Homeland Security Books

A representative from the Criminal Justice University contacted me and pointed out this list of ten homeland security books that he feels may be of value to the readers here. I have to say, I haven't personally read any of them, but unless the title has "WMD" in it, they probably wouldn't get my attention. Having said that, I do in fact need to do some research in this area, so this is the list that I'm starting with.

• Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy, by Mark Lowenthal
• Terrorism and Homeland Security: An Introduction, by Johathan White
• Islam and Terrorism, by Mark Gabriel
• Inside Terrorism, by Bruce Hoffman
• Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror, by Richard Clarke
• U.S. Homeland Security: A Reference Handbook, by Howard Ball
• Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It, by Richard Clarke and Robert Knake
• The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, by Lawrence Wright
• Safeguarding Homeland Security: Governors and Mayors Speak Out, by Simon Hakim

If any of you have read these books and have an opinion, please leave a comment.

Comments

[a weary warrior/loggie]

Our business is feeding on the fears of the American Public and business is good.
I am not a big fan of Colin Powell but he hit the button on the head with the fact the Terrorism Industrial Complex is replacing the MIC. When I grew up all we feared were 40,000 cobalt bombs, now it's shoe bombers.

[George Smith]

Here's all you need to know about Richard Clarke and his recent "Cyber War" book. I have a long history of observing the guy.

http://dickdestiny.com/blog1/2010/02/26/cult-chief-flogs-book-richard-clarke-threat-or-menace/

http://dickdestiny.com/blog1/2010/05/24/cult-of-cyberwar-cult-chieftains-book-gets-lukewarm-reviews/

His "Against All Enemies" book made him a celebrity with the left because, at the time, they thought it contained enough bad news to damage the Bush administration. We know how that turned out.

Google "I, Vermin from under Rock."

[tammy swofford]

One particular selection caught my eye because the author uses two primary references which are part of my personal library, one in almost daily usage for my own research.

Other than that, I am not familiar with any of the selections, so cannot make an intelligent comment.

Tammy

[IRR Soldier...]

Since Mark Gabriel's book is on that list, I think the entire list is suspect.

Gabriel's book is seen by many as an evangelical hatchet job on islam.

Gabriel has also become something of a minor celebrity on the tea party circuit.

Here's a link to some dissenting opinions on Gabriel's "scholarship."

http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Terrorism-Mark-Gabriel/product-reviews/0884198847/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar

[Marg]

Hoffman's book is the best, if not Top 3, as an introduction to terrorism. Top-notch scholarship.

Lowenthal is very good to excellent in terms of readability and context, imo, introduction to the role and responsibilities intelligence community and intelligence analysis in the US and a healthy dose of dymystification, i.e., it's neither James Bond nor Alias.

Beyond those two, the first question that comes to my mind is what is the purpose of this list and who is the intended audience?

I would consider strongly using Wright's book as a narrative for establishing a common baseline for more analytical discussion.

If the intent is to focus more specifically on radical Islamist terrorism, Sageman's _Leaderless Jihad_ should also be included. He and Hoffman are in many ways akin to the Nagl and Gentile of terrorism.

If it's a graduate seminar, one should include primary documents, e.g., the USNI's _Canons of Jihad_ (http://www.usni.org/store/books/iraq-afghanistan/canons-jihad, "the Federalist Papers of the jihadist movement") or _The Terrorists Perspectives Project_ (http://www.usni.org/store/books/iraq-afghanistan/terrorist-perspectives-project).

Again, depending on the intention of list, Clarke's book could be very interesting to use as text to illustrate how politics and personality influence what might be portrayed as objective discussions. And how different individuals, with the best of intentions, come to very different conclusions and policy recommendations. (One could also be less diplomatic in the critical analysis.)

[Ray]

Can anyone enlighten me as to why terrorism has become such an egghead subject? At least, name some categories; stupid terrorists to ascendency grades. It comes down to bombs and other weaponry in the end, for the use against targets, when-and-whereof. Could any of these books amount to a practical manual?
Devil's Advocate...

[Ray]

PS:
http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/terrorism/
countered with:
http://www.securitymanagement.com/news/al-qaeda-terrorism-manual-surfaces-web-site-005362

[Rob]

I enjoyed The Looming Tower. Well written and not too long.

[George Smith]

Writing books about terrorism isn't science. In science publication, you report your results, even if they don't agree with your original hypotheses. Often even negative results can have meaning.

Generally speaking, though, the problem with the practice re terrorism is there is no incentive to write books that don't inflate the subject. So publication selects only for one result.

You don't have a job, you don't have a book -- if you aren't finding terrorists. Even if they're totally inept fools like the underwear bomber or the Zazi fellow who bought up shopping cart loads of beauty store peroxide or the goon who set himself on fire trying to ram the Glasgow airport with his vehicle. (He was teamed with someone who parked a "car bomb" in a tow away zone.)

So you have guys like Bruce Hoffman and Peter Bergen writing their latest report for some commission, emphasizing the number of failed attacks in the past couple years rather than the flip side of the coin. Which is al Qaeda has a serious quality control problem.

[NVH]

Now see, I was hoping I could get a quick dart in here at Clarke, and then Marg above comes in with a perfectly beautiful reason to read the book, but I still won't give it the time of day...I've also heard Inside Terrorism is top notch...

[Michael W]

The Wright book caused me to do a double take on the intelligence community. Many of the structural failings identified in the book, sadly, are still around. If you have to sit in interagency meetings you'll also find much in the book to identify with. A good read.