500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars [Kindle Edition]

Kurt Eichenwald (Author)

Book Description

Kurt Eichenwald—New York Times bestselling author of Conspiracy of Fools and The Informant— recounts the first 500 days after 9/11 in a comprehensive, compelling page-turner as gripping as any thriller.

In 500 Days, master chronicler Kurt Eichenwald lays bare the harrowing decisions, deceptions, and delusions of the eighteen months that changed the world forever, as leaders raced to protect their citizens in the wake of 9/11.

Eichenwald’s gripping, immediate style and trueto- life dialogue puts readers at the heart of these historic events, from the Oval Office to Number 10 Downing Street, from Guantanamo Bay to the depths of CIA headquarters, from the al-Qaeda training camps to the torture chambers of Egypt and Syria. He reveals previously undisclosed information from the terror wars, including never before reported details about warrantless wiretapping, the anthrax attacks and investigations, and conflicts between Washington and London.

With his signature fast-paced narrative style, Eichenwald— whose book, The Informant, was called “one of the best nonfiction books of the decade” by The New York Times Book Review—exposes a world of secrets and lies that has remained hidden for far too long.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, September 2012: Initially, Eichenwald (The Informant) planned to write a post-9/11 analysis of the second Bush presidency, until he realized that most of the events that set the stage for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the War on Terror--the "decisions, deceptions, and delusions"--happened in the first 18 months after the attacks. This fast-paced narrative of those 553 days takes readers inside CIA headquarters, 10 Downing Street, al-Qaeda training camps, Egyptian torture chambers, and secret prisons. Deeply researched but written like an international spy thriller, Eichenwald's book shows how decisions prompted by fear, hatred, and paranoia created a post-9/11 history "shaped by the experiences of the powerless." --Neal Thompson

Review

“An epic narrative....It may be his best book yet.” (Vanity Fair)

“With the pacing of a suspense novel, award-winning journalist Eichenwald’s richly researched account … [is] a breathtaking inspection of the war on terror that began on 9/11 and reverberates to this day.” (Booklist (starred review))

“Gripping . . . both a page-turning read and an insightful dissection of 9/11’s dark legacy" (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

“A blow-by-blow, episodic reconstruction of the fallout from 9/11 in the highest spheres of terrorist strategy … demonstrating literally how the anti-terrorist hysteria in the United States, and the hatred of America and general global paranoia, forged the ’trauma that haunts the world to this day.’” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Eichenwald is a master at making complicated stories easily understood....[500 Days is] a page-turner because of his journalistic attention to detail. Readers get fly-on-the-wall accounts as Bush administration officials weigh life-and-death decisions.” (Washington Post)

“Thorough reporting and crisp writing . . . Moves at the pace of a movie-ready thriller.” (Dallas Morning News)

“Illuminating and entertaining throughout.” (PARADE magazine)

“An ambitious undertaking and a valuable resource. . . . [Eichenwald] brings home the fundamental rashness and recklessness of the American response to the Sept. 11 attack.” (New York Times Book Review)

“Who really made the decision to go to war in Iraq, and how grounded in fact were the "facts" fed to the American public? The author gives us not a seat at the table but an awfully good listening post to the decisions that changed the world.” (Asbury Park Press and Home News Tribune (NJ))

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 1601 KB
• Print Length: 642 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1451669380
• Publisher: Touchstone (September 11, 2012)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0061QAZCA
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,799 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #7 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > National & International Security
  • #8 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Terrorism
  • #9 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Intelligence & Espionage

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

127 of 143 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This reads more like a Tom Clancy Thriller than a non-fiction! September 11, 2012

By Wulfstan TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Which is both good and bad (but mostly good). Kurt Eichenwald's (you know him as the former NYT reporter and author of "The Informant") new book here is no snooze fest. The story is riveting, fast paced and a real page-turner. Eichenwald's writing comes alive, and honestly at times you forget you are reading a well-researched scholarly history of that period, and think you are reading Grisham.

We have a cast of thousands here, but of course GWB and Tony Blair get top billing. However, their errors and missteps are spotlighted here as well as their other policy decisions. Odd terms like "Enemy Combatant" are penned so that "extraordinary rendition" can be carried out.

This book has it all- secrets, spies, military tribunals, torture, waterboarding, anthrax, bombings, and of course Gitmo.

Many secrets are revealed, the backstory is fascinating. Did you know that while Blair was telling Bush that the UK would support the invasion of Iran, the UK top legal advisor was telling Blair that the attack was illegal?

Sometimes a bit dark and disturbing, but it's all the truth.

69 of 82 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "BREATHTAKING, CHILLING, HAUNTING!" September 11, 2012

By Geraldine Ahearn TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

As I decided if I could possibly read through this book, without the actual Nightmares of 9/11, maybe this chilling read won't affect me as bad as the Tragic day itself. I was wrong, of course most of us would suffer the horrifying flashbacks of a dark legacy that will forever haunt this country. Putting aside what we all experienced in our personal loss, sadness and fear, I began to read through the pages, which reads like a suspenseful thriller that's composed of extensive research. Bestselling author, Kurt Eichenwald delivers a comprehensive, chilling account of the first 500 days after 9/11. He reveals all the horror of the 18 months that changed America forever in gripping details of terrorist strategy, decisions that were made, and shocking information on investigations and conflict. In addition, he reports on wire tapping, the CIA, training camps and disturbing torture chambers. The author also includes historic events that took place in a world of secrets and lies. This is a compelling, comprehensive page-turner of inspection, deception and terror that will make us think, long after this book is closed. Thrilling, breathtaking, and Heartfelt from the beginning to the end!

28 of 36 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A fast paced gestalt, but readers may miss the magnitude of the problems November 26, 2012

By Douglas B. Moran

Format:Hardcover

This is a very unusual book in what it achieves. First, what it is not. If you are interested in this topic and have read some of the prominent earlier books, you may find nothing new of significance (I didn't). And if you are looking for an introduction, there is probably too much that is silently skipped.

What it does very well is to create a strong gut feeling for the many failings of the US response, due to incompetence, arrogance, carelessness, ideology that rejected evidence,... The book is written in the style of a thriller, popping back and forth between story lines. I found it a very fast-paced read that constantly drew me forward. Even if you are familiar with the events, you are still likely to find the book very readable because of its organization and approach. However, the problem with this approach is seen in the description of the response to the anthrax attack: It is abbreviated far past the point of losing its essential character. Plus, it was so peripheral that I can't see how it belongs in this book.

A big limitation of the fast-paced style is that it precludes analysis and insights into why something happened. For example, an extended analysis of the misconceptions about the "Manchester Manual" is consigned to the "Notes and Sources" appendix (pp 545-552). Advice: Read it -- it is a critical part of the story. One of my biggest frustrations with the accounts -- this and others -- is that I haven't seen a remotely satisfying explanation of why the CIA didn't have qualified, experienced interrogators as part of its normal course-of-business. Or why the military did not use experienced interrogators from the Reserves -- predominantly from civilian law enforcement -- despite the Reserves being explicitly structured to preserve and provide that capability.

In the Epilogue I was taken aback to read passages that were in direct conflict with what was in the preceding chapters. For example, rather than "struggling to find a proper balance between national security and legal rights" (pg 508), the lawyers of the Bush Administration used the crisis to push an extreme interpretation of "The Unified Executive", and abrogated basic rights, such as warrants for searches even though they could provide no example or even a reasonable argument why the existing FISA procedures weren't adequate. And, as the book shows, after persistently failing to even try to sort out the innocent from the guilty, these lawyers put their efforts into blocking attempts to make them do so. My assumption is that the author was attempting to placate some of his sources by being able to point to these passages, deflecting them from what was written earlier. However, I couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't also shaded (softened) what was in the earlier chapters to manage his relationship with those sources.

I have serious problems with the sourcing of the claims that the waterboarding of KSM provided actionable intelligence: It is listed simply as a CIA report with no assessment of its credibility. The book had already mentioned that there were multiple instance of the CIA taking credit for information obtained by others (especially the FBI). The reality was that the CIA and the Bush Administration were repeatedly and consistently caught in deceptions and outright lies about what information had been produced by waterboarding. And about the efficacy of waterboarding: They initially claimed that a single session caused the subject to immediately reveal all. Then it was a few sessions. Then 40. Then 183. Then that although waterboarding didn't directly produce intelligence, it had made KSM more compliant to subsequent interrogation. With only a small part of this extensive history in the book, how is the reader to judge whether this CIA report is credible or just more self-serving lies? Granted there were too many major deceptions and lies during this period to expect the book to even touch on most of them, but this was a big enough part of events and of the book to expect a more critical presentation.

In summary, I have very divided feeling about this book. I love the way that it gives the reader a strong _impression_ of these events, but I dislike how its focus hides that these are but _representative_ stories and that there was a much bigger picture.

More About the Author

Kurt Eichenwald has written about Wall Street for The New York Times since 1987. He began investigating the Prudential scandal in 1989 and, in 1993, took a leave from his daily Market Place column to investigate Prudential Bache full time. His efforts yielded Serpent on the Rock and a Publisher's Award from the Times.