Against All Enemies [Audio Cassette]

Richard A. Clarke (Author), Alan Nebelthau (Narrator)

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: RecordedBooks (2008)
• ISBN-10: 1419315064
• ISBN-13: 978-1419315060
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (499 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I started writing books after a thirty year career in government writing bureaucratic papers. It was quite a shift. Cyber War is my fifth book and my third non-fiction. People often ask which genre do you prefer to write, fiction or non-fiction? They are both a challenge and both are exciting to attempt. Fiction may be the greater challenge, because of the need for imagination, characterization, dialogue, and plot twists. Non-fiction may actually have some real world effects. I've posted excerpts and other information on my web page; www.richardaclarke.net.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

198 of 212 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He does have an interesting story to tell, March 28, 2004

By 

LW (bay shore, ny United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book so much so that I didn't put it down until I finished. Some of the points he brought up I've read about in various news articles and other books, have helped back up his story. His point about Iraq is a valid one, which only recently became clear to me after coming back home from Iraq, that we turned our attention onto Iraq before even trying to finish the job in Afghanistan.
I do recommend this book highly, but if you are a person who thinks that our administration can do no wrong then this book will not change your mind about the mistakes that they have made. I'm not saying you can't change your mind about the administration, I know I definitely have - but that took a trip to Iraq, a single rocket attack at our work center, David Kay not finding any WMDs and a LOT of internet research when I got back home started my questioning why we really went into Iraq.

91 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A breathtaking book at a pivotal point in history!, March 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror (Hardcover)

After reading some of the reviews of Clarke's book on Amazon, I'm convinced that there is an orchestrated attempt to smear this candid and patriotic American. When will Amazon put an end to publishing book reviews that do nothing but spew out all the right wing talking points from chat-room fanatics? Most of the reviews being published here are written by people who obviously never read this book and who have no intention of doing so.

Clarke's book is a riveting first person account by a counter-terrorism expert that worked for Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Clarke recognized early on that terrorism was the greatest threat facing our country and the world. Clarke, a lifetime Republican, dares to reveal what really happened in the months leading up to 911 as well as failure of vision and leadership that lead to the invasion of Iraq.

He starts the book with a fast-paced and fascinating account of what went on in the White House on 9/11/01. He then turns his attention to a play-by-play of the failings of 4 administrations to prepare for this inevitable attack. President Reagan gave birth to the present day al Qaeda by refusing to retaliate for the murder of US Marines in Beirut and through the arms-for-hostages disaster. George H. W. Bush did not recognize a threat from terrorists and as a result failed to retaliate for Pan Am 103. President Clinton failed to retaliate against the terrorist attack on the U.S.S. Cole. These failings, while serious, were just a warm-up for the total incompetence and breathtaking ignorance of the George W. Bush Administration.

Clarke's book is highly readable and holds one's attention from the preface to the end on page 291. Clarke raises important issues of systemic problems in the U.S. intelligence apparatus and the manner in which decisions are made in the Bush White House. It's not a pretty picture. If you don't read another book this year, please read this one.

135 of 144 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an angry Republican, March 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror (Hardcover)

I lost a relative in the WTC bombing, and I am still hurting. After reading Clarke's book, I know he is telling the truth. I am a registered Republican, but I have had enough of the Bush-Cheney lies. If Clarke was out of the loop and was demoted according to Cheney, then it tells you that terrorism was not a priority to the Bush administration. If it was, Clarke's warnings would have been heeded. Bush's motives for going to war has cost too many lives. He and the Republican party must own up to their sins of omission. A person who is telling the truth cannot be destroyed by all these ferocious attacks by the Republican party leadership. I am very ashamed to be a Republican. Read the book and be enlightened.