Genealogy Books - Your Government Failed You: Breaking the Cycle of National Security Disasters

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Customer Rating:

Summary: Clarke does it again
Comment: Clearly, Richard Clarke has a mission and that mission is to shed light on the major deceptions of
the Bush administration. I am thank him for it. He lays out the ways in which the administration
officials have put our country in a less secure position in the world. I am not going to tell more
than that! Read the book!!! Every concerned American should read it! If you don't, you lose!

Customer Rating:

Summary: excellant
Comment: For those desiring to learn more about the process that has gotten our country into the current
miserable shape that we find ourselves, this book is a must read. If anything Mr. Clarke overwhelms
you with too much information. The facts as presented, show that there is no 'one' thing wrong, but
an endless parade of malfunction and misfunction.
I would like to think that he could be
correct and we could have politicians do the right things to make me be proud again to be an
American. But I, the practical pessimist doubt it. American greed and hubris have become too great
an obstacle to overcome.
Judge for yourself, but get the book, and learn the facts that Fox
and CNN gloss over.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Not a beach book
Comment: I bought this book on the day it came out and was hoping for another insider's account - and was
slightly disappointed. Clarke has an amazing array of experience and knowledge in government and he
displays both with brilliance. However, he is writing to a narrow audience, to those who understand
government as well as he does (or those who want to know all the nitty gritty). He admits that he
spent years writing government reports and analysis, and his writing style reveals as much. He
spends far too much time giving extremely detailed prescriptions for every problem. I think this
book will be greatly helpful to the next administration, and he makes a good case that he should be
an important piece of the next executive branch (national security advisor?).

However
for a general audience, this book is far too detailed and policy wonkish. He uses words like
"interagency departmental management" as if the reader can comprehend what that means (or as if the
casual reader cares). He could get his point out better if he were to dumb down his prescriptions a
bit. However, if his objective was not to sell books to a wide audience and merely to government
insiders, then this book is a great success.

If you're going to the beach, do not take
this book - you'll either fall asleep or contemplate throwing the book into the ocean out of
confusion. Don't get me wrong - this book had a lot of fascinating information, such as the
detailed information on military policy and how it has evolved. Even the cybersecurity chapter had
me interested. But it took lots of careful reading to understand everything he talked about. I
have lots of friends who love politics, yet I cannot think of anyone I could recommend this book to
- it's too policy-centered for them. My advice - if you buy this book, skip the recommendations and
just read about his experiences. For example, he discusses one instance where he meets up with a
bunch of computer hackers in a warehouse for several hours discussing cybersecurity - just imagining
the idea of Richard Clarke kicking back with a bunch of hackers is priceless enough.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A lot of information here.
Comment: In this book I found answers to questions that have been in the back of my mind.

For
example: Why are Guard and Reserve units used so much in Iraq?

The answer to that
question is part of an explanation of how the military changed itself after Viet Nam. Intending to
prevent another Viet Nam, the changes made could not prevent the Iraq fiasco.

Clarke
provides definite ideas of what needs to be done to prevent more government failures. While it is
disheartening to see just how dysfunctional our system has become through politicization, the
suggestions to rectify the situation are clear and very doable by people serious to take on the
task.

Two things I especially liked about this book.

Clarke names names.
People who were responsible for failures but never held to account. And people who have exemplified
professionalism.

Also, the book is very well written.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The Truth is Told
Comment: Your Government Failed You: Breaking the Cycle of National Security Disasters. Richard Clarke has
done it again. TOLD the truth and confronted the naysayers with cold hard facts. His knowledge of
the facts is outstanding. Each day more of what he has prophesied comes true or is brought to light
by former insider's who's conscience finally caught up with them.

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