Customer Reviews

Stalling for Time

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was such a rewarding book. I've always been fascinated by that very basic question: when someone is disturbed and irrational enough to actually pick up a gun and take hostages, how on earth do you talk him down?

What was most startling to me was that until very recently in human history--a few decades ago--we didn't know.

The more I learned, the hungrier I got to learn more. How interesting that so much of it amounts to listening.

I had previously learned a great deal about hostage negotiators researching my book COLUMBINE. (The head of the FBI investigation in that case, Dr. Dwayne Fuselier, was a leading negotiator and I spent a great deal of time with him.) Fuselier spoke very highly of Gary Noesner, so I was curious.

I expected to skim through much it, but found myself hanging on every word. There is a great deal to learn here, and it was just as interesting to watch the story of how difficult it was to teach the FBI these ideas. Individuals picked them up rather easily, but making the institution embrace them was a bigger challenge.

My biggest surprise, though, was what a natural storyteller Noesner turned out to be. He has the easy style and readability of a lifelong novelist. It was a gripping and thoroughly enjoyable read.

This book is a fair and balanced look inside the FBI's crisis negotiations and crisis management programs. Gary's observations of the process from an operator's view point is priceless and right on point. He writes in a non-critical converational style, pointing out the positives as well as the negatives associated with each incident. Unless you have been where the author has,you cannot understand or appreciate the tension involved in "stalling for time" when human life is at stake. Gary's reasoned approach to negotiations made a tremendous contribution to the rethinking of crisis management within the FBI. The mistakes highlighted in this book are easily made when managers/leaders rush to judgement at a crisis. This book should be required reading for any law enforcement professional. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read as well!

From the first chapter, where the unexpected happens to the last page, I was enthralled with the recounts and stories. The authors' descriptions of circumstances and the negotiation processes transports you to the scene and gives a bird's eye view of the events. I not only enjoyed the book thoroughly but learned how the FBI negotiation process has developed over the years and the authors involvement in that process.

This book is riveting but with wider implications than the stories it tells. Over and again Gary Noesner emphasizes how important it is to have trained negotiators available to manage hostage and other crisis situations and how deadly can be the all-to-human tendency to rely on force as a first response. We, as Americans, should be very grateful for his service and make sure that we have people with his skills available in our future because the need for such skills is sure to arise. His telling of his interview of Majed al-Mulqi, leader of the terrorist hijacking of the Achille Lauro, was most illuminating. Here useful information including an admission of murder was forthcoming where confrontational interviews had drawn a blank. Over and again instances are related where horrendous situations were defused without needless loss of life. Required reading.

It really is about listening and communication. Gary has captured a story telling style in which he tells about his career as a communicator and a real live action personality who most of us just read about. Gary tells his story using the highly publicized cases which you and I have seen on TV news or read about in the papers. If you ever wanted to know what really happened at Waco, TX or Ruby Ridge, this is the book that provides first hand account of the drama, emotions, tactics, etc. of some of the FBI's most famous cases, written by a guy who was not only there but was the principle agent. However, lest you think that this is a boring treatise on crime cases, let me tell you it was not. From the very first page the book takes off like a crime/psychological thriller and puts you into the action of real life drama. As you read each account you can feel the emotions: frustration, joy, helplessness, hopelessness of each of the people living out the drama.

On a practical matter, "Stalling for Time" also has a great deal to teach the reader about being a good listener using some very simple techniques. As a court mediator, I found that some of the same principles Gary used in elevating rational thought and lowering emotion during confrontation are operative in mediation, family stresses, business application and a variety of person to person activities in which all of us find ourselves.

"Stalling for Time" also gave me an unfiltered look at how Gary took a concept of dealing with very dangerous situations and nurturing that concept through a rigid bureaucratic system like the federal government and making it a protocol on how we respond today.

Again, a great read.

A faced paced and informative look at the world of hostage negotiating. The writing is very down to earth and should be accessible by readers at any level. I find myself already being more mindful of some of the techniques discussed in the book during my personal business dealings. The concepts detailed in the book can (and do) apply to most situations of conflict that normal people encounter in their day to day affairs. This is perhaps the greatest strength of the book. The dramatic vignettes do not cover any new ground in the true crime genre; the concepts behind them, however, are immensely helpful to anyone who may find themselves in conflict with others since we will all encounter more of these situations before our life is over. 4/5 stars.

`Stalling for Time' is sprinkled throughout with that passion and fervor which Gary Noesner has passed along to thousands of everyday police negotiators. It is a well written account of why this 'art form' has progressed to where we are today.

I have been a street cop for thirty-five years. I have had many great moments in my police career, but the thrill of talking a person off a bridge, the exhilaration of ending a day long stand-off, or the satisfaction of watching a hostage run to the safety of the SWAT team will always remain my greatest accomplishments. There have been many times when I was tired, frustrated, and hungry during negotiations that appear to be going nowhere. There have been times when I wanted to hand the phone to another team member. But during those though times I remember what Gary Noesner has said over and over, 'Negotiations are the most noble of police endeavors'. I have sat with Mr. Noesner many times in both formal and informal settings, and one thing remains constant; his passion for the art of crisis negotiation and his insistence that each of us perfect the art. So when the pager sounds, and I start complaining about another call-out, I remember just what it is I am about to do. Many times during my frustration I have remembered the enthusiasm that Gary exhibits each time he talks (now writes) about crisis negotiations."

Bruce A. Wind
Crisis Negotiator - Seattle Police Department
Director of Communications - WSHNA

Stalling For Time was a great first-person account on what an experienced FBI hostage negotiator actually does during his job, what he sees, says, and decides. Unlike most jobs, what a negotiator says to a hostage taker can result in life or death. Author Gary Noesner's honest account of some of his more memorable experiences were truly fascinating. He blames gung-ho commanders for many of the hostage situations that turned deadly, faulting the macho culture of law enforcement that saw negotiation as weak and ineffectual compared to blunt force. For example, after a multi-day standoff, one commander had enough, and he ordered Gary to tell the hostage-taker guy he had ten more minutes, and that was it. So, after nine minutes, the hostage-taker killed all of the hostages, and then himself. Situation resolved, but not the way anybody wanted it.

Particularly interesting was the first-hand account of what went wrong at Waco. You can tell by reading the book that the author strongly disagreed with the force tactics used that resulted in the death of almost one hundred people. He tells us that patient negotiation had already resulted in almost forty people leaving the compound before the FBI decided to move in for an assault.

Highly recommended true-life law enforcement story.

Stalling for Time takes the reader inside the nascent world of hostage negotiation. Then the author highlights some of the large sieges he worked as a negotiator including Waco, Ruby Ridge, and prison riots. I loved learning the details of how hostage negotiation grew and developed, and the tension between negotiating and tactical resolutions. It is one man's perspective on the events he relates, but I very much enjoyed his writing and storytelling. If you are curious about learning more about hostage negotiation, this is a great way to look inside the FBI in this area.

I was fascinated from the very first chapter of Gary Noesner's true stories from his experiences as an FBI hostage negotiator. Mr. Noesner shares details of selected cases which represent the development of his career and the discipline of hostage negotiation within the FBI. The author shares insights into well-known cases such as Ruby Ridge and Waco as well as situations unknown to most people. You could tell that the author was not only proud of his accomplishments in the field of hostage negotiation, but also sincere and caring in his dealings with the hostages and the perpetrators.

I found the book to be interesting, action-packed, and as much of a page-turner as the most exciting suspense novel. While these aren't funny situations being described, the author did manage to insert some humor when appropriate. I learned a lot about the negotiation process, what can go wrong, and how the use of force can often make a dangerous situation even worse. I found the book to be very enlightening and was sorry to see it end. I could have continued reading more of the author's descriptions and insights from his FBI experiences. While not a "how-to" book for negotiations, there are some lessons from the book that can be applied to business or in one's personal life. For example, allow others to save face and keep their dignity when resolving a conflict, don't let your own pride get in the way of a solution, and finally know when to be more forceful and when to back off. I highly recommend this exciting and thought-provoking book.