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89 of 107 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Candid...and respectfully very critical of President Clinton, October 11, 2005
This review is from: My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror (Hardcover)
Louis J. Freeh, the former FBI director(1993-2001), has put together a string of life's accomplishments, struggles, obstacles, and frustrations presented in the clarity of the moment, as he sees it.
The chronicle is his own biography, and nearly half of the book encompasses educational background, and experiences with New York city crimes while working in the US Attorney's office. But, make no mistake! The theme of the book craftily pivots on issues that involve his difficult relationship with Bill Clinton, who had chosen him, as a "law enforcement legend", and later regretful as his "worst" appointment.
Freeh graduated from the New York University Law Scool in 1975, worked as an FBI agent from 1975-1981, and then in the US Attorney's office in New York city until 1991. He was appointed as the US District Court from 1991-1993.
The book is interesting, informative, captivating, and easy to read. There is a hint of venom that Mr. Freeh carefully guards, as he delves into his chapter critical of his boss, his President, our President -- intelligent and politically skillful, but a crack in his thought process, which let the truth slip by...just slip by!
The following are the highlights that troubled Mr. Freeh:
>The Kobar Towers investigation in Saudi Arabia, which he believes Mr. Clinton ignored, and the interference in the probing of the matter...allowing the terrorists to escape.
>He is surprised by the underestimation of casualties by Mr. Clinton in his book "My Life"...by as many as 70...and even the misrepresentation or the inference that these terrorists were caught.
>Modernization of FBI computer system, requesting $90 million but only receiving two million.
>Pardoning of Marc Rich whose former wife donated one million to the Clintons.
>Scandels of the nineties, particularly the Lewensky scandle that plagued the presidency.
>Views on Robert Hanssen -- the double agent.
Freeh underscores the difficulties he had in dealing with his job, because of Mr. Clinton's never-ending scandels, rumors, and personal conflicts, which triggered FBI investigations. His views are forthright, and seemingly based on facts and candid recollections. Understandably, perhaps, this book is in contrast to Mr. Clinton's "My Life", and ultimately it will be up to the reader to decide which one prevails.
Character does matter! The book is a credible source of information, and does indulge in the strengths of FBI and future imptovements. It is a worthy read and will no doubt cause some political repercussions and debates on the airways.
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Profile of Louis Freeh, October 30, 2005
This review is from: My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror (Hardcover)
150 of 152 people found the following review helpful:
Foreword: When will Amazon clean the closet and let people post a review only after the reviewer has actually bought the book here rather than just post their incorrigible perceptions of the author and abuse this venue as a place to vent anger? Amazon . . . ?
My Review: I actually did pre-order this book from Amazon prior to its publication and I read it entirely. What most surprised me in this book was that his professional relationship with Janet Reno was not as tense as I had thought it to be. Overall. I found this book to be very engrossing; I could not put it down.
As the photo on the jacket of this book suggests, this is a profile of Louis Freeh, by Louis Freeh. It is not a personal vendetta against the Clintons as some have suggested. Yes, Mr Freeh does write about the atmosphere between the FBI and the White House but he does not fan flames here, he simply states his views without placing guilty convictions. As Mr Freeh clearly outlines, he did not choose to investigate the Clintons, that is a legal process which was handed to him and yet, the top cop can not be expected to befriend the one whom he is lawfully obligated to investigate while upholding the laws as outlined in the Constitution of the United States of America.
Mr Freeh begins the book with a chapter on Khobar Towers and how that 1996 terrorist attack which killed 19 of our US Military members in Saudi Arabia profoundly affected him throughout his tenure as FBI director. Some have said that he jumps all over the place between chapters and subjects but I found that he states his views and gives examples, sometimes elaborating on facts to exemplify his points and with ethical reasoning to back them up. Example; Mr Freeh shares insight into his relationship with Prince Bandar, the Saudi Ambassador to the USA, how his many requests to Prince Bandar were not outright rejected, Prince Bandar needed the request to be made directly by the President of the USA to pressure the co-operation between the FBI and Saudi Arabia on the Khobar Towers investigation. Ultimately, President Bush 41 was able to jump start better co-operation between the FBI and the Saudi's internal investigation after just one conversation with the Prince. While there are vast differences in our cultures, Saudi Arabia is not our enemy, the terrorists are.
This book is so much more than historical events. Mr Freeh shares with us details into his inner self, of his strict Catholic upbringing and how events throughout his life helped to shape his moral compass. He shares details of his parents' Italian and German heritage, how childhood friends became lifelong friends, how his desire to go to USMA West Point was squashed by one priest who told him that he was not college material and how that had a lasting effect on his decision making (never take the first no as an absolute answer and BTW, his eldest son is at USNA Annapolis), how his youngest brothers' rebellion against the church & school and his later development taught them both an important lesson, how events throughout his college years at Rutgers during the civil rights movement affected life on campus and his own life, how discrimination that his mother experienced as a young Italian immigrant convinced him to excuse himself from judging a case of discrimination years later, his many years and events that occurred while prosecuting the mafia (notably, the Pizza Connection with Sicilian mafia and drugs) details of many cases including the Olympic bombing in Atlanta, how the media leaks information incorrectly and prematurely and causes major delays in progress but also how the media helped to capture the Unabomber.
Mr Freeh takes responsibility for errors in the FBI's handling of cases such as, FBI agents inadvertently leaving out 3,000 pages of evidence during the McVeigh trial (Oklahoma) which caused > one month delay in McVeigh's execution. In another instance, he tells how an FBI agent lied on the witness stand and how the jury felt forced to acquit a criminal they thought was overwhelmingly guilty based on lack of trust in that agent. But we also get to hear many successes in the FBI including the reshaping of the course material at the FBI Academy at Quantico to make ethics a high priority, the creation of an FBI Academy in Budapest and how that fostered greater global cooperation in the law enforcement community. We hear of many successes and the dedication and perseverance of many which paved the way for success and growth.
I got a lot out of this book and recommend it as a great read for anyone from teenagers who seek moral guidance to those who want a reflection of what it's like to be the USA's top cop and how he made it there from student, to agent, to prosecutor, to judge, to FBI director. The dedication, the sacrifices, the ups and downs.
If you ever read this Mr Freeh, I thank you, for your dedication to our US Military and to their families, to not let the Khobar Towers case 'just go away' as some had wished.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insider View of a Critical Agency at a Critical Time, November 29, 2005
This review is from: My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror (Hardcover)
There was a time when the FBI could do no wrong. J. Edgar Hoover carefully crafted an image of excellence that, true or not, made the agency greatly respected. Later came Ruby Ridge and Waco. In the darkness that followed Bill Clinton appointed Louis Freeh to be the head of the organization.
During the years that followed, it almos tseemed that Bill Clinton himself was the target of most of the high profile investigations conducted by the Bureau. As we all remember, it was one scandal after another.
This was, however, also a time of other developments - the bombing of the Khobar Towers, the Unibomber, Robert Hanssen the Soviet spy working at the FBI, the build up of the al Queda attack at the World Trade Center, and more.
Mr. Freeh's relationahip with Bill Clinton was strained (to say the least) and in this book he lays out a lot of the reasons why. Obviously his view is his own, Clinton's view is a bit different. Clinton supporters will hate it, others will love it.
In summary, this is one of those books that come out after the person leaves office and begins to explain to us what really happened. This is one story, other writers will produce others, and in ten years or so the historians will put it all together. As for this book, it is well written and tells what was going on in a very important agency during a critical time in its history. It is well worth reading.
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