Agencies

J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets by Curt Gentry is a biography of J. Edgar Hoover one of the most powerful men in Washington, D.C. In his time, Hoover kept files on everyone in power, he trusted no one and his paranoia isolated him further.

Hoover was a bachelor and a private man, but he was not a particularly honest man. He blackmailed, threw his influence around, used illegal wiretaps, and was seroiusly flawed as a human being. America's "number one cop" loved to use sexual slander as his favorite tool to destroy all who crossed his path.

This book reveals Hoover as a man who was frighteningly obsessed and had the power to change U.S. History and wasn't afraid to use it if it made him a national hero. Hoover was director of the FBI and during his tenure he manipulated presidents, the Supreme Court and Congress. No one was immune to him and his incorruptible FBI.

I found this book to be written well, as the narrative flows, the reader in enveloped into intrigue and into Hoover's web of paranoia. J. Edgar Hoover spread his political cancer far and wide making him virtually untouchable. A shocking tale of a man for nearly fifty years who would destroy anyone with his virtually unchecked power.

A very good read that will fascinate the reader and keep your intrest throughout.

Curt Gentry's book is about J.Edgar Hoover(JEH), the most powerful, most durable U.S.bureaucrat ever and about the KGB-, Gestapo-like organization (the FBI) that he created. Since JEH held his position for 55 years - he served under 8 presidents and 16 attorneys general- the book offers a multitude of extremely interesting historical moments involving the interplay between JEH, the FBI, and elements and major personalities of our government and society. While Gentry never resolves the issue of JEH's sexual orientation, he does adequately document why JEH can rightfully be described as ambitious, puritanical, vain, loquacious, cold and unemotional, neat, organized and resourceful, articulate, devious and manipulative, prejudiced, effective, smart, vindictive, energetic, feared, and, on some rare occasions, humorous.
The FBI's methods and techniques -legal and illegal- by which the FBI acquired the information and the secrets that filled FBI file cabinets - the secrets that constituted JEH's real power- are fully described: telephone (wire) taps/recordings, 'bugs' (surreptitiously mounted miniature microphones in the homes, offices, vehicles, organizations, etc., of FBI targets), 'black bag jobs'(breaking and entering operations to collect info, membership and mailing lists, etc.), burglaries (forced, illegal entries to steal or to plant incriminating evidence), mail openings (to and from targeted individuals and organizations), infiltrations (using FBI spies who are or become members of targeted organizations), paid and unpaid informants, 'news' leaks (to embarrass or discredit individuals or organizations), anonymous messages (to intimidate or coerce targeted individuals or organizations), and counter-intelligence programs (active measures and strategies implemented to generate family feuds, or internal conflicts between individuals or within organizations).
Also very interesting are those historical moments that Gentry identifies when JEH's responses and actions impacted upon the nation both significantly and negatively - like, for example, his long time policy that organized crime did not exist in the U.S., his secret but indispensable aid to Sen. McCarthy's anti-communist campaign, his failure to provide FDR with available intelligence that could have altered the events at Pearl Harbor, and his on-going advice to LBJ that anti-Vietnam protests were communist-inspired (vs. a true manifestation of genuine American opposition to the war).
In short, if you enjoy U.S. history - and you want 'the rest (or at least more) of the story' - you'll enjoy this book.

A Republican President is besieged by criticism. He believes the Democratic party headquarters has a file that would damage his reputation, so he orders a burglary. R Nixon in 1972? No, H Hoover in 1930 (p.153)! 1933 saw a change in Administrations. J Edgar Hoover again demonstrated his usefulness to the new AG (p.155). Page 163 tells of some doubts about Bruno Hauptmann's guilt: his fingerprints did not match "the latent impressions developed on the ransom notes and the ransom money" found in the garage! Page 181 notes the friends of Hoover; one was AA Berle, "whose former commanding officer was General Van Deman".

Chapter 15 discusses the arrests made when Hoover was on the scene; he was a better administrator than a detective. In the 1930s he personally conducted several vice raids in Miami, until complaints about ruining the tourist business brought them to an end. Chapter 16 tells about the proposed coup d'etat against FDR. General Smedley Butler, who was forced to retire after criticizing Mussolini, was approached by bankers who wanted to make him head of the American Legion (p.201). They wanted the American Legion to copy the Fascisti of Italy, and lead a march on Washington to change the Administration. Page 203 tells of the American Liberty League, the clique behind this proposed putsch. General Butler took his story to Hoover ("no federal crime involved"), then to the new House Un-American Activities Committee. Many of the sponsors of the American Liberty League then withdrew their support; other groups (like 'America First') were created (p.204). The FBI began intelligence investigations into the Nazi movement, a departure from criminal investigations.

On 8/24/1936 FDR held a private meeting with Hoover. The new task would be to investigate Fascism and Communism. Did the FBI lack authority? Hoover said he could do this only if the State Dept requested it. That was done the next day (p.207). On 11/30/1939 Hoover told Congress he had resurrected the despised GID to list suspected individuals, groups, and organizations. If needed, he could imprison "both aliens and citizens", such as radical labor leaders, critical journalists and writers, and certain members of Congress (p.213)! Complaints to FDR about Hoover keeping tabs on their activities helped Hoover (p.223), because FDR like to hear about this. FDR also ordered Hoover to do more political intelligence on his opponents (p.225). One of FDR's secret tapes records him giving instructions on how to smear Willkie (p.227).

Page 232 tells how FDR overruled the Supreme Court decision against wiretapping! Page 234 tells of the ACLU "stooge". Page 241 tells of FDR's deal with HUAC: if people couldn't be prosecuted, then HUAC could smear them. Pages 269-273 tell about Dusko Popov's visit to America, and his unheeded warning about an attack on Pearl Harbor. (See Robert Stinnett's book "Day of Deceit".) Page 282 tells of mail opening being done in WW II and for decades after. Page 283 tells of rumors of planting incriminating evidence! Bugging hotel rooms is noted on page 286. The bitter rivalry between Hoover and Henry Morgenthau Jr is discussed on page 293. There were constant battles with Army and Navy intelligence. Page 296 tells of Pearl Harbor investigations.

Hoover was a top-level bachelor bureaucrat who remained in office during many administrations. We will never see his kind again. (Congress passed a law against it.)

This is the story gathered through hundreds of interviews with both US and USSR players of the battle between the CIA and KGB in the closing days of the Cold War, 1985 through the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Part I, Year of the Spy tells of the efforts to "turn" KGB agents, Government officials and high-ranking military and subsequent contacts by their American controllers. We're told of the constant surveillance of embassy officials, the training of new agents, tricks for eluding tails. Surprising to me was the involvement of spouses who often accompanied the agents on "runs" or otherwise aided the agents. In training there would be surprise arrests that would seem real to the agents, they would include a roughing up by FBI agents. The test for the agent was to hold back his CIA connection.
Starting in 1985 a string of our moles were arrested by the KGB. Despite ridicule of James Jesus Angleton whose paranoia about moles inside the CIA was legend, it appeared now that his paranoia was well-placed.
The luring of moles, their exchanges of money and information at drop points are covered from both sides. For example meticulous planning has gone into a "run," i.e., CIA meeting with a KGB agent to exchange money, needs, information. The story is told by the US agent arriving at the drop site, having shaken his KGB tail; the same story is then told by KGB officials who are setting him up and the capture of the spy (a scientist in this case).
Almost at the same time, June '85, Aldrich Ames was meeting in DC with his Russian handler, delivering to him the name of every spy he knew. He did this because John Walker, US Navy man, had been arrested in May as a Russian spy. Ames feared Walker had been fingered to the FBI by someone in the KGB that the CIA had previously "turned." He didn't want the same fate.
In their recruitment efforts the CIA always had to be on the alert for "dangles." These were spies trying to be double agents. Some of the Russians turned for money, some for ideology, a hatred for the Communist system. Edward Lee Howard was a CIA agent who was fired by the CIA and who betrayed us out of his anger over what he thought was unfair treatment. He eluded capture and escaped to Russia with help from his wife, his training in eluding tails, and the incompetence of the FBI.
There were constant turf wars between the FBI and CIA which sometimes got in the way.
Robert Hanssen (FBI) started spying in 1979. Among information turned over to the KGB was his revealing to them the spy tunnel under the Soviet embassy in DC.
There were many more tales of recruitment, capture and sometimes execution.

Part II, Afghanistan. In December 1979 Russia invaded Afghanistan. They were fearful of the country coming under the sphere of the US, further completing the ring around the USSR.
When the British decided decades earlier to withdraw from Afghanistan, the cost of marching out was horrific, 16,000 men were reduced to 1 left standing
After the loss of 15,000 soldiers, in 1986 Gorbachev decided enough was enough. He wanted to get out, but how to do it without looking like the US in Vietnam or with the costs the British incurred.
US efforts helped Gorbachev reach his decision to exit. We had been pouring in money and arms. The destruction of a huge Russian arms depot was pivotal in firming up his mind as was the introduction of Stinger missiles and advanced anti-tank weapons, both of which produced spectacular results.
They managed the withdrawal at a minimum loss of life. Then began the tribal chiefs dislodging the puppet leader in Kabul and the jockeying amongst themselves for leadership.

Part III, Endgame. The story here is the winding down of the Soviet Union, starting with tearing down the Berlin Wall, the role of the East German secret police, STASI and the interplay with the CIA. The dissolution of Reagan's Evil Empire, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Rumania and the Baltic states; the fragility of the new Russia and its near fall to reactionary forces, the emergence of Yeltsin.

Aldrich Ames was arrested in 1994 after 20 years of spying. A Russian agent provided enough information but no name, enabling the CIA to identify him. A group within the CIA had spent years trying to locate the leak that James Jesus Angleton was sure existed.

Robert Hanssen was arrested in 2001 after 22 years of betrayal, his capture also aided by Russian agents.

The author Milt Bearden was close to all the activities he recounts. He concluded after a thorough analysis of times and dates that there must be another mole yet to surface within the CIA.

I found much of the book exciting. After all, this wasn't fiction; these were real people and events.

It is good to see a book written about the late stages and aftermath of the Cold War by someone who was actually involved in it and committed to the American side at the time. The straight CIA-KGB stuff at the beginning can be a tad frustrating as it is more anecdotal than analytic, more spy story than retrospective scrutiny. And when the spy narratives resurface at the end amid the USSR's dissolution they go little beyond what was known at the time from the headlines. But the Afghanistan stuff is truly fascinating. Bearden reveals how flawed, indeed sometimes ludicrous, the Soviet rationale both for invading Afghanistan and staying there after 1985 truly was. The Stinger missile technology was only used in Afghanistan after the US became convinced that the Soviets already knew of it so using it in a place where the USSR was bound to capture some evidence of it did not jeopardize the integrity of the technology. This is illustrative of an epistemological paradox--tools which can be effectively deployed are tools whose secret is already known and thus cannot be given away; transparency was, in this case, more efficacious against the enemy than mystery. By being known, the Stingers escaped the net of deterrence that held everything in seeming deadlock, and this was certainly a turning point in the Afghanistan war and perhaps the Cold War as well. Another memorable episode occurs when the Mujahedin use a Stinger to shoot down a Soviet MI-24D attack helicopter and Bearden, monitoring events in Islamabad, sees a video of a dead Soviet soldier of about twenty; realizing it looks too much like a 'typical' American soldier for comfort, he does not transmit it back to Washington along with the rest of the information about the effectiveness of the Stingers. This is not only a moving revelation of humanity and compassion on the part of a hardened operative in the midst of the global chess game but an anecdote rife with implications both for the nature of the Cold War as well, of course, for events in Afghanistan today. Bearden explicitly compares Operating Enduring Freedom to the Soviet Afghan experience. In fact sometimes the similarities he observes are misleading if taken literally because, though the terrain and even some of the personalities have remained the same, the global framework is so different. Bearden is a straight shooter but he has also thought about the events in which he was involved. He and his collaborator James Risen have made this a rich and rewarding book, written with narrative flair, that is a quick and riveting reading experience. Though an ardent Cold Warrior, and justifiably so, he is an independent thinker and does not necessarily ratify consensus. The photographs included also tell many stories in themselves.

This is a work about diverging cultures on two levels. It is the conflict between the cultures of the two world powers, the USSR and the United States. But a theme running throughout the book is how the world of intelligence is a culture unto itself. This story is better than any fictional tale around. Tom Clancy only wishes he could produce something like this.

We are back in the final days of the Cold War, with both sides working through proxies and attempting to trump the other side in any way possible. What strikes one throughout is the motive difference between those who chose to spy for the other side. The few Americans did so for money or revenge. The volunteers behind the Iron Curtain - and this included generals, high-up party members, scientists - did so for ideological reasons. The two worse US spies - Hannson (FBI) and Ames (CIA) both loved the thrill and the money; both were contemptuous of the Soviets.

In the end, this is an old-fashioned spy tale with all that that implies - skulking in the dark alleys, the drops, the chase, the planting of devices, transfers of cash, discreet signs, suicide pills, bravery, cowardice and a battle of wills in the agencies that exemplified the clash between the two cultures. This is one of those books you just can't put down.

I had never thought about how difficult it is to define a person clearly. Most biographies seem to concentrate on a dominant theme in a person's life. The life of a statesman, businessman, or military leader each provide the reader with a focus, that is the kind of story they are about to hear. This book has a devil of a time with this man Brandy because he is so hard to define. Frank Brandstetter has been an American success story of the type romanticized more than a century ago-but he is very much a real person! The book could easily have focused on a single aspect of his life. His WWII, pursuits which in part helped define the modern role of airborne forces or the fact that he was perhaps the best hotelier in the world thirty years later-each story would have made a respectable biography. It must have been hard to define a man who excelled at so many things in a life of intertwining interests and pursuits. Several months ago I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Brandy. In the hours of talk we enjoyed I was struck by the fact that though he appreciated the full complexity of the world (and was very much up to date on current affairs),he was able to distill and express the simple principles at work. Whether in a scientist or statesman this elegance is the mark of genius. The energy and electricity that surrounds him is coupled with a kindness and generosity that is remarkable. In this day of systems and focus on the group, it is inspiring to see what an individual can accomplish. Brandy's story should be read by everyone, students and adults, to remind us that committment to principles, hard work, and never ending creative forces can make a difference in our lives and those of others.

Brandy, Our Man in Acapulco; The Life and Times of Frank M. Brandstetter, is a fascinating account of the never-dull life of Brandy, a colorful WWII hero, intelligence officer, and hotelier. The co-authors, Professor Carlisle and Dr. Monetta, engage the reader with tales from the interesting life of a Hungarian immigrant who was at the center of some of the century's most memorable and important events. The authors recount Brandy's heroic escapades, from D-Day and helping to foil a massive breakout of German POW's from England during WWII, to ensuring the safety and rescue of hundreds of Americans from Cuba after Castro's rise to power. Following his retirement from active military duty and his "semi" retirement from intelligence work, Brandy went on to create and manage Las Brisas, the number one resort in the world during the 1970's. Many of his innovative management and motivational techniques are predecessors of current day employee motivation and hospitality management principles. The book's enticing Foreword is written by Astronaut Jim Lovell, of Apollo 13 fame. An excellent choice for history buffs and WWII enthusiasts, "Brandy" is quite a story and one that I highly recommend.

I met Colonel Frank Brandstetter in Omaha beach, Normandy-France, late 70's. Fantastic personality, true humanity, a great lesson of life at a time when the Cold War was not over yet.

I was assigned to Ste.Mere Eglise by the Commander of the 32nd Company Division, during my national service after finishing the military academy (reserved officers). Mission was to be the "ordonnance" of this VIP for the D-Day ceremonies. There were also exhausted officers just back from Vietnam. We tried our best to take care of all these great people, and shared a lot of good and intense moments during the ceremonies.

I was early 20, he was soon 70 and Frank told me a lot about the war and the peace, about the life and death, about mission and respect, and how to be able to "carry on" day after day.

I remember his comments about General Ridgway, about Europe and USA, about horrors of war and hate but he mostly talked, free, about peace and how to maintain the peace and build the future. It was really an experience! God, he spoke so many languages in the same time. The whole crowd around was impressed, so was I. Well, I saw him with my eyes and heard with my own ears how he had managed and practice the talents he had during WW2 and after that, in Europe.

If one of the most important thing in life, for all of us, is to know what are the good things we leave behind us; well, i guess that Frank could teach a young man and a few other guys at an important time in their lives, how to manage and forecast the rest of their lives; and he did it well. I have not met Frank again, and I often thought about Accapulco and "Brandy" in his colourful Jeep riding in the jungle around the resort, opened to the astronauts back on earth, all of them firmly standing on the world again.

I never forgot his fascinating character. He achieved a hell of a job as an Officer who had a tough life, as a man, and as a friend.

Later on, my work drove me and my wife to work in the Far-East, very closed from a place where General Ridgway took over the work of an other historical icone, Doug. Mc Arthur. And I often remembered, on assigments for my media, a couple of lessons Frank Brandstetter tought to me.

I really think the writers did an extraordinary and fascinating book, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for that amazing encounter, now presented and shared with people. Bravo ! Joel Legendre

Robert Hanssen poses such a puzzle to any right thinking individual that a million books could be written concerning him. An FBI agent, a dedicated family man and a devout Roman Catholic. At the same time, Robert Hanssen represented the worst KGB infiltration into the American intelligence community in the nations history. Hanssen was by no means a genius, but he was smart enough to fool almost every one around him, splitting personalities and giving up the nations most precious secrets. His information led the KGB to numerous spies, allowing them to be executed. Million dollar project were compromised, and the KGB was given a full schematic of US counterintelligence schemes. In other words, almost absolute devastation. And all because of the frumpy guy with the six kids who went to church everyday. The story is mind boggling in its psychological complexities, but noted espionage author David Wise manages to translate the dark world of spies into the vernacular, giving the average reader a clear picture of a most fractured man.

If it wasn't for his career of espionage, Hanssen would be wholly unremarkable. The son of a Chicago police officer, Hanssen studies accounting and dentistry before joining the Chicago force. He then went to work for the FBI in critical but hardly glamorous intelligence positions. He raised a family, was pious and charitable in his faith, and seemed destined to leave out his life as a good, productive civil servant. This was not to be. At some point, in the late 1970's, Hanssen decided to step away from his life of convention and begin to work for the Soviet Union. He was a wonderful spy, as his espoused views on communism and his somewhat distant demeanor kept his safe from the eyes of the spyhunters. His work was damaging, as he compromised sources such as TOPHAT, devastating Soviet human intelligence for a decade. The most troubling part of the story is the fact that clues began to trickle into the Bureau, but were ignored because the idea of a mole inside the FBI was so disturbing to the top brass. Even so, a study was put together in order to examine the entire history of suspected moles inside the United States. The study was headed by Robert Hanssen.

Hanssen is a man of startling contradictions, almost impossible to understand. He was a fervent Catholic, yet he often indulged in very odd sexual and pornographic fantasies, including letting his close friend watch him and his wife have sex. The psychological aspect of the book is as intriguing as it is confusing, as the FBI tried to understand what made this agent turn on them. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. Hanssen became more desperate as time moved on and the FBI finally began to close the next around him. Yet, he still displayed a strange sense of resignation and continued disregard of procedure. Was it money, was it the role of his father? The answer is still pretty much up in the air.

Wise does an exceptional job of revealing the world of secrets and espionage to the reader. Hanssen himself often pales in terms of intrigue, as we learn of all the ancillary intelligence activities taking place around him. The reader gets a good nuts and bolts sense of the game, as it were, and that is instrumental in helping one understand a man like Hanssen. The book is heavily and studiously researched, relying on all sorts of secret documents and interviews with the key players. Wise provides a stunning narrative concerning the operation that finally revealed the identity of "Ramon Garcia," Hanssen's nom de guerre. All in all, it is an excellent work concerning a traitor who did an unimaginable amount of damage to his country.

David Wise's book about the FBI's Robert Hanssen who betrayed his country is clear and concisely written.

Is is the best book on Hanssen and his betrayals of secrets dealing with the FBI and CIA. Mr Wise's book almost seems to good to be true more fiction than reality, but that is exactly what it is reality. The game of espionage is messy business indeed and Mr. Wise paints the picture clearly in his book.

In my opinion this is the best of the current books available on the subject.

I have read four books on the Hanssen case and this is by far the best. It offers a well-researched story about all aspects of the Hanssen case and includes detailed information about the inside workings of the FBI and CIA. It also manages to be extremely thorough without focusing excessively on the more lurid aspects of Hanssen's betrayals. Wise gives a vivid picture of how espionage works, what the effects of Hanssen's spying were, and why Hanssen was able to remain undetected for so long. The only flaw, if one can call it that, is Wise's somewhat dry prose style and matter-of-fact approach to storytelling. Other books have more of the salacious details, such as the text of Hanssen's pornographic e-mails and descriptions of his relationship with a stripper, but if you only have time for one Hanssen book this is definitely the one.

In this book the author details how no female between the ages of 11 and 68 was safe from Koresh's unwanted sexual attentions. The fact that Koresh was having sex with 11 year old girls made the author feel merely "uncomfortable" instead of being outraged and disgusted like any normal sane person would be. This shows the extent of Koresh's brainwashing on his followers. The author tells how it was a case of "David take my daughter, take my wife, take my bank account just show me the "truth". Koresh promised them all Heaven but instead took them to Hell in a fiery inferno killing 86 of his devoted followers. In my opinion anybody who thinks he can get "Enlightenment" from a child molesting, wife stealing , tax evading ninth grade dropout deserves everything he gets. For a more accurate portayal of Waco and David Koresh may I suggest Marc Breault's excellent book "Inside The Cult"

A nonfiction book of this sort is the most difficult to review because there are so many factors to consider. About the writing style: I felt it was quite good (thus four stars), but I would have liked the story to move along faster. Much of the book could have been condensed, leaving room for all of the things that were left out (and I'm convinced a whole bunch of stuff was).

The author seemed determined to show how it was rational for him to haved joined this group, but he failed. I kept reading between the lines thinking, WHAT WAS HE THINKING? This is not an objective report. This does not tell you what really happened at Waco. But perhaps that is not the author's fault. I doubt any book on the subject CAN be objective. What those of us who weren't involved must do is read everything we can on the subject and draw our own, hopefully rational conclusions. A lot of people made mistakes in Waco. David Thibodeau is no exception.

David Thibodeau's mother was the leader of what they called the hostage families during the Waco siege and it is one of the fortunate things that happened that her son siurvived the fire. This book apparently goes into what life was really like at Waco, just how bad and just how good.

Although not mentioned by Kirkus or the author for some reason, perhaps a fear of controversy I think this book would have to talk about the fire and the events that ended the compound at Waco, and probably deal with some of the not so little lies said during and after the siege, like the claim that it was called Ranch Apocalypse.

David Thibodeau has said it is not true that any shots were fired from inside the compound on April 19. He was interviewed a few times during the Congressional hearings. I don't know how much of what he knows got into this book, but it is something I am going to get.

(The story of the events of the siege has been made very complicated, of course, so to really deal with it, rebuttig all the things said that are wrong and rebutting the attempted rebuttals of the rebutalls would be very long.)

By way of background, explaining where I am coming from:

I have a personal opinion about the fire, which is that is was done to protect J. William Buford head of the bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Fire- arms in Little Rock who had murdered three agents under his command. they were not former Clinton boodyguard, Bill Clinton himself was responsible for starting that story by claiming in a speech to Treasury department employees in March 1993 that they had been assigned to his security something most likely untrue and if true very incidental. His motive may have been to disguise the reason for their murder. Clinton sent Roger Altman to personally speak to Buford after the raid - this was ovrheard by a Wall Street journal reporter present in the White House to do a story about a week in the President's life. (the story was in the March 9, 1993 Wall Street Journal - and it is the only place this connection was mentioned in all the news coverage about Waco. It is mentioned in Carol Moore's book, because I wrote her and told her about it.

After the fire the place of the death of the three agents, originally placed in a room on the second floor (see March 17, 1993 newsweek diagram) was moved outside, and Buford himself was moved into the room into which he shot. This would probably

not have been posisble without the destruction of the building and the deaths of so many of the people in it and their deaths also disguised how the shooting began on Feb. 28.

I think the reason for Buford machine-gunning three of the men under his command was that he knew the warrant, which he had helped prepare, was not good and the intention from the start was to have a shootout. In order to make that shootout look justified or necessary Buford arranged to kill three men under his command and blame their deaths on koresh (prior approval by Clinton is possible too - or it may be the McArthur murder in 1982 (see the book Widow's Web) that may have been reason Clinton arranged tp protect him. The timing of the planning of the raid followed Clinton's eelection prospects: starting in earnest in June 1992, right after he won the Californoa primarty, slowing down in July, starting again right after the November election - and on january 1 and 3 1993 Buford got personally involved, putting the sex allegations into the warrant, although they were legally irrelevant to the matter at hand, which was guns.

In any case, the plan to kill three agents and have their deaths blamed on Koresh, relying on the confusion to hide the true cause, fell apart because Koresh had access to a cellular phone and a second phone billed to a law firm in Waco also still worked and also maybe because the shooting got videotaped by TV station KWTX-TV , Channel 10 in Waco. There was a BIG problem for Buford now.

It took seven weeks for Clinton to finally save Buford's skin.

On April 19 there was a plan on paper with a loophole authorizing the real plan to be implemented.

It was vital it include tear gas and that was why FBOI Director Sessions's plan for water cannon had to be argued down so hard. The fire was caused by the injection of CS tear gas near 12 P.M. Before that they used other tear gas.

There ought to be things in this book to bear out or dispute many theories about Waco, and the more you know the more you will be able to use this.

The book is an interesting source of information on the Service but I found that (1) there were several misspellings, typos, gramatical errors, and editorial mistakes that should have been caught at the publisher's, and (2) it seemed that several bits of information were repeated almost verbatim throughout the book -- ie., entire paragraphs that appeared to have been used more than once. Overall interesting but also disappointingly shy of information.

I think the most important a perspective reader needs to know is that this book is about 95% Presidential protection and only 5% law enforcement regarding counterfeiting. For me that was great, because that is about the breakdown I wanted. With that out of the way there were a few issues I had with the book. First off there are parts that are dry and repetitive. If that does not bother you then the in depth view of the Kennedy assassination might push you over the top. I admit I was interested in this area as much as the next guy, but the author did get really into the weeds on protective issues that broke down that day. It just stopped adding value after some time and got close to a sermon. The author also had something against the Hersh book on Kennedy and kept bring it up.

The only other thing that disappointed me with the book is that they really did not cover much about the procedures and processes they use. Ok I know they can not give away all the secrets, but why could the author have not given me more detail about Presidential motorcades, hey those are public. What I did like is that the author was not shy about details about the Presidents and their families. I really liked the personal gossip bits tossed in here and there. The sections that covered which Presidents and First Ladies did not like protection and what they did to avoid it was interesting. The updated information after 9-11 was also a nice bit of info.

Lastly, I thought the author did a good job presenting a book that covered politicians that did not slip into one political side or another. The author was very even handed and I have no idea his political leanings are. He was also surprisingly hard, at times, on the Secret Service. As the book goes on it is apparent that the author has a very positive view of the Service, which makes his criticism seem all the more accurate. Overall, the book was interesting and well put together. I do agree with other reviews here that there were some typos and parts that drug a bit. It does deliver a nice overview of the Secret Service.

This book is a fascinating look at the Secret Service - one of the most visible government agencies but (I now know) one of the least understood. It's a really easy read, with lots of colorful anecdotes about the agency, its history and the job of being a secret service agent. The topic is timely (i.e. in the post-9/11 era and with the creation of the Dept. of Homeland Security) and Melanson seems to have done a tremendous amount of original research. A wonderful book.

How in the world this book got so many five-star reviews is beyond me, unless the author's very obliging family enlisted a bunch of friendly "reviewers" to sing this novel's praises. Her brother, we learn at the end of the book, helped her write it, and her dad let her hang out at his place in Paris for a year while she wrote it. (It seems that having massive amounts of higher education disqualified her from actual employment.)

OK, maybe that was unkind of me. But I'm not feeling very kindly toward Ms. Berlinski at the moment. Why? Because the first chapter, which I read on the author's Web site, was a lot of fun and I was, rightfully, expecting more of the same. But I had read some of the non-five-star reviews here and decided to check it out of the local library instead of buying it. I'm glad I did, because it went quickly downhill. I wasn't sure what this book was supposed to be. Was it a mystery? No, it couldn't be, because a mystery is solved at the end, and this one wasn't. Was it a thriller? No, because it wasn't particularly thrilling. I felt duped, just like the "assets" courted by the CIA case officers.

If you are still interested in the CIA and looking for a thriller that gives insight into "The Farm," pick up Robert Littell's very satisfying "The Amateur," back in print after two decades. As for me, I raced back into the arms of John le Carre (The Little Drummer Girl) as soon as I slogged to the end of Loose Lips.

This book surprised me. It was highly original to me- a inside look at the CIA and its operatives from the female perspective. It's got all the intrigue you'd expect from a book dealing with spies, plus the obligatory romantic subplot. But the romance isn't what you'd expect. The glamorous protagonist, Selena Keller ends up with the unassuming Stan, an overweight, socially inept, minimally successful loner. Their romance begins ideally, but soon sours. The plot is pretty fast pace, but lags towards the end, and the ending itself was somewhat unsatisfactory. On the whole, though, and I'd recommend to anyone who wants to read something other than the usual fluff that gets written about twentysomethings.

Claire Berlinski's novel, "Loose Lips," is simply terrific. It is a clever, satirical, and intelligent look at why new recruits join the CIA and what happens to them after they sign up. The heroine of "Loose Lips" is Selena Keller, an academic who holds a doctorate in Oriental Studies but has no promising job prospects on the horizon. While surfing the Internet, she sees an ad for CIA trainees and she decides to respond.

Selena, along with a motley crew of other recruits, has no idea what she is getting into. She will be mentally and physically tested in ways that she could never have anticipated. Along the way, she finds love, learns how to lie expertly, and begins to realize that being part of the CIA may require her to sell her soul.

Berlinski pulls off a difficult feat. She takes a serious subject, namely what the CIA means to America and how a person trains to be a CIA agent, and makes it entertaining. "Loose Lips" is hilarious, incisive, psychologically astute, thought-provoking, and completely satisfying. I highly recommend it.

It is an informative novel which gives exciting insight into one of the most famous law enforcement agencies of America. Not only learning about the cases that Oliver Revell worked on, but knowing how others in the FBI, including J. Edgar Hoover, thought and said is purely fascinating. This is a must read to anyone interested in the FBI, law enforcement, or federal government agencies.

In this breathtakingly fascinating book, Oliver "Buck" Revell, who rose to the hightst job in the FBI, gives what is perhaps the most insightful overview of America's war on crime, espionage and terrorism in the last 30 years. It is a story of legendary exploits and munerous encounters with the most hardened criminals and killers, a meteoric rise to the highest levels in the FBI from where for 11 years Revell spearheaded the reorganization and modernization of the Bureau, and directed all criminal and counter-intelligence operations. The unvarnished praise and criticism of the inner workings of the FBI make for both fascinating reading and provide a historical perspective for such controversial issues as congressional corruption (ABSCAM), the Martin Luther King investigation, the paranoia of Hoover's power, the Savings and Loan scandals, American involvement with the Shah of Iran, the PanAm bombing, the COINTELPRO (counter-intelligence program) and BRILAB (labor racketeering) investigations and Branch Davidians among others. The book covers the timespan from the Kennedy assassination to the Oklahoma City bombing. For 11 years, unde rtwo Directors, Revell served as Deputy Director in charge of the Investigations and Counterintelligence Divisions and as FBI representative on the National Security Council. Revell is one of the most highly decorated FBI agents. Revell's foremost accomplishment was in the reorgainzation of the FBI under Director Clarence Kelley, when he helped throw out what he calls "rediculously rigid rules" and slashed the hamstringing bureaucracy. He prioritized organized crime, counter-terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering and forged ties with Interpol and leading police organizations around the world. A former Marine pilot, Revell describes one heart-breaking predicament when he flew the first helicopter mission searching for a kidnaped young girl, while his own son lay critically ill in the hospital. His superiors urged him to rush to his son's bedside, but, like on many other occasions, Revell asked his wife Sharon to handle the emergency and kept searcning until he found the girl's body in a Kansas field. Although Revell reveals how his career burdened his family life, it only tells in bits and pieces the story of how an extremely dedicated FBI wife had to cope. Revell praises Hoover for forging the premier law enforcement agency in the world while severely criticizing him for his arbitrary and capricious leadership in his latter years. He narrates what Hoover told him about John and Robert Kennedy's orders to bug Maritn Luther King for possible manipulation by Soviet intelligence. He praises Director William Webster for his probity, but laments the unethical stewardship of William Sessions as FBI Director. Revell reveals how upon becoming Director, Louis Freeh packed the uppermost echelons of the FBI with his cronies. Revell is highly critical of Louis Freeh" leadership of the FBI. Revell's epilog recommends a long range plan to reorganize and improve law enforcement in the U.S. He deplores the "dysfunctional montage of 140 Federal agencies functioning in spearate and often counterproductive spheres of responsibility." Revell calls for the creation of a Federal Department of Law Enforcement to coordinate Federal efforts to combat the new Evil Empire-international crime. This is a must read for anyone interested in how the FBI really works.

The nice thing about freedom of speech is that it helps one to learn the truth. I recommend this book for a well written viewpoint and a non-abusive style from the former Assistant Director of the FBI (with the help of Dwight Williams). Presumably his "nemesis" under Clinton, Director Freeh, has a book written by himself somewhere, and it will only be fair to compare the versions of the two books. In fact, I think that an outstanding Management Course could be made by assigning Revell's book, Freeh's book (or future book - I don't know if it exists), and Bonanno's book giving one of the more enlightened Mafia viewpoints (see my review of the latter). Revell appears to have been an outstanding manager from this book, and some readers may not understand why. Revell has a military type discipline viewpoint with an exceptional respect for justice and fairness rather than firing senior employees arbitrarily or because of political orders or downsizing attempts. It's the type of discipline that Field Marshall Montgomery had (see my review of his book), and to some extent General Eisenhower. Whether he violated law for patriotic reasons I do not know, and whether he is right about Freeh's motivations - that, only comparisons between sources of evidence can reveal. His strong opinion that J. Edgar Hoover was not a homosexual is quite interesting, since Great Britain has found for example that freedom of speech without respect for the public can lead to very erroneous conclusions, innuendoes, etc. As for Bonanno, his idea that the Mafia should not sell dope is quite an honorable proposal (it seems to me).

This was an excellent book and interesting read. From a computer geek's perspective, the email conversation is exactly like it would be (fortunately the editor didn't ruin that aspect of it), and from a literary perspective, having a story unfold in an email thread is a very innovative idea. (It reminds me a bit of Nick Bantock's book, "The Venetian's Wife", at that level.)

The philosophical preoccupation with questions of meaning spring from the natural curiosity of a computer that suddenly has awareness. This is really done quite well, and in my opinion, much more nicely than in John Saul's "Nightshade" where similar questions arise when a 'mad scientist' type is killing children to make thier brains a part of his 'research' into artificial inteligence.

Not a bad first novel, and well worth the purchase.

The book is written mostly in emails (there are a couple regular letters), and it is very interesting. Not a whole lot actually happens, but the story is very interesting and compelling. EDGAR, a computer program invented by a student named Alice, takes on a life of its own, and all it really wants is to learn about people. It wants to understand emotions and feelings and life. The end is very sad as EDGAR has really done nothing, and there is no reason for what has happened to happen.. it is sad for EDGAR and Alice, and the reader, at least it was for me. I enjoyed the book. It was fast moving (took me about 3 hours to read) though there was some vocabulary that I did not know. It was probably the most unique book I have read as I have never seen a book written in this form or with a plot like this.

The book has no romance in it (well one email from an ex-boyfriend, but I don't think that it fits at all into the book), no violence, only a very minimal number of characters, and no scenery. It sounds like it has nothing, but all it really needs are EDGAR and Alice and the very few people they come in contact with. The book does have a lot of technically things which went right over my head, but this does not prevent one from understanding and appreciating the story. I would recomend this book to anyone who wants to read something totally different from the norm.

This book was very unique. It had a good plot and kept me interested. He did something different than other people. He told a story about a human having relations with artificial intelligence. This book was very intersesting to read. Plus it was quick and easy to read.

When reading books on law enforcement, one has to be careful to avoid those which only glorify an agency, or only villify it. Mr. Kessler was granted an unmatched access to FBI agents for writing this book, and has chronicled the many successes of the agency, as well as some of its most public embarrasements.

He pulls no punches when describing the shortcomings of agents and past fiascos, he names names and assigns blame. The final chapter of the book goes into detail about the previous director, William Sessions, his successes certainly, but also the abuses that he uncovered during the research of his book. His revelations led to Sessions' firing.

He describes with a great deal of detail the workings of the agency on the street level, in the field offices, and at headquarters. One gets a good look at policies, procedures, training, and special ops. But most especially, he talks about real agents, men and women who deserve our respect for the jobs they perform.! The human interest in this book is very good, making it an easy book to read, and leaving one with a sense that the FBI is in fact the greatest law enforcement agency in the world.

This is an excellent book about the recent history of the FBI and a good look at how the FBI operates. Kessler not only praises the FBI when it is warranted, but he also critiques it and exposes some problems. The book alternates chapters between looking at various field offices; ie Baltimore, Dallas, and others; with a look at the various departments within the agency; ie criminal profiling. It is informative, easy to read, and fun. If you want a look inside the FBI, read this book.

If you want to know about what the FBI does, this is a must read. Ronald Kessler is an award-winning journalist and he does an excellent job of taking the reader inside the most powerful law enforcement agency on earth.

Kessler was granted extraordinary access to the FBI and he does a masterful job of revealing the way the FBI works. Forget what you see on television and in movies; this book provides a real look at this cryptic agency.

Some of the findings during Kessler's "investigation" even led to the dismissal of FBI Director William S. Sessions.

Though this book was published in 1993, I feel it is a must read for anybody who wants insight into the real FBI. It is also a great book for potential FBI candidates.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.