Why America Slept: The Failure to Prevent 9/11 (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

In the end, the central question that remained was what did American intelligence and law enforcement know and what did they ignore? What mistakes were made along the way on the ground by police, FBI and CIA, and in Washington and state capitals by policy makers? While hunting for those answers, there were unexpected discoveries about some American allies, and what they might have known, and not told anyone, before 9/11. The result is a far more infuriating book than originally expected. The failure to have prevented 9/11 was a systematic one. It is not just that investigators failed to get a lucky break early on, nor is it really even dependent on a series of blunders in the immediate run-up to the attack. The seeds for failure were sown repeatedly in almost twenty years of fumbled investigations and misplaced priorities. After a while, the revelations of ineptitude presented in this book no longer cause surprise, but only anger.
?from Why America Slept -- Review

Review

In the end, the central question that remained was what did American intelligence and law enforcement know and what did they ignore? What mistakes were made along the way on the ground by police, FBI and CIA, and in Washington and state capitals by policy makers? While hunting for those answers, there were unexpected discoveries about some American allies, and what they might have known, and not told anyone, before 9/11. The result is a far more infuriating book than originally expected. The failure to have prevented 9/11 was a systematic one. It is not just that investigators failed to get a lucky break early on, nor is it really even dependent on a series of blunders in the immediate run-up to the attack. The seeds for failure were sown repeatedly in almost twenty years of fumbled investigations and misplaced priorities. After a while, the revelations of ineptitude presented in this book no longer cause surprise, but only anger.
—from Why America Slept

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (September 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375508791
• ISBN-13: 978-0375508790
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #703,496 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST Read!!!!, November 13, 2003

By	Richard D. Cappetto "RickDC" (Moodus, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I have been reading many books on Bin Laden, Al Quada, Muslim extremist and also on the above in relation to law enforcement (CIA, FBI, INS, NSA, etc.), Our Presidential Administrations and to Congress (law makers) as it all relates to 9-11. Those books include Catastrophe by Chris Ruddy and Carl Linbacher, Jr., Breakdown by Bill Gurtz, The Sword Of the prophet by Serge Trifkovic, American Jihad by Steve Emerson, among others; and I must say this book; Why America Slept by Gerald Posner, is one of the best. It is completely documented and thoroughly sourced. It centers on the History of major terrorists attacks on the USA, and our allies in relation to the response of our intelligence agency's, State department, and the all our presidential Administration's dating from the Carter years (1976-80) to Now (2003). In Why America Slept by Gerald Posner, He details both the Political and Law enforcement's responses to Islamic based terrorism and what mistakes were made all along the way. the book does not make wild charges but details the mistakes so that we can learn from them. This book documents all of Al Quada's attacks on the US and American citizens all over the world; Documents the History of this declared war on US; and How each attack was handled my the FBI, CIA, INS And by the administrations. He shows how weak responses to terrorism emboldened the terrorists and He also documents some of the missed opportunities to get Bin Laden and Stop his organization long before 9-11. There is also a great chapter on the capture and interrogation of Abu Zubaydah which is must reading. Yes, the Book is critical; but not in any political way, there is no ax to grind hear, against any one individual or administration, its sober and reflective and is a must read for anyone and everyone who wants to know how 9-11 happened.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A carefully balanced book - just what we need post 9/11, September 28, 2003

By	C. Catherwood "writer" (Cambridge UK and Richmond VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book does not blame any one political party - and its very political balance shows how carefully it has been constructed. Sad to say it - but this book is all too true. People forgot that religion has become a major player in why people do terrible things, and September 11, 2001 showed us that all too clearly. We can't afford to ignore such extremism in the future. We must also do something, as many specialists in DC and elsewhere are now realising, about the way in which Saudi Arabia fuels the kind of extremism that caused 9/11. Let's keep looking at the real reasons behind 9/11 - as these authors are trying to do - and learn the right lessons for the future. Christopher Catherwood, author of CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS AND ISLAMIC RAGE (Zondervan, 2003)

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why America Slept - America's Alarm Clock is Clanging, September 22, 2003

By A Customer

Why America Slept - America's Alarm Clock is Clanging Loudly (And Boy, Are They Annoyed!)

From the time of the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon to the near-assassination of former President Bush to the destruction of the World Trade Center, the footsteps of a menacing enemy have grown ever nearer, and Americans have literally slept through the warnings. They stirred at each shaking of slumber, and then promptly went back to sleep again. Posner's new book is a wake-up call, a reminder of many things that we knew, and were able to read about for ourselves, but just as quickly dismissed again, and forgot about.

Ostensibly concerned with the devastation of September 11, 2001, Posner guides the reader through a crucial analysis of the relationship between America's domestic and international intelligence agencies, the CIA and FBI. He details the inner political intrigues of both agencies, and the fundamental differences in their priorities and goals that set them at odds like two dissimilar, feuding brothers, and ultimately cause them to fail the country they're sworn to protect.

Posner also chronicles the most significant of the many pre-September 11 terror attacks, noting America's failure to deliver a strong, decisive response. Conservative readers, weary of the media's love affair with liberals and the Democratic party, will be delighted with the way Posner holds Clinton accountable for his apathetic responses to terrorist attacks (his answer to an attempt on the life of former President George H. Bush was to bomb an empty building in Baghdad in the middle of the night) and the many opportunities he missed to capture Usama Bin Laden.

The current President Bush is not entirely let off the hook, nor is former President Ronald Reagan. There is no one in America who ultimately does not bear some responsibility for the attack, including the American people themselves. But this book is such a page-turner for those fascinated by the political intrigue, the taking-to-task of politicians and bureaucrats, and by the inside look at the behind-the-scenes bureaucracies, the secrets the media failed to properly inform the American public of, that Americans don't realize how much they are to blame until they come to Posner's bibliography at the end, and see the endless list of news stories and books they could have read to keep themselves informed, and either didn't read or had forgotten about until it was too late.

So Posner reminds us of the terrorist attack on the observation deck of the Empire State Building and how it was dismissed as merely the action of a loner. He takes us back to the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, the Kenya embassies, Pan Am Flight 103, which had three CIA agents aboard coming home for Christmas. He even returns us to the Oklahoma City bombing, teases us with a few eyewitness accounts that were ignored and then shows us how the distraction with the case led to such a strain of the FBI's resources that they were unable to follow the leads of more serious terrorist threats. He examines TWA Flight 800, though unaccountably makes no mention of the stories that were prominent in the days' papers about an FBI terrorism expert who was aboard that flight, and leaves readers to draw their own conclusions, despite the official determination of what might have caused the flight's destruction.

Readers will find the interrogation of an actual terrorist the most fascinating, an account worthy of a James Bond movie or a Tom Clancy novel. Clancy has predicted for years what kind of things could happen. Posner's book isn't fiction. Nor is it Nostradamus. Unfortunately for us, it's all history. Somewhat troubling is that fact that Posner makes no mention of the interrogation of Khalid Mohammed, mainly because the FBI wasn't very forthcoming with the details. Mohammed's accounts, in any case, may not prove to be as reliable as someone lower in the ranks and less practiced at evading an interrogator's questions. But in Posner's style, it would have made very interesting reading.

Posner's book is a page-turner that will have readers shouting, "Unbelievable!" every few pages. Most readers will be downright furious. Liberals will grumble and dismiss it as conservation sour grapes. To those few who'd been paying attention all these years, the fangs of rage won't bite quite so deeply, and will be mixed with bemusement, though there are still a few ironic surprises, like the FBI agent who spoke at a terrorist convention, thinking it was the Rotary Club. Posner writes that Usama Bin Laden's contempt for Americans has its roots in their apathy. After reading this book, no one can say that they didn't know. Posner is to be commended for his attempt, though perhaps not entirely perfect, to set the record straight. Let us hope Americans will keep Posner's book for posterity and heed it, unlike the many newspaper accounts that for years heralded the events of September 11 only, if read at all, to wind up lining bird cages.