The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege...And How We Can Be Safe Again Paperback – August 31, 2010

Thank you Amazon. Great book for understanding the threat, the organizations, and our methods for addressing the challenges.

Some behind the government secrets are divulged in the book. Tom Ridge is a little hard to follow until you get involved in the book.

Great book

Although I am not Republican, I had been looking forward to this book. I am from PA and I had felt Tom Ridge was a good governor and a good and honest man. I still feel that way but I was disappointed in the simplistic style in which the book was written. I also became very concerned that he was in "way over his head" in the position he was thrust into. Being honest, well-meaning, and determined is not always enough. He did not have the background or the skills to pull it off. I cannot believe there weren't better people, more experienced people in the state department that could not have done a better job. I felt the book was not effective in getting his points across. I think he believes the American people are not smart enough to know the truth. And I think that came across in the book.

I recommend good read the true facts of whats going on in this world today ,this is a great read

As Homeland Security Secretary, Ridge observed a need for various emergency response teams to work better and perform better. He saw a need for regional offices, improving public education on terrorism, and avoiding politicizing national safety efforts.

Ridge sees this Cabinet position as a challenge. Sen. Joseph Lieberman called it "building an ark after the flood started". Ridge also saw power plays, which are common in government office politics, continue even in homeland security matters.

Ridge was Pennsylvania Governor on September 11, 2001 when one of the planes hijacked by terrorists crashed in Shanksville, Pa. He flew by helicopter to the crash site. He was touched by the knowledge that the passengers had likely overtaken the hijackers. He believes this provides people a sense of empowerment during crises rather than feeling hopeless.

For 1,200 years, Ridge notes, Christians and Jews live din safety in countries ruled by Muslims. Al Qaeda now calls for the destruction of Western civilization. Bernard Lewis argued Muslims had a growing sense of victimhood. Samuel Huntington blamed growing feelings of darkness emerging form people obsessed with the pack of power their religious views were providing. Sayyid Qutb tortured in prison after involvement in a failed assassination attempt of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nassar, gained a following. Qutb's devotes sought to attack Muslim leaders they felt were too attached to Western society. As Ridge notes, "the rest of torture in those Egyptians was, I think, predictable--a rage for revenge."

Ridge found the CIA and FBI willing to work together. Vice President Cheney was very involved on security issues. He also noted President Bush allowed others in meetings to speak as equals.

Local and state government agencies have to be a part of coordinate response efforts. Yet within the agencies is often found inadequate staff, training, and resources. They may not respond as the Federal government expects. Ridge wants to provide more equipment to local and state governments responding as they are the first on the scenes of most disasters.

Intelligence "is an art, not a science", according to Ridge. Speculation that Las Vegas or Hollywood could be targets made sense as this would be striking at symbols of what terrorist groups despise. Speculation that the Golden Gate Bridge could be a target made less sense due to the difficulty such an attack would require.

Ridge wanted a system that could provide urgent warnings to the nation. Only Israel was found to have such a system. From these investigations, a color alert system was created. Under orange, pubic events would be canceled. Under red, response teams would mobilize and public and private facilities would be closed. Ridge notes that critics such as Richard Cohen believed the public would eventually ignore the flow of warnings. Ridge notes the U.S. has responded by creating increased border inspections, airport inspections, increased infrastructure inspections, more intelligence sharing, and that $100 million in terrorist assets had been frozen.

Ridge notes it should not have been a surprise there would be public concern and criticism once it was disclosed the National Security Agency had been secretly authorized to expand operations without warrants, which would have previously been required. Ridge believes this needs to be reshaped towards its original intent, noting "under no circumstances can we voluntarily surrender a Constitutionally protected right."

Ridge notes how fellow Republican Saxby Chambliss in George defeated Max Cleland for reelection by trying to make Cleland appear unpatriotic. This was done by placing Cleland's face over Osama bin Laden's face in Chambliss ads. Ridge notes "it was an early and brutal example of paying the patriotism card, and set a new standard for low...The accusation that we were playing politics was something we dealt with often, and the George campaign gave those accusations a basis in fact."

The Bush Administration decided to invade Iraq. As Ridge notes, "freeing Iraq of a dictatorial government---and doing so with no American and few Iraq casualties---was an ambitious goal...I knew that Iraq was not at that point any kind of Al Qaeda stronghold." The war led to "fueling radicalism in the Middle East and elsewhere."

When a natural disaster hits, Ridge observes how important it is that communications be established with those affected. This was a mistake President Bush failed to take following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Ridge wanted the Homeland Security Department to work more closely with state and local governments. He wanted regional offices. He thought he had support from the Bush White House when funds were appropriated. Yet Ridge discovered that critics of his goals worked internally within the White House to undermine his work.

Ridge notes President Bush's approval ratings increased almost 5 Percentage points every time a terror alert was announced. Ridge knew he would lose trust if politics entered homeland security matters.

On October 29, 2004, an Osama bin Laden video aired on Al Jazerra. In America, the polls had Bush and Kerry tied. Homeland Security personnel internally concluded there was nothing in the video to increase the alert level. The level was increased and Bush won the election a few days later.

For most Washingtonians, there is little new news here. Secretary Ridge is clearly passionate about DHS and security and it clearly showed in this book. To his credit, this was not a kiss and tell mudslinging book, but a point by point history of his involvement in the formation of DHS and the protection of America in the aftermath of 9/11."

Reading this book made me appreciate why it was essential that someone of Ridge's reputation, character and administrative experience be brought in to get DHS off the ground at a time of national crisis. National security experience was of secondary importance because people issues are always the most difficult to solve. The book provides context for the 9/11 attacks and the ongoing "War on Terror" (a term Ridge clearly dislikes) and lays out commonsense strategies for managing risk, improving collaboration between agencies and helping the American public learn to be resilient. Ridge's insights and recommendations are relevant and timeless.