who participated in and helped craft major U.S. foreign policy initiatives and decisions, Lake is able to share anecdotal snipets which really bring his subject into focus. I especially enjoyed the chapters on peacekeeping and Washington politics and the experiences Lake was able to share to illustrate his points.
The only negative aspect of the book is that sometimes he can delve into examples where it seems as if he is more interested in vindicating himself than staying focused on the topic. I truly however feel and it is evident in the book that Lake was able (and desired) to remain non-political while writing the book and when he was the National Security Advisor. As he suggests in the book, national security is one issue in which politics and ideology should have the least influence.
Average customer rating:
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Risky Business: Corruption, Fraud, Terrorism & Other Threats to Global Business
Stuart Poole-Robb , and
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Book Description
The terrorist outrages of September 11, 2001 and the rapid collapse of Enron both highlight the uncomfortable fact that businesses and business people are subject to risks much broader and often more personally hazardous than the commerical and financial risks studied at business school.
Book Description
In this significant Marxist critique of contemporary American imperialism, the cultural theorist Randy Martin argues that a finance-based logic of risk control has come to dominate Americans’ everyday lives as well as U.S. foreign and domestic policy. Risk managementâthe ability to adjust for risk and to leverage it for financial gainâis the key to personal finance as well as the defining element of the massive global market in financial derivatives. The United States wages its amorphous war on terror by leveraging particular interventions (such as Iraq) to much larger ends (winning the war on terror) and by deploying small numbers of troops and targeted weaponry to achieve broad effects. Both in global financial markets and on far-flung battlegrounds, the multiplier effects are difficult to foresee or control.
Drawing on theorists including Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, Michael Hardt, Antonio Negri, and Achille Mbembe, Martin illuminates a frightening financial logic that must be understood in order to be countered. Martin maintains that finance divides the world between those able to avail themselves of wealth opportunities through risk taking (investors) and those who cannot do so, who are considered âat risk.â He contends that modern-day American imperialism differs from previous models of imperialism, in which the occupiers engaged with the occupied to âcivilizeâ them, siphon off wealth, or both. American imperialism, by contrast, is an empire of indifference: a massive flight from engagement. The United States urges an embrace of risk and self-management on the occupied and then ignores or dispossesses those who cannot make the grade.
Book Description
This important book by one of our leading experts on disaster preparedness offers a compelling narrative about our nation’s inability to properly plan for large-scale disasters and proposes changes that can still be made to assure the safety of its citizens.
Five years after 9/11 and one year after Hurricane Katrina, it is painfully clear that the government’s emergency response capacity is plagued by incompetence and a paralyzing bureaucracy. Irwin Redlener, who founded and directs the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, brings his years of experience with disasters and health care crises, national and international, to an incisive analysis of why our health care system, our infrastructure, and our overall approach to disaster readiness have left the nation vulnerable, virtually unable to respond effectively to catastrophic events. He has had frank, and sometimes shocking, conversations about the failure of systems during and after disasters with a broad spectrum of people—from hospital workers and FEMA officials to Washington policy makers and military leaders. And he also analyzes the role of nongovernmental organizations, such as the American Red Cross in the aftermath of Katrina.
Redlener points out how a government with a track record of over-the-top cronyism and a stunning disregard for accountability has spent billions on “random acts of preparedness,” with very little to show for it—other than an ever-growing bureaucracy. As a doctor, Redlener is especially concerned about America’s increasingly dysfunctional and expensive health care system, incapable of handling a large-scale public health emergency, such as pandemic flu or widespread bioterrorism. And he also looks at the serious problem of a disengaged, uninformed citizenry—one of the most important obstacles to assuring optimal readiness for any major crisis.
Redlener describes five natural and man-made disaster scenarios as a way to imagine what we might face, what our current systems would and would not prepare us for, and what would constitute optimal planning—for government and the public—in each situation. To see what could be learned from others, he points up some of the more effective ways countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East have dealt with various disasters. And he concludes with a real prescription: a nine-point proposal for how America can be better prepared as well as an addendum of what citizens themselves can do.
An essential book for our time, Americans at Risk is a devastating and realistic account of where we stand today.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent: The Emperor and the Assassin.......2007-01-14
I can understand why this movie may have been too violent for mainstream American movie theaters. However, those were violent times and this movie is both complex and dazzling. It is certainly not one that you will ever forget. There are similarities to "Curse of the Golden Flower." Both are visually stunning and full of political intrigue.
Good but compromised (3.5*).......2006-11-12
Certainly the author is an expert in the field but I thought that the book had three shortcomings. The author, as he admits in the preface, rushed the book out the door, relying on others to do much of the work. Political diatribe displaced accurate facts and sound reasoning in several parts. Finally, the author stumbled at the end, which was perhaps the most important part. Despite these flaws it is an important book which should be read, but with some reservations.
It's a fast read for a variety of reasons. I purchased it just prior to a 2-hour flight and was finished before they collected the coffee cups.
What the author does contribute is a variety of scenarios and the consequences.
Redlener's political orientation is left of Hillary and friends and it shows. My guess is that some of his Columbia associates also sprinkled their venom into the text. Some of the many examples where his bias influences the analysis include flu vaccines and New Orleans.
The author concludes that some profit driven scheme is resulted in the flight of vaccine producers from the US to foreign shores and the concentration of the world's production of flu vaccines into two plants. If there is a scheme it is simply one of survival. Flu vaccine production is a low margin product, rushed to production each year just ahead of the flu season to serve an uncertain demand. If the demand is there (and the author is correct that the public does not take responsibility for basic stuff) they make a little money. However, if there is an allegation of a problem, years after the vaccine was produced, the maker is going to get sued. US courts are the preferred venue where the rules of evidence are lax, joint and several liability is common and the juries are generous. Therefore, only high margin drugs whose primary market is to Americans are manufactured in the US. Attempts at tort reform have of course been blocked by Redlener's friends in government, thanks to the abundant cash contributions of the trial attorneys.
Redlener concludes that New Orleans wrote a disaster plan and then forgot about it. He then goes on to place most of the blame at FEMAs doorstep. What he does not share with the reader is that FEMA paid for and sponsored a full-scale exercise involving local government the year before the hurricane hit and which exercise contemplated exactly the scenario that happened.
The author covers the importance of media cooperation in the efforts to prepare and then a few chapters later dismisses the Bush administration's recommendations that people obtain the materials to shelter in place. He says that the flaw in the process was not with the concept of sheltering in place but rather the fact that it was subject to jokes on late night TV. Guess why? His political friends attacked the concept not because it was ineffective, but because they wanted to attack the administration and the press jumped in on the effort. This was the perfect opportunity for one or more of his political pals to have put the country first and reminded the press of the research done by RAND, which concluded that sheltering in place was both effective and important in a number of scenarios. The author does in other sections refer to some of the other work done by RAND on this area and recommends reading it.
The author's scenario of a terrorist attack using children is excellent. However, it misses the propensity of the most threatening terrorist groups to incresase the scope and sophistication of attacks. Redlener does understand that unlike most conventional wars the purpose of the attacks are not to cause strategic damage but rather to create terror and to show the inability of the government to stop them. It is far easier to create terror than to stop terrorists, but the public sees it as a "fair fight" so if terror continues the terrorists must be stronger.
Redlener complains that people refuse to prepare but makes no mention that his friends need to stop conveying the message that the government can do everything.
His analysis of the consequences of a nuclear attack is abbreviated and while valuable does not include some of the more important risks. The chapter leaves the victims long before the full extent of the effects are discussed. Again this is probably the consequence of a rush to publish prior to the elections.
Redlener spends pages describing a Seattle earthquake using the techniques of a newscast where the impacts are personalized. While this focus provides drama it misses the enormous importance of critical factors like the time of the earthquake. Both the San Francisco and Los Angeles earthquakes of the early 90s occurred outside of normal business hours. While the San Francisco earthquake affected commuters it did not occur while people were working in high-rise buildings, factories, warehouses, schools and retail stores.
Also missing from the book is a serious look at the impotence of government in the face of a widespread disaster. In military terms there are simply not enough boots on the ground. Consider Los Angles where 3.8 million people (plus vast numbers of uncounted illegal aliens) are protected by a thin blue line of less than 10,000 police officers, 90% of whom live outside the city. In the event of a flu pandemic many will be off duty and if the pandemic is national there will not be other community resources to augment the depleted ranks. Citizens are going to need to be responsible for their own protection.
Perhaps the greatest shortfall is the failure to spend a few more days on the last chapter detailing the development of a family disaster plan, preparing and the need to act. Far too much emphasis is given to what government must do and not enough to what people need to do, especially with respect to taking action early. An example of this was the night prior to the Mayors' order to evacuate New Orleans. The bloggers had access to the information that the city employees were fleeing, that it was critical to begin evacuations prior to the Mayor's announcement and that immediate action was required.
To his credit Redlener recognizes that the military is far better prepared to deal with disasters than most government officials. Some of the greatest advantages of the military are that they are mission oriented rather than PR oriented and their culture rewards leadership.
Not a criticism but rather a suggestion for what hopefully will be a revised version is that our entire disaster relief system appears to ignore the fundamental changes which have occured in our capabilities to communicate and react. If there is one element of New Orleans that displays the failure of imagination it is the failure to instantly create an accessable information system/database for affected persons and families. Craigslist, church groups and local papers filled the gap but in a fragmented approach. Here is an example where the government could have asked one group to create and maintain the system overnight.
The author dwells on the problems of refugees without medical records but does not consider the simplicity of a solution - give emergency physicians access to the programs that were paying for the resident's prescriptions and to the major drug store databases. The information is there, instantly accessable but hidden for a lack of imagination.
The failure to use our resources goes far beyond the simple but highly effective database of the missing, lost, family members and folks offering help. The bureaucratic Red Cross wanted to dominate managment of the relief efforts but focused on New Orleans, a tiny fraction of the affected area. In other areas church groups became the focus of relief efforts in many areas. Unlike the Red Cross they operated a peer to peer national organization and were able to identify needed supplies and workers. Operating at no cost to the taxpayer, happy to recieve most any support they were the stars of the recovery.
I was saddened to see the author comment that his daughter probably did not have room in her tiny apartment for the basic emergency kit. Perhaps he would ask himself what would she do if presented with 6 pairs of highly desirable shoes, find a place for them or refuse the gift.
Had Redlener cleansed the manuscript of excess political diatribe, taken the time to more carefully examine the scenarios he developed and finally and most importantly spent a little more time on development and implementation of personal plans and acting on the plans in time of crisis the book would have been a 7 star homerun.
Redlener might pause to measure his attitude and efforts against the Boy Scout philosophy - be prepared, be honorable and do good deeds.
An Urgent Need for Government Preparedness Spelled Out in Foreboding, Realistic Terms.......2006-10-09
The coming Armageddon is quite realistically covered by author Irwin Redlener, the Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, in a variety of forms in his foreboding tome. In meticulous, sometimes bitingly dramatic detail, he paints five fatalistic scenarios - an avian flu outbreak in New York City; a major earthquake in Seattle; a nuclear attack; a train wreck that causes the release of toxic chemicals; and a terrorist attack that targets elementary schools in Arizona. Within each scenario, we see a chaotic morass of bureaucracy, and Redlener points out real-life examples of such deficient actions that make the aftermath he describes of such disasters feel palpable.
For instance, in mentioning an actual attack on a school in Beslan, Russia, the author brings to light the possibility that terrorists could go after soft targets, specially women and children, since such sacrifices are more typical in Muslim. He also discusses the threat of nuclear detonations. Just as North Korea proved today, terrorists could use newer technology to assemble small nuclear weapons covertly. Moreover, there are liquid explosives and other such low-tech threats that can be used in even more clandestine ways. The variety found in the possible onslaughts is daunting, especially to the reader, and sadly, no one, from Redlener's informed perspective, seems prepared to handle these disasters optimally. Starting with FEMA's lethargic response to Katrina, there is a wellspring of stories about how Homeland Security has mishandled both money and expertise.
In the most prescriptive section of the book, the author describes a nine-point strategy which amounts to validating good common sense and a more disciplined approach to organization by the government. The author is particularly critical of the random nature of American preparations as opposed to the more pivotally positioned and prepared European nations. Redlener begins his recommendations with having the 9/11 Commission reconvene to address preparedness efforts, and including the expansion of the military role in planning for and responding to major disasters. He also discusses the key role played by volunteer organizations in recovering from mega-disasters with little organized support from the government.
Most tangibly, Redlener discusses citizen preparedness and our sometimes surprising history of lapses in this area, even when such efforts were highly publicized during WWII. Despite common belief, little was actually accomplished in this area at the time. The current threat of WMDs is quite different from the A-bombs of yore since they are so focused in devastation, but the need for personal preparedness is still quite evident. While it may come across as prosaic to tell citizens to stay healthy and fit, Redlener knows full well that it comes down to the individual to ensure larger plans can be mobilized. This is a hard read at times but most worthwhile.
Redlener showing the right stuff.......2006-09-08
> This provocative and often disturbing book reveals that Dr. Redlener has certainly acquired an impressive grasp of the potential horrific catastrophic events that
> > our country may have to face in the future. His experience
> > as Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and vast
> > research on the topic make this book likely the #1 most credible account of
> > the potential catastrophes our country may confront going forward and insights
> > into what the government and we as United States citizens can do to help
> > damper the effects of such an event. Redlener's book, while undoubtedly frightening, is as real as it gets.
> > Any one of us could be effected by some sort of megadisaster at any given
> > time and Dr.Redlener at least provides hope that the outcome of such an event
> > is not completely out of our hands. This book is a must read for anybody
> > who has any interest in learning real ways to not only protect oneself but
> > to contribute to a more successful response by our country as a whole in the
> > wake of such a disaster.
> > -
Robert H. Reiner, Ph. D.
Executive Director
Behavioral Associates
A must read for all concerned citizens.......2006-09-05
Dr. Redlener talks about the following five megadisasters and what can be done to improve our response to them: an outbreak of avian flu in New York City; and earthquake in Seattle and the Puget Sound; the detonation of a nuclear bomb in a major city; an accidental chlorine release in a tornado-risk zone; and, finally, the targeting of American children by terrorists. After the interesting discussion of each megadisaster, Dr. Redlener points out the many things we can do to improve our response to them.
He very thoughtfully discusses the four barriers that prevent Americans from being in a state of optimal readiness. The first barrier is the lack of goals and accountability assigned to the monies given by the Feds. The second barrier is the failure to imagine the consequences of situations before they happen. In one example of this barrier, he talks about the fact that all nursing homes in New Orleans were required to have an emergency evacuation plan, and they did. However, all the plans called for evacuating residents to other nursing homes. After Katrina 80% of the nursing homes were damaged and the flooding made them inaccessible. The third barrier is the lack of leadership as demonstrated by DHS Secretaries Brown and Chertoff. The fourth and final barrier is what he calls the strange psychology of preparedness. For example, one in three Americans believes a terrorist attack will happen within a year; however, fewer than half Americans have a family emergency preparedness plan. The thinking follows the line of there will be an attack, but it wont happen me.
We are introduced to Prochaska's "Stages of Change " model to help us better understand how people normally modify their behaviors. By understanding this model we will be better able to create a culture of readiness. We are also introduced to the efforts other countries have undertaken to better prepare and deal with megadisasters. I enjoyed reading about what other countries were and are doing to better prepare for handling megadisasters. I did particularly like the Chinese example that he used. A major earthquake happened in the Qinglong district of China in 1976. It was between a 7.8 and an 8.2 magnitude on the Richter scale. The disaster claimed 240,000 lives and injuring another 165,000 people. The city of Tangshan was virtually destroyed. Qinglong, a community close by, suffered from the same quake, however, the outcome was very different. Two years earlier, Qinglong was warned about the possibilities of an earthquake striking their city. They took the warning seriously and prepared for the day when it might happen. The death toll in Qinglong on July 28th, the day of the quake? ONE --- a man died of a heart attack!! As Dr. Redlener said, "the lesson is overwhelmingly important: mitigation, education, and planning work".
The only megadisaster that could happen now is not getting this book, and the answers it provides, into the hands of our politicians!!!
George Dumigan
Book Description
Viable, value-creating solutions for securing global transportation networks
Securing Global Transportation Networks demonstrates how improved security processes can create value across all the business functions throughout an entire value chain. Readers will learn a whole new security management philosophy, as explained through domestic and international examples and case studies ranging from major retailers such as Home Depot to shipping giants such as Maersk and FedEx. This book also looks ahead to future developments and "best practices" for the future. If you're charged with making or evaluating transportation security decisions, you'll find the tools you need to succeed -- and prosper -- with the Total Security Management approach.
- Explains globalization's impact on transportation networks
- Creates a framework for realizing a return on security investments by integrating it as a core business process
- Details how transportation firms, investors, and insurance companies can measure and reward smart security practices that protect a firm's fixed assets, assets in transit, brand equity and goodwill, and human capital
Customer Reviews:
An ingenious foundation.......2007-03-18
America's transportation networks are vulnerable. The nation's "wake up," on September 11th is now amplified by government and media clarion calls to protect our ports. Securing Global Transportation Networks answers with an ingenious foundation using Demming's Total Quality Management as its blueprint. Anyone in the public, private, or academic sectors who is serious about transportation will mark themselves ahead of the curve with a first edition of SGTN on their bookshelf.
An important work.......2007-03-02
The authors make a very compelling case that organizations should adopt security as a core business concern.
The book empowers its readers by showing how organizations can avoid disruptive events through planning to protect people, facilities, supply chains, and business reputation. It also outlines how to plan for recovery from those inevitable catastrophes. The book includes many real world examples.
Another benefit of the book is that those in the technology sector can gain insights into how to be part of the security solution.
This book is both well written and comprehensive. The authors have described the multiple facets so clearly that you do not need an MBA to read it.
Excellent strategy and resource!.......2006-11-17
Total Security Management is a wake up call for global executives. Today's companies are no longer in control of their own fate unless they become proactive. Securing Global Transportation Networks provides an innovative approach to supply chain security and the relationship to value creation. I strongly recommend this book to anyone with responsibility for protecting any part of the supply chain or operating in the business of trade.
Great read!.......2006-11-02
I am impressed with the authors' argument that the private sector can create value while adopting security measures throughout their transportation network. Usually, businesses view security as a cost, rather than an asset. This book, however, argues that implementing security measures can be a market differentiator and create a competitive advantage for a firm that faces an unexpected disruptive event. I would recommend this book to you if you enjoy reading about the impact of globalization on the US economy. Great read for MBA students!
Securing Global Transportation Networks.......2006-10-10
This book provides a very detailed process -Total Security Management (TSM) - for implementing security into the global supply chain in such a way that it adds value to the bottom line. A must read for corporate executives and transportation security professionals responsible for protecting the company supply chain. A primer for improving security and beginning to realize a positive rate of return on transportation security investments.
Books:
- Food and Beverage Cost Control
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- In the Pink: Dorothy Draper--America's Most Fabulous Decorator
- Interest Rate Models - Theory and Practice: With Smile, Inflation and Credit (Springer Finance)
- Intermediate Accounting
- International Economics (2nd Edition)
- International Logistics: Global Supply Chain Management
- Introduction to Materials Management (5th Edition)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Oregon Trail
- Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes...in You and Your Kids
- Mathematics of Genome Analysis
- Minimalist Spaces: Housing/Commercial Spaces/Offices and Public Buildings
- Natural Swimming Pools: Inspiration For Harmony With Nature
- The Complexity of Cooperation
- Sins of the Fathers: An Inspector Wexford Mystery
- Architecture: The Natural and the Manmade
- Mississippi Floods: Designing a Shifting Landscape
- She Walks These Hills
The Gift of Fear. Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence.
Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (and Parents Sane)
Bombs, Bugs, Drugs, and Thugs: Intelligence and America's Quest for Security
A Girl's Gotta Do What a Girl's Gotta Do
The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence
