Rogue Threat
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Rogue Threat: a real page turner.
  • Second to None !
  • Amazing
  • Good
  • Don't be fooled
Rogue Threat
Aiden Rocke
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0595370942

Book Description

Whatever happened to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction?

In this thriller ripped from tomorrow's headlines, a divided America has overcommitted its armed forces to foreign lands-and has a ruthless enemy bent on crushing its soul.

Matt Garrett, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative, is recovering from the death of his brother and his own wounds received during combat in the global war on terror. The Vice President sends him to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to meet with special operations forces to discuss missing Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, only to have his air force jet commandeered by an enemy combatant.

Held captive by a terrorist mastermind and former Iraqi general with a startling link to his brother, Garrett struggles for survival. His successful escape leads him to the unnerving discovery that the terrorists have kidnapped the world's expert on nanotechnology-and to new questions about his brother's death. The enemy unleashes a series of powerful attacks across the country, cutting at the very fabric of the nation, while Garrett uncovers a conspiracy dating back to the first Gulf War.

Has the rogue threat targeting the United States marshaled the capability to deal a devastating blow to the country using weapons of mass destruction?

Download Description

Whatever happened to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction?

In this thriller ripped from tomorrow's headlines, a divided America has overcommitted its armed forces to foreign lands-and has a ruthless enemy bent on crushing its soul.

Matt Garrett, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative, is recovering from the death of his brother and his own wounds received during combat in the global war on terror. The Vice President sends him to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to meet with special operations forces to discuss missing Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, only to have his air force jet commandeered by an enemy combatant.

Held captive by a terrorist mastermind and former Iraqi general with a startling link to his brother, Garrett struggles for survival. His successful escape leads him to the unnerving discovery that the terrorists have kidnapped the world's expert on nanotechnology-and to new questions about his brother's death. The enemy unleashes a series of powerful attacks across the country, cutting at the very fabric of the nation, while Garrett uncovers a conspiracy dating back to the first Gulf War.

Has the rogue threat targeting the United States marshaled the capability to deal a devastating blow to the country using weapons of mass destruction?

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Rogue Threat: a real page turner. .......2007-06-26

Title says it all. Contemporary topic, some obviously bad guys and good guys, but some uncertain until the last chapter. Had to remember it was FICTION, but an interesting hypothesis of what happened to those missing WMDs.

5 out of 5 stars Second to None !.......2007-06-17

I am an avid reader of novels written by Forsythe, Vince Flynn, Clancy and others in the business, however, I have never personally enjoyed reading ANY other similar novel as much as Rogue Threat! I am retired military and this novel was the BEST yet! The writer has my attention and I look forward to purchasing every novel he writes in the future, as a matter of fact, I am getting impatient for the sequel that I understand is on the way. You don't know what you are missing until you read this well written novel. I started reading it and did not, could not and would not for any purpose but it down until I finished reading the entire book! I do not exagerate one bit, the story is THAT GOOD!

5 out of 5 stars Amazing.......2007-05-24

I have never been so captured by a book before reading this one. Aiden Rocke truly gives us things to think about. The scenarios he puts forth are chilling to think about.

This book will take the reader on a spine chilling journey and keep the reader on the edge of the seat.

I cannot say enough about this book other than Mr. Rocke has truly written a book that will leave the reader gasping.

4 out of 5 stars Good.......2007-05-08

Found the book interesting and have forwarded it to a friend. Wish their was more about the author included.

1 out of 5 stars Don't be fooled.......2007-05-03

This is the only book I have stopped reading halfway through and thrown in the trash. I love military thrillers, but this reads like a parody of the genre. I began to make a list of the repeated cliches, factual errors related to military aviation, and common errors in phrasing, but lost interest. Seriously, it reads like a parody, as if an accomplished author tried to write as bad a book as possible. Any editor or even a proof-reader would have had a field day with this. Certainly self-published.

(Oddly, the first chapter is excellent, and the second acceptable.)
Silent Spring
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • The Facts!!
  • Important but boring
  • A Classic Read
  • last minute purchase
  • Al Gore surely loves this
Silent Spring
Rachel Carson
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Environmental ScienceEnvironmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0618249060

Amazon.com

Silent Spring, released in 1962, offered the first shattering look at widespread ecological degradation and touched off an environmental awareness that still exists. Rachel Carson's book focused on the poisons from insecticides, weed killers, and other common products as well as the use of sprays in agriculture, a practice that led to dangerous chemicals to the food source. Carson argued that those chemicals were more dangerous than radiation and that for the first time in history, humans were exposed to chemicals that stayed in their systems from birth to death. Presented with thorough documentation, the book opened more than a few eyes about the dangers of the modern world and stands today as a landmark work.

Book Description

First published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, Silent Spring alerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water."Silent Spring became a runaway bestseller, with international reverberations . . . [It is] well crafted, fearless and succinct . . . Even if she had not inspired a generation of activists, Carson would prevail as one of the greatest nature writers in American letters" (Peter Matthiessen, forTime's 100 Most Influential People of the Century). This fortieth anniversary edition celebrates Rachel Carson's watershed book with a new introduction by the author and activist Terry Tempest Williams and a new afterword by the acclaimed Rachel Carson biographer Linda Lear, who tells the story of Carson's courageous defense of her truths in the face of ruthless assault from the chemical industry in the year following the publication of Silent Spring and before her untimely death in 1964.

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars The Facts!!.......2007-08-07

Perhaps her cause was just in writing this book, but her short-sighted ignorance of the repercussions was inexcusable. Because of the ban on DDT which largely resulted from Silent Spring, the WHO has estimated that around 20 MILLION children have died of malaria.

DDT was, & still is, one of the very best insecticides to control mosquitoes, the sole transporter of this deadly disease. Best of all, DDT is very NON-toxic to humans.

The need for DDT is so urgent that even the Sierra Club is justifying it's use inside houses in malaria stricken locations of Africa, South America, & Asia.

Way to go Rachel. Save the Birds, Kill the Children...Wake Up People!!

3 out of 5 stars Important but boring.......2007-06-13

I thought that "Silent Spring" would be an interesting book to read. After all, is supposedly launched the modern environmental movement. However, after reading about 80 pages into the book I started to feel like I was reading the same thing over and over again: pesticides and herbicides are bad and should not be applied to the side of the road. OK, I get the point. I then flipped to page 250 or so, and do you know what I saw? More discussion of how pesticides and herbicides are bad!

Maybe back at that time it was not a self-evident truth that it is a bad thing to go around spraying shit all over the side of the road. But even then, you would think that a disucssion of this matter could be confined to 100 pages or less. A final issue is that the book does not seem to possess a modern understanding of certain subjects (since when do hydrologists refer to groundwater as "underground rivers"?). Although this is not the fault of the book, I do not know why anyone other than a science historian would want to spend much time on it.

Oh Yeah, this book also killed millions of people. The banning of DDT probably led to millions of deaths from malaria. Even today, about 2 million people die from it every year.

5 out of 5 stars A Classic Read.......2007-05-11

Joni Mitchell perhaps most aptly summarizes the driving idea of Silent Spring in her song "Big Yellow Taxi": "Hey farmer farmer / Put away that DDT now / Give me spots on my apples / But leave me the birds and the bees. Please!" While both the book and the song are a bit outdated in the United States as DDT was banned in 1972, it's still an interesting analysis of insecticides/herbicides, societies relationship with science, and the effects a capitalistic driven culture has on the environment. Likewise, the interaction of the natural web and human's impact on it is greatly emphasized. Something I've always found interesting about Carson and her book was the publics (often misogynistic) reaction to her as being "hysterical" and my favorite quote from a board member of the Federal Pest Control Review Board: "I thought she was a spinster. What's she so worried about genetics for?"

5 out of 5 stars last minute purchase.......2007-04-04

My daughter had to have this for English and of course she waited till the last minute. To her surprise, she enjoyed the book and the author's writing very much. As usual Amazon saved the day with a huge selection and fast shipping.

1 out of 5 stars Al Gore surely loves this.......2007-03-26

Hurrah for "sustainability" and "biodiversity"! Down with the human race!
Hazardous Waste Operations & Emergency Response Manual and Desk Reference
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • A Welcomed Addition To My Reference Library
  • Hazardous Waste / CLEAR & SIMPLE
Hazardous Waste Operations & Emergency Response Manual and Desk Reference
Christian L. Hackman , E. Ellsworth Hackman III , and Matthew E. Hackman
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

GeneralGeneral | Chemical | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
MaterialsMaterials | Chemical | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
SafetySafety | Chemical | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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Hazardous WasteHazardous Waste | Environmental | Civil | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0071378812

Book Description

Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Manual & Desk Reference is a straightforward reference and training source designed to provide the site safety and health professional with a comprehensive guide to responding to emergencies involving releases or potential releases of hazardous substances. Important topics are discussed such as: Toxicology, Sampling and Analysis, Personal Protective Clothing, Chemical Incompatibility, Decontamination, Labels, Placards, and Other Identification, and Site Investigation, Control, and Emergency Response.

Designed along the lines of 29CFR 1910.120 (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response regulation), this manual covers the training requirements of managers, supervisors, and professionals (engineers and scientists) involved in hazardous waste site operations and includes all topics covered in the OSHA-required 40-hour training course.

The CD-ROM contains the book on PDF as well as the NIOSH Chemical Database for 2002. There are blank forms such as: site health and safety plans, checklist, worksheets, sample MSDS sheets, accident report forms, and site visit forms.

The CD also includes sample questions, practice exams and practical field exercises.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A Welcomed Addition To My Reference Library.......2002-05-01

...

Perhaps the most complicated and convoluted set of regulations is those concerning hazardous waste, its handling, disposal, and response to its release. Of course it can be considered that the Federal Government did err by calling process by-products hazardous waste instead of following its performance-based philosophy as demonstrated in the OSHA regulations. Regulatory compliance could have been so much simpler if the definition employed was - this by- product has the potential of being hazardous if miss handled, such miss handling entails the following. Alas, this is not the case and we are burdened with a set of regulations that can turn youth aged overnight.

There is hope however, and a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel can be seen. Coming like Dumas' Three Musketeers of old, galloping into the fray and seeking to make order out of chaos come the Hackmans with their Hazardous Waste Operations & Emergency Response Manual and Desk Reference. Since receiving this volume, it has become a ready and useful reference. It provides 16 chapters along with a CD-ROM of essential compliance information. A true compendium of valuable and useful data, guidance, and analyses.

For example, consider Section 2. Hazardous Waste Defined: Contained therein are the following major topics: The OSHA Definition, EPA Definitions, The DOT Definition and Training Aids and Resources. These are then further broken down into sub topics. Such organization, scope and thoroughness provide a valuable tool when evaluating a particular situation or compliance methodology. Other sections cover such topics as Material Hazards, Chemical Incompatibility, Toxicology, and Sampling and Monitoring to name a few. The most substantial section is entitled Superfund Sites and Brownfields: Site Investigation, Control and Remediation. This alone is broken into 22 subsections, each of which is further subdivided.

Perhaps one of the best technical writers of the last century was Samuel Glasstone. His volumes on Chemistry and Nuclear Engineering were very easy to read, understand, and use. This is because he endeavored to number every new topic so that easy reference could be made. This also provided logic to the subject matter, which assisted in the flow of the information that was providing. The Hackmans have effectively employed this numbering technique, and by doing so have provided not only simple logic and understanding to complex subject matter, but have also provided easy access to the information provided in the text.

The text is enhanced by a Glossary of 91 pages plus a 12-page list of Acronyms. Both of these reference aids are important and necessary because of the complexity of the subject matter and that Federal Regulations breed and feed on acronyms and convoluted terminology. It is almost impossible to maintain understanding and awareness of all of them. In fact, the extensive glossary is a welcome adjunct because of the myriad of technical terms and regulatory definitions a fractioned needs to employ and understand. For example, in this glossary, the term hazardous substance is defined by 7 specific requirements; CERCLA, Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Section 112r of the Clean Air Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, DOT, Solid Waste Disposal Act and OSHA. This depth and breadth is valuable because it enables a comprehensive evaluation of a particular situation and assists in eliminating or at least minimizing the chance of an omission error.

It must be remembered that many practitioners are experts in a particular technical or regulatory area. As such, they need a tool that assists them in understanding and in becoming aware of requirements outside of their area of expertise. The provision of comprehensive definitions and information helps to foster such a broad perspective.

In addition to the book a special CD is provided as an additional resource. According to the authors this CD serves three purposes: It provides downloadable and printable resources for trainers - these include a sample HAZWOPER Worker exam, It provides a selection of NIOSH Databases which includes the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods and the NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards, and lastly it provides 18 appendices to the text - these appendices include Limits for Air Contaminants ("Z Lists") 29CFR1910.1000 and the OSHA HAZWOPER Standard, 29CFR 1910.120. Just the contents of the CD is worth the purchase price of the text. All in all, according to the contents, the CD covers 33 separate topics.

When dealing with the complex issues that practitioners face every day, the information contained in the CD forms a comprehensive foundation of knowledge, data and information. This is presented in a concise and easily usable format. Also, instead of creating a second volume, the authors wisely chose this option of the CD to compliment the text, thereby producing one volume packed with essential information and resources.

One of the major frustrations a practitioner faces is that it is usually necessary to consult various references in order to address a particular situation. When a volume comes along that provides an encyclopedia of useful and necessary information, it does simplify many other time-consuming information search tasks. The profession has benefited from this work because it provides that simplification. The authors have brought together information from diverse sources into one volume. One volume, that has already proved its value to my practice.

The only shortcoming is that the use of color, especially in the signs and placarding examples would have been useful and would have assisted in making its reference value even greater. Seeing these items in the colors specified by the regulations would have enhanced the understanding of their meaning and employment. Perhaps just a color insert or inside cover display would have served this need adequately.

This volume has become a useful and welcomed addition to my reference library, and well worth the modest price.

5 out of 5 stars Hazardous Waste / CLEAR & SIMPLE.......2002-04-27

We own an environmental contracting company and we are responsible for training our employees. This is the best book that we have seen to date. It is simple to read and easy to use. One of our services is hazardous material training for our client base. We are planning to use this book in the training classes. We enjoy how the book is laid out and how one subject rolls into the next. The subject matter is right on track for our industry. It is about time a book like this was printed. We are planning to generate revenue from the sale of this book and the upcoming classes that we are developing.
The Executive Guide to Information Security: Threats, Challenges, and Solutions (Symantec Press)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Good Resource
  • This Book Is The Corner Stone of Your Security Initiative
  • This book rocks!!
  • Lives up to it's title
  • Great resource, but boring at times
The Executive Guide to Information Security: Threats, Challenges, and Solutions (Symantec Press)
Mark Egan , and Tim Mather
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

EncryptionEncryption | Security & Encryption | Web Development | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0321304519

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Good Resource.......2007-03-05

As malware and other vicious threats evolve, security professionals must stay abreast of the methods and strategies used to mitigate them. If you're looking for additional information to strengthen your security management posture, this book will get you started. The only downside is the lack of "deeper" information on phishing. Phishing is becoming a prominent threat to organizations, and requires the immediate attention of executives and security specialists.

5 out of 5 stars This Book Is The Corner Stone of Your Security Initiative.......2005-08-22

This guide on security is OUTSTANDING. No one book can embody everything; however, this short but powerful book should encourage every person in our organization to accept responsibility for security.

If you are looking to continue the growth and development of your team (as well as improved security for your organization) then buy and distribute several copies of this book.

I sincerely believe that the experience and information that this book offers can help any organization to become better and more effective at security management.

Dean Lane
CEO Varitools, Inc.

5 out of 5 stars This book rocks!!.......2005-05-31

if you want to really, really, really know info sec, read this book.

all meat, no filler.

5 out of 5 stars Lives up to it's title.......2005-03-25

This book is a very useful tool for getting non-IT executives to understand the imperative behind maintaining an information security management program.

4 out of 5 stars Great resource, but boring at times.......2005-02-10

A fun book on security for executives and managers? Unbelievable, you'd say? This one ("The Executive Guide to Information Security") comes pretty close.

On the down side, do not look at this book for technology coverage. Almost total lack of coverage of intrusion prevention, spyware, spam as well as some Symantec bias (understandable, considering the publisher) make this book much stronger on the policy, process and "big picture" coverage rather on modern technical threats and countermeasures. Slightly confusing coverage of vulnerability management also falls in the same category. However, given the target audience of CEOs and CFOs, this is certainly excusable.

The book introduces the executives to basic security concepts such as "defense-in-depth", "people, process, technology", etc, and goes into details on using them for organizing security for their organizations.

I also appreciated the sections on planning and executing a security strategy and measuring security by using various included checklists and questionnaires. 50-point security evaluation framework based on"best practices" was another valuable piece. The books also address one of the important questions of organizational security: in-house vs outsourced security.

Regulations and laws also occupy a significant part of the book. The coverage is high-level and provides few details, appropriate given the target audience. A section on future security was pretty insightful and enjoyable to read!

Overall, I think the book will be one of the first (and, so far, best) books about security for the "C-level" crowd.

Anton Chuvakin, Ph.D., GCIA, GCIH, GCFA is a Security Strategist with a major security company. He is an author of the book "Security Warrior" and a contributor to "Know Your Enemy II". In his spare time, he maintains his security portal info-secure.org
Soil and Aquifer Pollution: Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids - Contamination and Reclamation
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Soil and Aquifer Pollution: Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids - Contamination and Reclamation

    Manufacturer: Springer
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    Environmental ScienceEnvironmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 3540625860

    Book Description

    The contamination of soils and groundwater by petroleum is a growing problem, not only for the oil-producing countries. This book describes the possible approaches for preventing such pollution or, if it occurs, for its reclamation. It combines the knowledge and experience of scientists - providing scientific methods - on the one hand, and engineers - to show what is feasible taking costs into account - on the other. For the various approaches and processes, the experimental analysis, computer model development, and field implementation are discussed. Also considered is the migration of petroleum in soils, and its interaction with the soil and with bacteria.
    Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • luddite indictment of a car
    • A Worthy Rant
    • Kunstler's Gift of Entertaining While Informing
    • highway to hell
    • The Rise and Decline of Humanity
    Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape
    James Howard Kunstler
    Manufacturer: Free Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    1. Home from Nowhere: Remaking Our Everyday World for the 21st Century Home from Nowhere: Remaking Our Everyday World for the 21st Century
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    3. The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
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    5. Edge City: Life on the New Frontier Edge City: Life on the New Frontier

    ASIN: 0671888250

    Book Description

    The Geography of Nowhere traces America's evolution from a nation of Main Streets and coherent communities to a land where every place is like no place in particular, where the cities are dead zones and the countryside is a wasteland of cartoon architecture and parking lots.

    In elegant and often hilarious prose, Kunstler depicts our nation's evolution from the Pilgrim settlements to the modern auto suburb in all its ghastliness. The Geography of Nowhere tallies up the huge economic, social, and spiritual costs that America is paying for its car-crazed lifestyle. It is also a wake-up call for citizens to reinvent the places where we live and work, to build communities that are once again worthy of our affection. Kunstler proposes that by reviving civic art and civic life, we will rediscover public virtue and a new vision of the common good. "The future will require us to build better places," Kunstler says, "or the future will belong to other people in other societies."

    Customer Reviews:

    3 out of 5 stars luddite indictment of a car .......2007-05-22

    The book is well written and provides a lot of facts, though many of these may be known anyhow. However, the author's pet idea - that the car is THE reason for aberrations in suburban development - begins to be more and more irritating as we read on; there is one large chapter devoted to the car and road planning, but if this were not enough the point gets reiterated every few paragraphs. Perhaps indeed the car is the ultimate evil of modern civilization; if only we didn't have to reread this again and again.
    As a form of compensation, we get very limited look at the social, economic and demographic causes of all landscape changes during past century. Yes, there is a mention of some historical events, such as WWII, but it disappears under the weight of all those cars blamed for commercial strips, parking lots and suburban housing. Somehow, the population growth, which the strips, suburbs, parking lots and cars try to accomodate, gets overlooked. But then, we get also a healthy dose of nostagia after the goode olde times, when towns were small, kids could play in the streets without a risk of traffic accident, and farms were the base of economy. I could not escape the impression that the author's leading motive was to lament the lifestyles gone.

    4 out of 5 stars A Worthy Rant.......2007-02-08

    This is book is largely a rant--well-researched and eloquent--but a rant nonetheless. Overwrought with cynicism, it is hard to distinguish Kunstler's reasonable concerns from his own sense of nostalgia. He draws some erroneous parallels (e.g. holding Disney World to the standard of anything but an amusement park) but does make an effective point regarding how U.S. citizens were ill-prepared for the after effects of the heyday of the automobile.

    Fundamentally, Kunstler's cynicism aside, he's an advocate for renewed interest in civic planning, decreased dependency on fossil fuels, and models of sustainability. He presents Portland, OR as the best model for a city and the community of Seaside, FL as the model for a smaller town. He sees urban planning as the opportunity to develop while respecting the present landscape and enriching sense of community and public space.

    The weakness of the book lies in the author's bitterness, which disguises his very real passion for the topic. The saving grace is that given most of his likely readership, he is preaching to the choir who understands his anger. This choir will understand that Kunstler embeds important lessons in his bleak diatribe--lessons worth embracing.

    4 out of 5 stars Kunstler's Gift of Entertaining While Informing.......2006-11-29

    I have little more to add to the many thorough reviews already posted, so I'll just note what grabbed me: it was the rare book that was fun to read, even while dealing with serious societal problems in a thoughtful manner. A great introduction to community development issues.

    4 out of 5 stars highway to hell.......2006-02-01

    Last night in his State of the Union speech, G. W. Bush pointed out the obvious fact that America depends far too heavily on oil to support its lifestyle. Whoever programmed him to say that must have been reacting to the mounting unrest over the crises associated with big oil: war, pollution, corruption, and extreme flabbiness.

    Most of the problems associated with oil are problems associated with cars, and cars are the focus of J. H. Kunstler's book. Published in the early 90s, The Geography of Nowhere describes the impact of automobiles on the development of the U.S. Apparently, things started to go south during the Depression, when people were driven out of cities by poverty and the diminishing quality of life in the tenements. Fueling the flight to the suburbs were New Deal programs to build roads and cheap houses. In the ensuing decades the American landscape was built to serve cars rather than people, and that is what Kunstler is angry about. His main criticisms are:

    1) A lot of the architecture, both residential and commerical, is very ugly. Buildings are constructed quickly and cheaply, and without regard to their surroundings. After all, what's the point of worrying about your surroundings if people are just going to drive directly to their destination? On this point, Kunstler is angry and sarcastic, though often funny. However, his tone is unfortunate, because ugliness is ultimately a matter of opinion, and I would bet that most people would say they are quite happy living in their suburban boxes. Kunstler argues that people are happy this way because they don't know any better, and he's probably right, but as far as I know there is no good way to force people to appreciate beauty.

    2) When you step back from the individual buildings, and look at the organization of towns and cities, things start to look really grim. Here Kunstler's got a good point. Throughout most of America, the landscape is zoned into residential and commercial districts, which are separated by long stretches of four-lane roads. The residential zones are further divided by income (and to a lesser extent, by race and ethnicity), impeding the development of anything like a genuine community. The result is a weird mix of intolerance and paranoia that pervades the culture of what has historically been a relatively progressive nation.

    3) At an even larger scale, the impact of cars on the nation and on the world seems absolutely dire. The Geography of Nowhere was written before car companies had figured out how to trick yuppies into buying pick-up trucks, and by now there is a broad scientific consensus that the Earth's climate is getting warmer as a result of human activities. Yet people continue to buy bigger and bigger SUVs, and to drive them longer distances to get to work or to buy their microwaveable burritos. It's like a hideous inversion of the idea of public transportation, in which every individual drives his or her own bus to work. Here it's not merely a matter of personal preference -- it's only possible for an individual to drive an SUV if other people subsidize the cost of cheap oil and environmental degradation. In all likelihood these other people haven't been born yet.

    Ultimately, someone has to make decisions about the development of towns and cities, and there's no reason in a democratic society why these decisions have to be based on short-term economic interests. Although most suburbanites are probably not miserable in their surroundings, I doubt if anyone would consider their dependence on cars to be ideal. The Geography of Nowhere is a good way to start thinking about kicking the habit.

    4 out of 5 stars The Rise and Decline of Humanity.......2006-01-01

    I believe that many of the ways we view our lives and live it is directly related to the relation of space, especially where our homes are and what we do daily.

    Kunstler points out very cunningly and sometimes with anger how horrible America has set up its cities - cities of which I usually refer to as 'Suburbia World' and America, for a large part, really has turned into a world of suburbia, of endless homes stacked next to each other in a large sea, of which all its inhabitants commute to a Office park some 30 miles away.

    Anyway, although Kunstler does not cover as in-depth as I believe he should, he points out many architectural and planning elements that even I, as an architecture student in Los Angeles, have never truly observed. He so well argues against suburban development that I am, even more than before, inspired to work on architectural projects that have nothing to do with suburban qualities (although this shall be very difficult).

    If you are looking for a book to explain how horrible our cities really are (especially in the suburban world) and have never had the vocabulary to express that please read this book, it is something I wish everyone could understand and react to.
    Enemy at the Water Cooler: Real-Life Stories of Insider Threats and Enterprise Security Management Countermeasures
    Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
    • Real Life Security Stories
    • "If the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem is a nail."
    • Explores an important often neglected topic
    • Great information and case studies - great book
    • too relevant for today's security world
    Enemy at the Water Cooler: Real-Life Stories of Insider Threats and Enterprise Security Management Countermeasures
    Brian Contos
    Manufacturer: Syngress
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 1597491292

    Book Description

    The book covers a decade of work with some of the largest commercial and government agencies around the world in addressing cyber security related to malicious insiders (trusted employees, contractors, and partners). It explores organized crime, terrorist threats, and hackers. It addresses the steps organizations must take to address insider threats at a people, process, and technology level.

    Todays headlines are littered with news of identity thieves, organized cyber criminals, corporate espionage, nation-state threats, and terrorists. They represent the next wave of security threats but still possess nowhere near the devastating potential of the most insidious threat: the insider. This is not the bored 16-year-old hacker. We are talking about insiders like you and me, trusted employees with access to information - consultants, contractors, partners, visitors, vendors, and cleaning crews. Anyone in an organizations building or networks that possesses some level of trust.

    * Full coverage of this hot topic for virtually every global 5000 organization, government agency, and individual interested in security.

    * Brian Contos is the Chief Security Officer for one of the most well known, profitable and respected security software companies in the U.S.ArcSight.

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Real Life Security Stories.......2007-04-13

    'Enemy at the Water Cooler: Real-Life Stories of Insider Threats and Enterprise Security Management Countermeasures' by Brian Contos is an interesting look at some real-life situations that have occurred where nasties have gotten into systems and wrecked the havoc that they are looking to cause. While some reviewers have argued that this book is just a sales pitch to go out and buy anti-hacker software and hardware to combat these criminals, they are probably right!!! Security is always a matter of finding the right balance but certainly erring on the side of caution certainly is the safer way to go in most cases!!

    Good book for IT people and specifically security whizzes to take a look at.

    **** RECOMMENDED

    2 out of 5 stars "If the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem is a nail." .......2007-01-09

    Ignore the main title - look at the subtitle. This book is little more than a sales pitch for Enterprise Security Management systems, or more specifically the ESM sold by the author's company, with a random assortment of largely unattributed and barely analyzed anecdotes on information security incidents mostly relating to ESM. The link to "insider threats' is tenuous at best and in the most part is merely used as an excuse to hype the wonders of ESM.

    If you are seriously interested in ESM, you probably wrote the gushing "review notes" on the cover or the foreword (written by Hugh Njemanze, CTO of - you guessed it - the same ESM company). I'm far from convinced that anyone else (except perhaps from the ESM company and its customers who may be happy with an extremely biased view of the value of ESM) would benefit from this book, even if it is "vendor neutral" (page xxii). If you are looking for some meaningful insight into and analysis of the "insider threat", and perhaps some practical and worthwhile countermeasures apart from ESM, look elsewhere.

    4 out of 5 stars Explores an important often neglected topic.......2006-12-01

    Even though hacker Kevin Mitnick's notorious exploits are more than a decade old, the media, and even some security professionals, continue to be obsessed with him. In early October 2006 alone, his name came up a few dozen times in a search of the prior month of Google News. Those obsessed with hackers are missing the far greater threat: trusted insiders.

    The insider threat shouldn't be a surprise: employee theft takes a bigger bite out of retailers than does shoplifting, and company personnel give away more secrets than are stolen by spies.

    On average, authorized network users gain access to 10 to 20 times more resources than they need to perform their jobs, and this extra access leads to most network security breaches. With that as its starting point, Enemy at the Water Cooler looks at the problem of the trusted insider and how to reduce both the threat and the vulnerability. Author Brian Contos astutely notes that insider attacks are the hardest ones to defend against, detect, and manage.

    The first part of the book sketches the risks that insiders pose to an organization. It also details mechanisms that can be used to control these risks.

    One such solution is ESM (Enterprise Security Management) software. (Full disclosure: the author is the CSO for a leading ESM vendor and some of the illustrations in the book are screenshots from this vendor's product.) ESM software centrally collects and analyzes log data from various entities within a network. When correctly deployed, ESM can be used to discover internal risks, in addition to correlating security information and performing other valuable tasks.

    The final chapters of the book run through real-life case studies in which Contos shows how ESM mitigated, or could have mitigated, the risk.

    Although the book has a lot of information, at $49.95 for fewer than 250 pages, the book is overpriced. Even though it can come across as self-serving, the book should be commended for tackling a vital and often neglected topic.

    5 out of 5 stars Great information and case studies - great book.......2006-11-15

    This book was extremely easy to read and enjoyable. The case studies made complex concepts such as collaborative attacks and advanced intruder discovery/remediation techniques understandable. I've even shared the case studies with my management as examples of risk to help push our insider threat program forward. I found that sharing key case studies that are relevant to our business helped to make my point about why we need to pay more attention to threats from the inside. And the way the book is written, I don't need to translate tech talk to business talk.

    In addition to the insider threat information, the initial chapter that gives an overview of computer-based threats from organized crime, nation-states and terrorist was an eyeopener. The author does an excellent job explaining how these groups use insiders (employees mostly) to help carryout their agendas.

    Since reading the book I've also listened to several webcasts and podcasts from the author. I found these to be informative and in several instances, the case studies from the book are explored in even more detail as the author discusses subtitle points that aren't necessarily covered in the book.

    I've read a few books on insider threat now, and this is by far one of my favorites, and more so, it has shown great utility at work. Engineers like it, and so does my senior management.

    4 out of 5 stars too relevant for today's security world.......2006-11-15

    great problem statement and introduction to the overall issues and background surrounding insider threat. Insider threat is one of the hardest problems to understand and address in today's fast moving technology rich organizations. The author seems to have real world experience in dealing with these types of issues and I really enjoyed the insights especially in the use case examples. A nice read.

    thanks
    Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Worth Considering as a Future Career Choice
    • Protecting the Eroding Treasure of Knowledge
    • Lost Knowledge--A must read
    • Fascinating and Usefull
    • Excellent Suggestions for Better Knowledge Management
    Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce
    David W. DeLong
    Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    5. Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations

    ASIN: 0195170970

    Book Description

    Executives today recognize that their firms face a wave of retirements over the next decade as the baby boomers hit retirement age. At the other end of the talent pipeline, the younger workforce is developing a different set of values and expectations, which creates new recruiting and employee retention issues. The evolution from an older, traditional, highly-experienced workforce to a younger, more mobile, employee base poses significant challenges, particularly when considered in the context of the long-term orientation towards downsizing and cost cutting. This is a solution-oriented book to address one of the most pressing management problems of the coming years: How do organizations transfer the critical expertise and experience of their employees before that knowledge walks out the door? It begins by outlining the broad issues and providing tools for developing a knowledge-retention strategy and function. It then goes on to outline best practices for retaining knowledge, including knowledge transfer practices, using technology to enable knowledge retention, retaining older workers and retirees, and outsourcing lost capabilities.

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Worth Considering as a Future Career Choice.......2007-03-13

    I'm not much of a fan of management consultant books as I generally find them quite faddish. They usually state that there is a problem, enter a few amusing anecdotes that illustrate what they mean and follow up with some suggested solutions. In that sense this book is no different, but far closer to the Tom Peters academic style than the "One Minute Manager"

    However the problem that it discusses struck a resonant chord in me. Years ago I viewed a tape from Texas Instruments that talked about capturing the knowledge of a distillation column engineer for Campbell's soup in a expert system. The gentleman was retiring soon, and the company didn't know what he knew and felt the best approach was to build a system that modelled his expertise. What I never found out was how successful the approach was in the end. (This story is not in the book.)

    The basic problem is that through retirement and attrition key knowlege in many organizations disappears. No one knows who knows what nor the value of that knowledge before it is gone. The problem is exascerbated by the huge lump of the baby boomers when they retire. The anecdotes include NASA no longer knowing how to get to the moon any more using Saturn V technology (the plans are lost), Sandia labs needing to retain the knowledge of how to build, test and dismantle nuclear weapons, given that they haven't built or tested a weapon in years, the cost rediscovering wiring and conduits in building that we no longer have the blueprints of. The solution lies in identification, sharing, managing and storytelling. Various success stories are brought out to support the points. Strategies such as Communities of Practice and the U.S. Army's AAR (After Action Review): 1) What was supposed to happen 2) What actually happened 3) Why were there differences 4) What can we learn for next time) are covered.

    What de Long doesn't deal with is the cost of collecting this knowledge vs the value received on a per item basis. Localized cost for globalized benefit usually plays poorly in most organizations.

    Still the book is well written and enjoyable. I've always been one to define my own job functions. It suggests to me that there is a potential role in any organization as a professional liason between groups and generations of expertise - a possible career choice. The book emphasises the value that is contributed by individuals in the workplace and gets you thinking about the need to transmit the legacy not only of things done well but of things done poorly.

    A book that inspires that kind of introspection is worth picking up and reading.

    4 out of 5 stars Protecting the Eroding Treasure of Knowledge.......2005-10-29

    The generation of workers that is moving into retirement now-the Traditionalists, followed by the huge (76.4 million) Baby Boomer cohort-has experienced an unprecedented era of change and growth. Workers in this period have typically stayed with one employer for many years, accumulating experience, continuity, and a wealth of knowledge that is principally captured within the individual. Now, as these workers retire, they're taking that invaluable knowledge with them; it's not being captured effectively to be used by successors. This loss is potentially a tremendous risk and cost for employers and for society.

    The book, written by a a research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Age Lab, is organized into three sections. The opening chapters explain the high cost of losing intellectual capital. The author provides an abundance of delicious examples of how the departure of workers with unique, uncaptured knowledge and experience will wreak havoc in practically every environment. He certainly makes his case, and maybe even overdoes it. I felt, at times, that I was getting bogged down in an almost repetitious litany of exposure to the problem.

    Part two takes us into evaluating knowledge retention practices. Readers will gain insights into developing the infrastructure and the process of preserving what people have absorbed, but not recorded or passed along to others. Again, DeLong presents a large volume of information, examples, and case studies-so much material that it seems to get in the way of the message. The small type size and book design make the book even more difficult to read. The content is strong, but the presentation was not holding my attention. I found my eyes glazing over on a number of occasions as I drifted, then pulled myself back to the message.

    The final section of the book moves us into implementation, again with example after example of what various companies are doing to protect their intellectual and operational knowledge. There is unquestionably a tremendous amount of value in these pages; it's just a bit difficult to draw it out without some serious concentration.

    The book concludes with a strong section of notes and a comprehensive index.

    5 out of 5 stars Lost Knowledge--A must read.......2005-05-27

    Lost Knowledge-a review


    I enjoyed Lost Knowledge immensely. I am not a corporate manager,
    but I found the book's insights and suggestions interesting, amusing and valuable. It's also incredibly readable. The anecdotes and stories are clever and compelling. The chapter dealing with the transfer of "explicit knowledge" got me thinking again about a woman I had known, the assistant to the head of an important organization, who had worked with him for several decades. She knew everything about anything. One day she was suddenly hit by a bus and killed and all her knowledge went with her. It took three people to replace her and even then...

    The chapter on transferring "tacit" knowledge was also right on target. I didn't realize, until I turned my business over to colleagues, just how much of what I did (dealing with vendors, clients, buyers, employees) was either instinctual or learned and nowhere written down. This book also made me reexamine the current spate of industrial mishaps and accidents. I wonder how much of what happens (train derailments, chemical spills, etc) are a result of what DeLong suggests is departed experience.

    The author identifies many hidden traps and challenges of lost knowledge and explains them clearly. Like the knowledge it so earnestly beseeches us to protect, this book should be kept and revisited as questions and challenges arise. If I were running a business again, I would consider this required reading.

    5 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Usefull.......2005-03-25

    This book deals with a fascinating and complex issue facing organizations today. It's full of compelling examples that show how losing knowledge can seriously hurt organizational performance. DeLong provides a comprehensive approach to the challenges posed by boomer retirements, and the solutions he describes will be very helpful to managers looking for a way to attack this growing problem.

    4 out of 5 stars Excellent Suggestions for Better Knowledge Management.......2004-08-29

    Around the developed countries of the world, knowledge workers will be retiring at a fast clip in the next five to ten years. In some companies and organizations that have done poor succession planning or have been wracked by layoffs, this impact will come sooner. Professor DeLong has done a number of helpful case studies to document the harm that these retirements can cause, and describes the questions that organizations must ask themselves if they are to avoid dangerous and expensive knowledge gaps.

    The bulk of the book is a detailed look at the effectiveness of knowledge management techniques in a variety of companies rather than a focus on the retirement problem. I was most impressed with the parts of the book that began with chapter 10 and continued to the end. If you have experience with the subject of knowledge management, you can skip the parts of the book that precede chapter 10. If you are new to the subject, you will find those parts helpful . . . but slowly developed. Stick with it. The material after chapter 9 is worth the wait.

    The central reality of knowledge management is that few executives are very interested in it, many retiring workers don't really want to share what they know and many new workers don't feel like they have much to learn from older workers. I was delighted to see that Professor DeLong was familiar with those problems and makes a number of helpful suggestions for overcoming those psychological stalls to maintaining and improving knowledge.

    Lest you think that the subject really isn't very important, you will be chilled to learn that there's a substantial risk of organizations forgetting how to disarm nuclear devices built in the 1970s and how to repair nuclear reactors built in the 1960s. In many other situations, life and death are at risk.

    Pass it along!
    Thieves' World: The Threat of the New Global Network of Organized Crime
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • A truly amazing organized crime book
    • A Book Without Boundaries
    • A Book Without Boundaries
    • An Excellent Work that Deserves Serious Attention.
    Thieves' World: The Threat of the New Global Network of Organized Crime
    Claire Sterling
    Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    5. The Best Enemy Money Can Buy The Best Enemy Money Can Buy

    ASIN: 0671749978

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars A truly amazing organized crime book.......2002-06-25

    Claire Sterling does an amazing job of exposing the new world order of organized crime. Her references seem impeccable and the story she tells is one of world governments crippled by an inability to coordinate and cooperate to the degree that counter-governments (ie, crime families) are cooperating. As a result, the world Sterling paints is one where crime is rapidly becoming the single dominant force in world politics and economics.

    4 out of 5 stars A Book Without Boundaries.......2001-09-28

    For anyone who wants to know the indepth ramifications of the new threat of global organized crime then look no further than Claire Sterlings supberb effort. I have read two other of Claire Sterling's books and was impressed. Very few authors can boast such a talent for researching as Mrs Sterling does.
    The book covers the networks of organized crime groups as she details their very important relationships with each of the other. Also what I found very impressive is the way she manages to get the figures for the numerous sums of money that is floating around so many the illegal markets. She also talks about the "Pax Mafiosi", something that Judge Falcone was aware of, the Pax Mafiosi being the new conglomeration of multinational criminal confederations, that is now the biggest threat to the worlds economy. The Russian Mafia are also mentioned to great aplomb, the mysterious syndicates that are now thriving following the break down of the old USSR. This book is an absolute must for anyone seeking knowledge about how the modern Mafia's are joining forces and becoming a multi hydra headed monster, that just keeps on growing new heads, when others are cut off.

    4 out of 5 stars A Book Without Boundaries.......2001-09-28

    For anyone who wants to know the indepth ramifications of the new threat of global organized crime then look no further than Claire Sterlings supberb effort. I have read two other of Claire Sterling's books and was impressed. Very few authors can boast such a talent for researching as Mrs Sterling does.
    The book covers the networks of organized crime groups as she details their very important relationships with each of the other. Also what I found very impressive is the way she manages to get the figures for the numerous sums of money that is floating around so many the illegal markets. She also talks about the "Pax Mafiosi", something that Judge Falcone was aware of, the Pax Mafiosi being the new conglomeration of multinational criminal confederations, that is now the biggest threat to the worlds economy. The Russian Mafia are also mentioned to great aplomb, the mysterious syndicates that are now thriving following the break down of the old USSR. This book is an absolute must for anyone seeking knowledge about how the modern Mafia's are joining forces and becoming a multi hydra headed monster, that just keeps on growing new heads, when others are cut off.

    5 out of 5 stars An Excellent Work that Deserves Serious Attention........1998-10-11

    This book represents and remains one of the most significant studies of the threat magnitude of international organized crime available today. It is a shame that it is out of print and that it has not received the attention it deserves. Sterling's thoroughly documented study makes crystal clear the breadth and depth of control/leverage purchased with drug profits by international crime organizations acting as a cooperative international affiliation of predators with an objective of power and all that can be achieved with such power over societies little aware of their existence. Sterling's work is an important statement that should have received far more visibility.
    Annihilation from Within: The Ultimate Threat to Nations
    Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
    • Not as objective as I had hoped
    • A Neocon problem
    • scary!
    • Five Proposals to Avert a Super 9/11
    • Very Thought Provoking
    Annihilation from Within: The Ultimate Threat to Nations
    Fred Charles Iklé
    Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 0231139527

    Book Description

    In this eloquent and impassioned book, defense expert Fred Iklé predicts a revolution in national security that few strategists have grasped; fewer still are mindful of its historic roots. We are preoccupied with suicide bombers, jihadist terrorists, and rogue nations producing nuclear weapons, but these menaces are merely distant thunder that foretells the gathering storm.

    It is the dark side of technological progress that explains this emerging crisis. Globalization guarantees the spread of new technologies, whether beneficial or destructive, and this proliferation reaches beyond North Korea, Iran, and other rogue states. Our greatest threat is a cunning tyrant gaining possession of a few weapons of mass destruction. His purpose would not be to destroy landmarks, highjack airplanes, or attack railroad stations. He would annihilate a nation's government from within and assume dictatorial power. The twentieth century offers vivid examples of tyrants who have exploited major national disasters by rallying violent followers and intimidating an entire nation.

    To explain how we have become so vulnerable, Iklé turns to history. Some 250 years ago, science was freed from political and religious constraints, causing a cultural split in which one part of our culture remained animated by religion and politics while the other became guided by science. Since then, technological progress and the evolving political order march to different drummers. Science advances at an accelerating pace while religion and politics move along a zigzag course. This divergence will widen and endanger the survival of all nations.

    Drawing on his experience as a Washington insider, Iklé outlines practical measures that could readily be implemented to help us avert the worst disaster.

    Customer Reviews:

    3 out of 5 stars Not as objective as I had hoped.......2007-05-13

    This book was interesting in the beginning but got harder to read towards the end. It starts out as fairly objective but then launches into right wing talking points. It appears as though the author just got lazy and decided to finish the book rather than sum up the logical argument. I wouldn't suggest it unless you are of that ilk. It will reaffirm what you already believe.

    2 out of 5 stars A Neocon problem.......2007-03-26

    The problem with Ikle is that he is a long time Neocon, one of those who pushed the administration into the Iraq war. What he and most Neocons don't want Americans to realize is that the "terrorist" threat is the consequence of US (and UK) neo-colonialism in the Muslim world. The US and the UK have a long history of using military and other means to interfere in the affairs of the Muslim Middle East, exercising a blatant colonialism based on regime overthrow as well as military invasion. "Terrorism" has been the Muslim reaction to this aggression. The best way to avoid "annihilation" by terror would be for the US and the UK, and their surrogates, to get out of the Middle East and leave the Muslim nations there alone. If we left them alone they would leave us alone and have no reason to attack us. But Ikle would prefer that we not understand this.

    4 out of 5 stars scary!.......2007-01-03

    The scenarios painted by Iklé are disturbing; they bear all too similar a resemblance to those from Vernor Vinge's science fiction novel, "Rainbows End", with the exception that current governments are not at all prepared to cope with a world in which small fringe groups can obtain WMD. It was even more of a surprise to realize that the scenario behind the graphic novel and movie "V" is precisely that described by Iklé: covert internal use of WMD by political extremists so that they can can power in the ensuing chaos. But Iklé's analysis is harder to discount than movies, comic books, or novels.

    An unexpected gem from the "Annihilation" is Iklé's portrayer of Ronald Reagan, who had the reputation as a war monger, as someone who abhored the risks inherent in a policy of Mutual Assured Destruction.

    My biggest complaint is that, despite its short length, the book is very repetitive.

    5 out of 5 stars Five Proposals to Avert a Super 9/11.......2006-12-02

    This 100 page book is not a defeatist story of gloom and doom. Despite its unflinching analysis of ominous threats to the survival of our nation and our civilization, it offers an innovative list of five measures that the United States could to take to avert "annihilation from within" - a nuclear detonation or other super 9/11 designed by a new Lenin or Hitler aimed at seizing power in the US, or any nation. First, Iklé reveals that after a decade of efforts by Los Alamos, Livermore and the Pentagon's Science Board, mid-level officials have blocked the massive research scientists agree is needed to build nuclear weapons detectors. One idea from Lowell Wood is a gamma-ray color camera, but the needed R&D has not been funded due to complacency. Iklé reveals the FBI and Homeland Security have already done "thousands" of "false alarm" searches - yet Congress has not funded the new technology to detect stolen nuclear materials.

    Second, Iklé shocks us when he describes how the US Congress has failed to pass legislation to determine in advance how Congress would be restored after a "super 9/11."

    Third, the Congress has not yet clarified what emergency powers any future President would have [or be denied] after a "super 9/11."

    Fourth, Iklé exposes an obscure UN protocol on asylum from 1967 that could require the US to accept asylum seekers, even if they have committed super terrorist acts - Taliban soldiers were admitted to the UK and Holland after 9/11 under this UN protocol.

    Fifth, Iklé proposes that after a "super 9/11" incident, a coalition government like Churchill's welcoming Atlee in World War II [despite the error of Munich] and FDR-Truman worked with Republicans Vandenberg and Foster Dulles. Ikle implies a Woodrow Wilson- type of extreme partisan could not hold the nation together after a super 9/11. [Wilson famously scorned Senator Lodge and the Senate soon rejected the UN Charter of its day, which some historians claim began the path to World War II.]

    Iklé is cautiously optimistic that Americans have the stamina and patriotism to prevail against an attempt to annihilate the US Government from within, but the chances will improve if his proposals are implemented. He says, "The United States would be the most difficult target for a any such nuclear power-grab, ... because of its inner political strength." And an important source of strength for Americans is their "common emotional bond with the past," based on the "extraordinary continuity of the American Constitution." An overarching historical account gives reasons to adopt Iklé's five proposals: his warning of our excessive optimism about technological progress that disregards the growing divergence between technology and the global political order. Iklé's concern about nuclear accidents at The Rand Corp. in the 1950s led to the safety controls (PALs) on nuclear weapons, so he knows as an insider how detailed proposals can be supported by broad, even sweeping reviews.

    Ikle opens an entirely new vista with his succinct projection of two converging trends: advances in computer science and brain science. Unless this convergence can be stopped (and there is nothing in sight that would stop it) some nations will build decision centers that complement the strength of the latest computers with the unique capabilities of the human brain. China already initiated such a decision center for long term forecasting. If a truly effective brain-computer symbiosis can be achieved, Iklé warns, it may pose a fundamental challenge to all religions; indeed it could upend human civilization.

    Ikle takes great pains to explain why this vista is not the same as the false claims of the Artificial Intelligence enthusiasts, who have predicted for fifty years that computers (without a living brain) will soon surpass the full panoply of human intelligence. Iklé's book, carefully read, will be an eye-opener for blinkered Artificial Intelligence experts.
    Let's hope the new members of Congress will read this fascinating and short book.


    5 out of 5 stars Very Thought Provoking.......2006-11-30

    This little book brings a lot of thought to the fore. There are basically three themes I'd like to mention:

    Nuclear Terrorism - He sees this as a major threat. So do I. And for the first time the terrorists will have the opportunity to create real havoc. And if done say in Washington during a time when the President is addressing a joint session of congress it could effectively de-capitate the country. Or if done at a G8 summit. Or if it done so as to wipe out the present leadership of Saudi Arabia.

    He sees the potential of a ruthless, perhaps messianic leader then stepping forward and taking over the country as Hitler did after the Reichstag fire. I don't see that happening here. We don't have a history of such actions in this country. On the other hand we do have a history of revolution and assassination. Fear of such a takeover was why the writers of the constitution put in the second ammendment. The Nazi's used gun registration records to remove guns from the people that didn't support them, i.e. the Jews.

    But could someone, Osama bin Laden perhaps, use a nuclear device to wipe out the Saudi leadership and then take over Saudi Arabia. Possibly, and the removal of Saudi oil from the world market would be at risk. This would give us a big time depression, or an invasion of course.

    Finally he sees the growth of super-human intelligence in computers as being a threat. I've been in the computer business for more than forty years. I don't see even a hint of this.

    All in all, a very thought provoking book.

    Books:

    1. Sandra Brown CD Collection 2: A Treasure Worth Seeking, Shadows of Yesterday, Prime Time
    2. Scourge of the Seas: Buccaneers, Pirates & Privateers (General Military)
    3. Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower
    4. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth
    5. Service of All the Dead
    6. Ships of the Line (Star Trek)
    7. Smarts: Are We Hardwired for Success?
    8. Star Trek: Action!
    9. Star Wars Chronicles
    10. Starlight Surprise (My Secret Unicorn)

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