Agencies

This is in my view the most authoritative study of the Ceausescu system to have been published since the dictator's execution in 1989. Very well written and quite fascinating. It puts more sensationalist and hastily produced works to shame.

Probabaly what drew me to the book was the knowledge that Deletant had a long association with the regime of Ceasuescu and a strong academic understanding of the system. He writes with personal candour and an eye for a good story. He also has the ability to bring large numbers of facts together with consummate ease. Probably the best researched volume on the subject.

This British author speaks fluent Romanian, married a Romanian wife, and lived in Communist Romania. The result is well-researched history, supplemented by personal experience (such as his attempts to get an emigration permit for his wife).

This is a brillant book on the culture and dynamics of the U.S. National Security Establishment. Zegart has formulated a model of what she calls "National Scurity Agencies" to explain how and why the creation and evolution of institutions that belong to the National Security Establishment differ from institutions in the domestic policy arena. Although I think her model is probably incomplete, it remains a very good tool for understanding and analyzing the workings of the U.S. National Security Establishment. Zegart uses her model with devastating effect to analyze the creation and evolution of the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). These three are extermely well chosen examples of the different components of the the national security community. Her analysis of the CIA is especially insightful, profound, and accurate. Unfortunately, Zegart clearly and incontestably demonstrates that a major reform of the U.S. intellignece system can only occur if a cast of dedicated, powerful political actors combines with a unique set of compelling circumstances to force change on that system. At best such a combination is highly improbable. For the curious, this book also provides a clear and decisive explination of why all the millions of words concrning reform of the intelligence system that have been generated over the last ten years by congressional committees, presidential special commissions and speical studies by outside consultants have disppeared without a trace.

Zegart's book should have precipitated a storm of controversy when it was published and now should be on the must read list of everyone interested in reshaping the national intelligence system. In point of fact, as far as I can tell, the real movers and shakers of the intelligence community ignored this book when it was published and ignore it today. Zegart is an exceptional scholar and more importantly a good analyst who deserves wider recognition than she apparently has received. Read her book and digest the melancholy truth that reform of the intelligence system is no more likely than reform of the electoral system, though for different reasons.

This is a very worthy and thoughtful book. It breaks new ground in understanding the bureaucratic and political realities that surrounded the emergence of the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA was weak by design, strongly opposed by the military services from the beginning. Its covert activities emerged as a Presidential prerogative, unopposed by others in part because it kept CIA from being effective at coordinated analysis, for which it had neither the power nor the talent. Most usefully, the book presents a new institutionalist theory of bureaucracy that gives full weight to the original design, the political players including the bureaucrats themselves, and external events. Unlike domestic agencies that have strong interest groups, open information, legislative domain, and unconnected bureaucracies, the author finds that national security agencies, being characterized by weak interest groups, secrecy, executive domain, and connected bureaucracies, evolve differently from other bureaucracies, and are much harder to reform. On balance, the author finds that intelligence per se, in contrast to defense or domestic issues, is simply not worth the time and Presidential political capital needed to fix but that if reform is in the air, the President should either pound on the table and put the full weight of their office behind a substantive reform proposal, or walk away from any reform at all-the middle road will not successful.

With Flawed by Design, Zegart makes a spectacular splash into the world of professional political academic analysis. Trained at Stanford University, Zegart employs an approach that is both refreshingly "old school" in its historical approach and new school in its analytical rigor. In short, Zegart has offered up a piece of academic literature that is certain to become a classic. Look out for this rising star over the next 10 years. Let's only hope that the "rational choice" dogma of the field doesn't precluding Zegart from continuing her Tiger Woods-like path through the political science circuit.

I have been bartending professionally for about 7 years. I happened into a bartending job when a former roommate of mine was moving, and his employer needed a bartender immediately. I knew absolutely nothing about tending bar at the time, but this book gave me the knowledge I needed to get started. I developed my skill as a bartender at that job and have since moved on to much busier establishments. Forget bartending school--this book, along with a more expansive recipe book like Mr. Boston's for the occasional obscure drink request, is all you need.

this book is pretty cool. it has all the basic recipes, and complicated ones that are fun to make. there's also some good reading about how to set up your bar, how to get a job, and other good info. i didn't know anything before i picked up this book, but now i feel pretty good about bartending. i definitely recommend this.

This books gives the basics of bartending covering many aspects from ustensils to effects of alcohol. It is designed to let you be an efficient bartender as opposed to making up a drink with 3 random ingredients. Hence no list of 10,000 cocktails just the ones you MUST know plus a few fun ones. Despite this no-nonsense approach, the tone is humorous and makes this guide fun reading.

I thought this book was magnificent. Roemer is is genuine in depicting the power that the mob had over anything and everything...He talks in detail about Accardo, giancana and the master fixers..aka the curruption squad of Murry Humphreys, Gus Alex..It's full of murders and double crosses..all in all it makes you feel like your right there...A must read

This book covers everything. Tells all about Sam "MO" Giancana to everything about Tony "Batters" Accardo. The details are fascinating and chilling. Really interesting and unbelievable. Makes you feel like you are Roemer himself. Great book!!!!!

This book covers everything. Tells eveything about Sam "MO" Giancana to everything about Tony Accardo. The details are fascinating and chilling. Really interesting and unbelievable. Makes you feel like you are Roemer himself. Great book!!!!!

"A brilliant book. Outstanding research and superlative presentation of the dramatis personae. An anecdotal and extremely well written account -- as informative as any treatise and as entertaining as the best espionage novels." -- Kirkus Reviews.

"There are few books that adequately cover this subject. Much of what passes for 'the literature' is overblown, conspiracy-addled and fragmented. But Mark Riebling, a historian, has made a valiant effort to piece it all together in WEDGE.... The fact that he has taken great pains to avoid using anonymous sources is just one of a number of reasons why serious students of this nation's haywire-rigged counterintelligence effort should read WEDGE.... Refreshingly unlike most spy literature.... the cumulative effect of his tales is staggering." -- John Fialka, The Wall Street Journal.

"Any illusions that the two organizations simply mirror each other are thoroughly shattered. Riebling meticulously traces the continuing conflict and its consequences, which sometimes took the form of Keystone Cop episodes but more often were deadly serious." -- Houston Chronicle.

"A surprisingly fresh, coherent, well-written and persuasive analysis. Striking conclusions, a succession of colorful adventurers, and highly provocative speculations which have the unsettling ring of plausibility." -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"A lively and engaging narrative of interagency bungling, infighting, malfeasance and nonfeasance, providing fresh and well-rounded portraits of well-known (and ought-to-be-well-known) agents -- drawing on scores of original and rewarding interviews." -- Richard Gid Powers, front page, Washington Post Book World.

"Riebling successfully re-creates the life-or-death atmosphere of the half-century of American confrontation with the Soviet Union. Mr. Riebling succeeds as well in persuading the reader that the FBI-CIA conflict was a more important piece of the cold war mosaic than heretofore noted by historians." -- Michael R. Beschloss, New York Times Book Review.

"Incisive.... Riebling shows how personalities shaped the struggle between the agencies, and how the struggle hampered intelligence. There's much here to stimulate discussion." -- Tampa Tribune.

"Riebling brings forth many new angles, thanks to his entree to a web of retired agents. A well organized, engaging account." -- Booklist.

"Serves up some juicy insights. The book is full of colorful and strong characters as well as entertaining description and lucid writing." -- Toledo Blade.

"Meticulously researched yet entertaining... Persuasively identifies Woodward and Bernstein's mysterious informant Deep Throat." -- San Francisco Chronicle.

"An exceptionally readable and coherent account, exhaustively sourced. Riebling meticulously but engagingly takes his readers through CIA's operations [and] presents a most intriguing hypothesis as to the identity of the long-silent Deep Throat. True Watergate buffs will be titillated. I'd put my money on the one the author suspects most." -- John Robbins, former CIA officer, The Palm Beach Post.

"Riebling's impressive documentation is chilling, sobering, and thought provoking." -- Virginia Quarterly Review.
"Riebling's writing is articulate and reflective. He explains the Angleton view so competently that it finally makes sense on its own terms." -- BookBase Online.

"In WEDGE, Mark Riebling's compelling and exhaustively researched history of the two intelligence giants, the depth of [the] inter-agency animus -- and its pernicious effects -- becomes distressingly clear. ... Riebling has avoided tarring the late FBI boss [J. Edgar Hoover] with the kind of sensationalist touches common to recent biographies. ... He is respectful of those he believes played the both wisely and well. If a heroic figure emerges from WEDGE it is the late James Jesus Angleton, the CIA's controversial director of counterintelligence for more than 20 years. Riebling partially rehabilitates Angleton from the drubbing he's taken in recent books such as David Wise's "Molehunt," in which he is depicted as disrupting his own agency in a futile, paranoid search for a nonexistent mole.... Riebling has crafted a thorough history of the fatally flawed CIA-FBI marriage through interviews with many of the key players and reams of internal documents, many of them recently declassified. WEDGE also is the beneficiary of extraordinary timing. Its releases coincides with a renewed furor in Washington over the CIA and its mandate.... WEDGE accords the current crisis an appropriate historical context." -- Scott Ladd, Newsday.

"Well researched, wittily written, full of good judgments. In a large and growing field, WEDGE will join the shelf of those few books which meet both standards of scholarship and expectations for insight and entertainment at a high level." -- Robin Winks, Professor of History, Yale University.

I cannot do this book justice, other than to say that I had never understood the depth and stupidity of the bureaucratic hostility between the FBI and the CIA-mostly the fault of the CIA these days but certainly inspired in part by Hoover in the early days-until I read this book; and that it should be required reading for every senior CIA manager. From the FBI's failure to communicate its very early knowledge of Japanese collection requirement on Pearl Harbor via the Germans, to the assassination of President Kennedy, the World Trade Center bombing and the Aldrich Ames case, this book makes me ashamed and angry about how bureaucracy and secrecy subvert loyalty, integrity, and common professional sense on both sides of this "wedgie" contest.

Well-written, thoroughly researched account, from Pearl Harbor to the present. Highlights: World War II, Kennedy Assassination, Watergate, Iran-Contra, Aldrich Ames. What made Cold War counterintelligence officers "tick"? Myths about FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and CIA spycatcher James Jesus Angleton are corrected. Special focus: 94% accuracy of predictions by ex-KGB officer Anatoily Golitsyn, who in 1984 foresaw the rise of Gorbachev, fall of the Berlin Wall, etc. Author Riebling is former editor at Random House, Inc

I have owned this book for over 15 years. I was active in adoption reform for 13 years and assisted in writing legislation to improve adoptee rights.

Nile's book was one of the most concise, accurate and informative books I found in those 13 years. Many times I needed the background of the maternity homem or orphanage. This was an almost imposible task. Adoption Agencies provide a wealth of information about themselves, but little about the maternity home the birthmothers stayed in.

It is imperitative to an adopttee to know something about the surroundings of their mother during her regnancy. This is the only time the two shared, and it is the only link they have when they start to question their heritage. Understanding how a maternity home was run gives them insight to the mindframe of their mother.

The most outstanding thing about this book is that adoption researchers find that it lists homes that were almost unheard of. Some of these homes were private and there are even actual names of mothers who placed their children for adoption.

When I got the book it was already out of print and I had to order it from Mr. Niles himself. It was one of the most meaningful books I bought in my career of adoption reform.

Anyone interested in adoption history and orphanages will find it well worth the trouble and time.

I have owned this book for over 15 years. I was in adoption reform for 13 years and assisted in writing legislation to improve adoptee rights.

Nile's book was one of the most concise, accurate and informative books I found in those 13 years. Many times I needed the background of the maternity home or orphanage. This was an almost impossible task. Adoption Agencies provided a wealth of information about themselves, but little about the maternity home the birthmothers stayed in.

It is imperitative to an adoptee to know something about the surroundings of their mother during her pregnancy. This is the only time the two shared, and it is the only link they have when they start to question their heritage. Understanding how a maternity home was run gives them insight to the mindframe of their mother.

The most outstanding thing about this book as that adoption researchers find that it lists homes that were almost unheard of. Some of these homes were private and there are even actual names of mothers who placed their children for adoption.

When I got the book it was already out of print and I had to order it from Mr. Niles himself. It was one of the most meaningful books I bought in my career of adoption reform.

Anyone interested in adoption history and orphanages will find it well worth the trouble and time.

Any creative director who has ever been frustrated when trying to get great creative ideas out of the art department and in front of the client, take heart.

Wes Perrin is the remarkable combination of the consummate account manager and insightful creative director--and this book is filled with page after page of concrete examples on how to work as a team. Difficult client? Here's advice on how to get their support.

A must read!

Well written, pointed, and succinct, Advertising Realities is as good as advertising books get. A veteran of the business, Mr. Perrin gives a no-nonsense, department-by-department account of how agencies work in the real world. He then goes on to tackle larger issues: money, ethics, education, and the future of the business. If you're interested in working in advertising, or working in the business and want to do better, read this book.

John Ranelagh's book, The Agency: The Rise and Decline of the CIA, is the definitive text on the CIA. It is comprehensive yet concise; moreover, Mr. Ranelagh took on a major project in creating this masterpiece, with so much information, and so much history, it would be nearly impossible to write an accurate history of the CIA. Yet Ranelagh accomplishes this feat marvelously. I, personally, would liked to have seen more on the scientific branch of the CIA in this book; however, it would have made the text to long and cumbersome. A much needed third edition would be relative, seeing as that the book does end with the Iran-Contra scandal, and the CIA's history has grown and transformed over the last decade with the appointment of George Tenet as its Director.

Ranelagh, in a massive and engaging tome, brings alive the characters and story of the CIA in a fair and balanced way. My graduate class on National Security Affairs and the Intelligence Community used this book as one of the primary texts. From Julia Childs to James Jesus Angelton to Richard Colby to William Casey, this wonderful story tells the history of the Agency, its people and their interaction with presidents, Congress, the Soviet Union (KGB) and the foreign policy process. It covers the assasination attempts of Castro and various other figures as well as such bizarre episodes such as the attempt to rig up a cat as an assasin. I couldn't put the book down once I got started, however, because of the depth and breadth of its coverage. Make no mistake, this is a serious, meticulously researched and encompassing historical work. The book is as good a history of the Cold War as it is of the CIA, and covers high level decisionmaking at the presidential and Congressional level from WWII through the Reagan Administration. Not a diatribe for or against the CIA or US foreign poilicy, Agency is a first rate account of the actual events and people behind them at all the critical moments in the CIA's history. Ranelagh does a superb job at explaining the context behind the decsions that were made. For example, he gives the reader an awesome sense of the fear of Communism that lead to extreme measures being taken at various junctures without being an apologist. This book is absolutely essential reading for those in the intelligence, foreign policy and defense communities, and highly recommended for anyone interested in Cold War history. Perhaps more importantly, its a terrific read!

I love Mexican and Tex-Mex food. I visited the Cafe for lunch while on a business trip to Phoenix. I ate dinner there the next night and bought the book! All the items on the menu are in the book - arranged by season of the year. Excellent detailed instructions. Stand-out recipe now in my repertoire -- Chile Rellenos, stuffed with chicken, wrapped in puff pastry, baked, not fried, although they give the instructions for both. Makes me salivate thinking about it.

I have eaten in a Canyon Cafe many times and never had a bad meal. Whenever I pull out Bringing the Southwest...Home, my family knows we're in for a treat! It's not just about the South Texas Tortilla Soup or the Pecan Crusted Crab Cakes with Chipotle Remoulade...Mmmmmmm!!! For every season there are occasion menus, like Los Dias de Los Muertos, an Aztec celebration of life that offers a feast of Chicken Chile Rellenos with Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa, Venison Posole, Noche Buena Salad, Fire-Grilled Turkey Skewers with Papaya-Mango Salsa & Cucumber Mint Dipping Sauce, Braised Buffalo Short Ribs in Mustard Mole Sauce, and a Mini Bunuelo Sundae Bar. Unlike most cookbooks, it takes out the guess work by presenting recipes from the appetizer to the dessert, up to four menus per season. The book comes in its own colorful jacket, making it the perfect gift, too! AND, I can find all of the ingredients in right in my neighborhood supermarket. My relatives just love it!!!

While watching the hit war movie, "Saving Private Ryan," I had a vivid flash memory of a book I had read a few months ago. It was "China Spy" by Maury and Janet Allen. The linkage should not have surprised me. The hero of the Allen book isn't fiction ... he was a young Irish-American paratrooper who fought bravely and ... like Steven Spielberg's fictional Private Ryan, survived the blood bath of WWII in Europe. Unlike Private Ryan, the idealistic Private McDermott of Yonkers, NY joined the CIA after the war and went to China as a businessman-spy. Betrayed by his bride and arrested by the Chinese Communists as he was walking up the gangplank of a a U.S.-bound steamship to come home, the young man is imprisoned. The Chinese communists want him to sign a confession for propaganda purposes. He refuses. Other prisoners who "confess" to spy charges are released. But this young patriot refuses to betray his country. He is tortured for years and finally dies from the brutal treatment. Other westerners imprisoned at the same time recall how this young real life hero underwent horrible torture rather than betray his country. A cynic can argue, "why die for reasons that are out of date a few decades later?" A thoughtful American citizen can counter, "If and when history thrusts you or me in the meatgrinder of a battlefield or the horror of an enemy prison, you will find out who you really are ... even if the world forgets you.

Every perceptive person should read "China Spy." The tragic irony of the death of a now-forgotten young hero deserves to be remembered amid the box office buzz of a excellently-crafted cinematic tale. "China Spy" is the reality of one man's terrible choice and sacrifice. "Saving Private Ryan" is a war monument on film, emblematic of the sacrifice of millions of men. Today the Cold War is history and China is one of America's favorite trading partners. I thank the Allens for their "China Spy" They remembered ... and now so will their readers.

The saga of Hugh Francis Redmond is a modern Greek tradegy- a silently heroic figure trapped by the fates in a struggle over which he has no understanding or control. Magnifiently written with the best descritpion of young soldiers going into battle I've ever read. Maury Allen is never maudlin and yet the impact of his writing puts the reader at the scene with clear sharp details which tap the strongest emotions. A must for anyone interested in the human dynamics of wartime and the mysteries of modern politics.