I wouldn't call (Gen.) Hayden's book a plolemic. It certainly is not in the hyperbole category (as "Fear", "Collusion", and "Russian Roulette" are more in this vein. As such, it more a serious attempt to present the intelligence community (IC)
response to Trump, from pre-election thru post-2016 election periods.
For Hayden, the search for "truth" - and the threat to truth in the post-Trump world of today - is a major theme within the book. Hayden writes: "Over the years it became clear to me that the structures, processes and attitudes that prtect us from Thomas Hobbes's world of "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" lives are not naturally occurring things. They are inherently fragile and demand careful tending if they are to survive. Deeply involved in this is the question of truth." (p. 3)
In his chapter "Withering America...and everyone else?", he compares the past worlds of President's Hamilton and Jefferson, noting: "Hamilton's eighteenth-century rival offered another view...Jeffersonian, model: America as a shining city on a hill, a shining city that demands nearly all of our attention. History pushed Jefferson into conflict inNorth Africa, and he did, after all, buy Louisiana, but fundamentally he was about turning inward and focusing here. Barack Obama, especially in his second term, showed a lot of Jefferson....." To Hayden community, "security, and America was about to face its most fundamental foreign policy decisions in nearly three-quarters of a century." , He asks the question: "What did Donald Trump mean for that?" In answering that question, he puts Trump as "pure Jeffersonian": nationalist, populist, nativist, suspicious of the outside world - and willing to use force to beat it back" (p. 40)
In his later chapter titled "The Transition", Hayden discusses the difficulties facing the IC during the Trump transition period, post-November election and the inauguration ceremony. He asks: "....what do you do with someone who does not distinguish between truth and untruth? He quote one member as suggesting they rechisel that famous quote in the CIA's lobby to read: "And ye shall know the alternative facts, and they shall make you free." [A clear slap at Trump...]
Hayden has no qualms at critiquing the U.S. IC either. In his Trump, Russia and Truth chapter, he questions those within the community by asking: "And then there was the question of the lens we were using to understand all of this. Committed to a path of cyber dominance for ourselves, we seems to lack the doctrinal decisions to fully understand what the Russians were up to with their more full-spectrum information dominance.
In the last chapter (The Future of Truth), Hayden refers to his reprising and offers the suggestion to begin with Lenin's famous treatise: Chto Delat? (What is to be Done?). He offers suggestions, based on his own appreciation of the problem(s) - you need to read the book for the answers(!) - and then observes: "In the meantime though, societies like America need to defend themselves as best they can from external exploitation and manipulation. A major portion of that task falls squarely to American intelligence - but so does a not unimportant role in addressing the first and larger question. The two - that state of truth and the state of Russian meddling - actually intersected in a July 2017 NPR / PBS News Hour Marist poll that found that 73-percent of Democrats thought Russia was a major threat to U.S. elections, while only 17-percent of Republican thought so. A quarter of Republicans rejected the concept that Russia was ever involved in the fist place." (p. 240).
This reviewer would suggest that someone has their "head in the sand"! After reading the thirty-some indictments brought forth by the Justice Department against the multitude of Trump Administration and non-administration individuals by the Mueller special council, indicates at minimum, "truth" was not a priority of these individuals when it came to contacting Russia and those anxious to bring Russia into the administrations fold. With Mueller having submitted his final report to AG Barr now, details that support - or contradict - the pervading view of Hayden will be made more clear.
As this review might indicate, the book is much more a quest of philosophical questions that need resolving, than some hyperbole polemic about an individual or his administration. Conclusion: buy and read it!
Beyond the books text chapters (eight), are twenty pages of Notes and a Index (ten pages).
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Best True Crime Books
The top True Crime books curated by Amazon Book Review Editor, Chris Schluep. See his picks.
Frequently bought together
$13.56
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 26
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
+
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Top reviews from other countries
Jeremy Richler
Brilliant account from a decorated national intelligence director
Reviewed in Canada on June 7, 2018Muhammad Mahmood Ahmad
Good quality
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 15, 2019
Cliente Amazon
An insiders view on what's going on in US at the moment
Reviewed in Spain on August 14, 2018
Chillyfinger
Penetrating Insight on the State of "Intelligence" Under a Post-Fact Administration
Reviewed in Canada on June 15, 2018