Having read the diverse reviews of this book I'm further convinced that every one has an opinion, just like a certain part of the human anatomy. After reading this very interesting book I came away further convinced of the current danger, future threat and just how far Hussein may go to avenge his defeat in the Gulf War. Before the horrifying events of 9/11 this book was released under the titile "Study of Revenge." That is exactly the point Laurie Mylroie goes to extensive research to try and prove. The fact is she can't exactly pin Hussein down but she presents a credible case. Considering the CIA, Feds and Government have the same suspicions but haven't been able to prove it either, Mylroie ties some loose ends together for the reader to be the judge. One of the interesting parts of the book is how the various agencies seem to be their own worst enemy, each withholding information from one another instead of sharing for the common good. The information presented concerning the first WTC bombing is a fascinating study about an International conspiracy that quite possibly needed the intelligence of state sponsorship since some of these characters are little more than petty criminals prior to the bombing. Her point is that Hussein is able to discreetly sponsor without direct state involvement, thus placing any fingerprints on the dupes who carried out the actions. The information is presented complete with court documents, photographs and text from the trial of those responsible for the WTC bombing in 1993. The book is easy enough to follow, with a 2 year chronology of related events and a list of characters involved, including a mystery man who arrives to supervise the final stages of the bombing. Could this have been a member of Iraqi intelligence? Who really knows, what is clear is that Hussein feels there is unfinshed business to avenge the Gulf War. The author does have an agenda, presents her case, and maybe if someone in the governmnet had listened to her the WTC might be standing today. The warning signs appeared to have been everywhere. Mylroie sets the stage and takes the reader through a series of events that eventually lead up to the 1993 WTC bombing, all the while pointing in the direction of a greater evil. Even if you don't agree with her case, and the behind the scenes culprit being Hussein, the information provided concerning the 1993 conspiracy is concise, accurate and allows the reader to come to their own conclusion. Highly recommended for anyone interested in current events, terrorism or Saddam Hussein.

Iraq expert, Dr. Laurie Mylroie, presents a compelling case linking Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime to the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. Through painstaking and thorough research, Dr. Mylroie outlines the evidence and raises serious questions concerning the Clinton Administration's Iraq policy.
Her study also highlights the broader issue of US approaches to terrorism in general and state sponsored terrorism in particular.
This study has profound implications for US threat assessment in the post-September 11, 2001 environment.

I liked this book so much, I started a discussion list about it (Iraq911 at yahoogroups.com). I think it ought to be read in conjunction with Simon Reeve's THE NEW JACKALS, which contains a biography of Ramzi Yousef, the 1993 World Trade Center bomber. Mylroie argues that Yousef is an Iraqi agent, and that Reeve has fallen for his cover story. I'm not quite persuaded, but she does make a good circumstantial case for Iraqi sponsorship of the original attack.

A stiff, slow-to-develop installment in an otherwise exciting OP-CENTER series by Tom Clancy, et. al. In the new-world order, the bad buys are no longer the Soviets or rogue nations, instead they are our own government officials.

Op-Center Director Paul Hood gets to the bottom of terrorist activities in the Caspian sea, only to learn that it is somehow connected to the President’s deteriorating mental state. In a suspenseful ending, Hood solves the riddle with help from a Russian spy and the First Lady.

This installment seems mechanical and cookie-cutter with humorless characters. First-time OP-CENTER readers might want to try an earlier novel, while purists will want to stay with the story line and character developments.

I've read reviews of a number of other reviewers, who commented Divide and Conquer was not as good as the previous Op-Center novels. I don't agree with them. I actually think Divide and Conquer is the best of the series. By plotting a chain of events, which unfold in a very short manner of time, the team behind Divide and Conquer (including Tom Clancy, Steve Pieczenik and Jeff Rovin) creates a very tense-full situation. I think the average reader of Divide and Conquer will have a lot of fun reading this book.

What also struck me as remarkable, was the fact that for the first time in a very long series of Op Center novels, the United States of America seemed vulnerable. Usually the Clancy novels don't mention the weaknesses of this Worldpower. But by creating an "internal" conspiracy - a conspiracy by Americans - against the President of the USA, and by revealing the American "Achilles' tendons" to the public, the team of Op Center writers really surprised me. I'd surely recommend this book to Clancy fans and also to others, since you will spend a great time reading it (regarding the great plotting and excitement that rushes through this novel, that won't be a very long time). The fact that Clancy has finally revealed America's weaknesses, makes this novel even more inspiring!

I have been really disappointed in the Op-Center series since the first book. They have just seemed to have mediocre story lines, and not much character development at all. Also, the never-ending quotes by "famous people" just gets to be tiresome. However, this book's storyline was intriguing, and the Paul Hood character seemed to begin to feel like a real person again. One who the reader could actually enjoy talking to. I am glad for the fact that Rodgers was not such a main character in this book. Rodgers seems like too much of a protaginist to me. Also, he seems to quote more from books, essays, and speeches than the other characters. So, if you like Paul Hood, but could do without Rodgers, this is a good book for you!

This is one of the most frustrating books I have EVER read. I am very familiar with the story. I am a Buddhist who lived in San Francisco from 1979 to 1988. I have sat zazen at Zen Center and at Green Gulch and have met a few of the people mentioned in the book. The story of Suzuki-Roshi, of Zen Center and of the rise and fall of Richard Baker is epic and extremely significant to American Buddhism. I predict it will become more and more legendary as the decades pass.

However, a concise and systematic telling of this tale has yet to be written. "Shoes Outside The Door" is not that telling. In my mind it is a complete mess, a complete waste of what could have been the signature piece on this bit of history. The author has done a heroic job of compiling and piecing together the intricacies and events of three decades at Zen Center by holding many many interviews and pouring over old diaries, meeting minutes, letters, and personal notes. I complement him on his efforts. My problem (and it is significant) is with the authors organization and writing style.

The major problem I have is with the organization. The author jumps back and forth among the years, sometimes in the same sentence. He also jumps from interviewee to interviewee at random in the same paragraph. The chapters are seemingly divided arbitrarily (maybe into subject matter, but that is not consistent either). One sentence he is discussing 1983 and the next 1997 or 1979. It's as if he took his notes and threw them up into the air, grabbed a handful off the ground at random, and wrote a chapter based on the notes he grabbed. The result is a complete shambles of chronology and, well, of sense. It is extremely difficult to follow and remember what happened when. I understand from the dust jacket and the Introduction that the author did this on purpose and he implies that he did this at the request of some of the interviewees. However, I feel that the story could have been told in a GRAND MANNER had it been presented in chronology order. To me this is a major flaw.

The second problem is his writing style, which borders on the melodramatic. He has a MOST ANNOYING habit of using double negatives at a frequency that is absurd. Here is an example (from page 327): "So, just as it was not not about sex, it was also not not about money." This would be ok if used judiciously but the author uses this technique on almost every other page. (OK, I'm exaggerating for effect...but he uses this technique A LOT!) Here is another example (page xvii from the Introduction): "The spirit of the place [meaning Green Gulch] is not not friendly." Another one (page 142): "....in America, the ceremony would not mean nothing."

Another writing style thing is his frequent use of one-word or one-sentence paragraph. Everyone knows from high school creative writing classes that this is an easy and cheap way of emphasizing a dramatic point to make it more profound. But again, there is overuse here.

On the plus side I did learn A LOT about people and places that I was familiar with, but did not know the background. For example, the wonderful vegetarian restaurant Greens, the Dharma transmission to Bill Kwong, the final days of Nancy Wilson Ross, and etc.

I wish the Editor had been stronger. If you want a different (but just as significant) true Buddhist story, read "Bones Of The Master" by George Crane. It is WONDERFULLY written without overusing writing cliches. And the organization and chronology are easy to follow.

This is a compellng book that is not just about scandal. Instead, it is about the tragedy of a man who was handed the reigns of a religius organization that he had no business or depth of experience in which to lead it.

This book is important for anyone who is involved in religion or plans to become a member of a religious organizations. It helps people to see that religion is run by humanity, and for that reason we need to be careful not about what we have faith in but rather who have faith in.

This book is not intended as a slam against Baker or the Zen Center. If anything, the reader leaves with a deep sense of compassion for all of the players involved, even Baker who is clearly destined for lay life and business administration, not monasticism. It also shows that despite the Zen Center's meltdown in the eighties, its sincere practioners and the true diciples of Suzuki Roshi have made the best of a bad situation and persevered to make SFZC a pure place in which to practice and take refuge in.

Don't think this book is only about gossip and intrigue. It offers much more to the reader who will leave not only with insights about the complexity of running a religions organizations, but also with insights about the true teachings of Zen Buddhism.

Read this book if you are not afraid of the truth and want a better understanding of the "ideal verses the actual."

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It's mostly about money -- how one teacher interpreted his dharma transmission as entitling him to all the labor, devotion, and funds of a temple, its members and its friends. Several times I gasped aloud at Baker's simple greed --he lived high on the hog, stuffed his houses with the plushest, most expensive furnishings and art at Zen Center expense -- and years after the scandal he demands 40% of one student's business! And it's clear from his own words that Baker still doesn't understand why people were angry. Essential reading for American Buddhist students of any lineage: a cautionary tale. Compare these experiences to those of your church or temple.

The organization of the book _is_ a bit confusing, but Dowling is largely detached, observant, and calm, and he lets his interviewees speak for themselves.

i never really read the book but the cd-rom was a very good compilation. the maths section was a little easy and their lessons were very basic but the reading comprehension and the critical reasoning sections were very helpful.the sentence correction section could have been more difficult though.Finally the tests were more difficult than they usually are in the gmat but they could have included a few more tests in the cd-rom format.Overall it is a software worth recommending to anyone sitting for the gmat,certainly one of the best, if not the best testprep material around.

Kaplan put together a fine book and CD-ROM package. The CD is very well done, and the GMAT lessons are entertaining, interactive, and informative. The only problem is that the sample tests are not really indicative of the real GMAT difficulty. Actually the Kaplan ones are harder. So if you want to push yourself, get this book and if you do well, then you will most likely get just as high or an even higher score when test day rolls around.

The Kaplan book is the best test prep book I have seen. It got a really good in deep analysis of how the GMAT CAT is scored. But the best part is the CD-ROM. It got a quick test and it points out which areas do you have to improve. I haven't seen the GMAT CAT, but the tests really look like the ones in the GMAT Bulletin. Also it is full of recomendations about getting into grad B-school. Finally the multimedia elements are just superb. Good book, great CD.

Mark Twain was a true American original and one of the true titanic figures of American literature. He was also, as anyone who bothers to dig beneath the "The-guy-who-wrote-Tom-Sawyer-and-Huck-Finn" surface knows, a man who held distinct and perhaps slightly provocative political opinions. One of the things Mark most detested was monarchy - once calling it "the grotesquest swindle ever invented by man." In his later highly controversial novel, A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court, he took on the concept in a viscious and fearless adult satire. In this, his earlier novel, The Prince and The Pauper, Twain did the same thing while aiming principally at younger readers. The story, while featuring a lot of dialect in Middle English, is written in fairly simple and straight-forward prose, which, thus, opens the book up to readers both young and old. The novel's oft-forgotten original subtitle, A Tale For Young People of All Ages, perfectly sums up the books' merits: while this novel may have been written, primarily, with a young target audience in mind, it can also be enjoyed and appreciated by adults. Though it is novel length, the style in which it is written reflects that of classic fairy tales, and will probably be appealing to any child who likes to read. Adults, on the other hand, will note and appreciate the books' deeper underlying meanings, as well as Twain's ever-present wit. This book is very well-written; Twain, a master writer, was, alas, sometimes prone to clumsy prose in his novels - but not here. The Prince and the Pauper is practically a tour-de-force of character development and suspense in plotting. Reccommended to younger readers looking to broaden their horizons, as well as Twain fans of any age.

As a final thing worth mentioning, many reviewers here have commented that, owing to its use of dialect (something which Mark Twain uses in every single one of his writings, which is part of the reason why he was such a great writer - not to mention why he is the true father of real American literature), it is hard to understand. If these assertions have bothered you, however, rest assured: they are mightly over-exaggerated. The dialogue, though prevalent, is minor, and the meanings of the words are usually obvious - even to children; after all, one must remember who Twain wrote this book for. Most children who would read this book would probably already be familar with these elementary colloquial phrases from the many King Arthur stories derived from Malory. And, even if not, Twain foresaw this - and was helpful enough to include a useful appendix.

Mark Twain's, The Prince and the Pauper is a classic look back into sixteenth-century English society. Tom Canty is a young boy who is born into poverty and is forced to beg in the streets of London by his father. Edward Tudor is the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne. Both of these boys were born on the same day but grew up in opposite ways of life. One day Tom is dreaming about being a prince and starts walking towards the royal palace. When he reaches the palace the guards try to stop him but Prince Edward sees Tom's condition and invites him to his quarters to hear what Tom has to say. While they sit there they begin to realize what strong resemblance there is between them and decide to switch clothes to fulfill Tom's dream of looking Princely. All of a sudden Edward storms out of the room to denounce the guards who did harm to Tom, only to be mistaken as the poor pauper and locked out of the royal palace. From here on out the two boys experience what life is like in the other's shoes. Mark Twain does an outstanding job of developing each character and showing how each must learn new ideas to deal with their latest way of life. Unfortunately I did find myself losing my concentration while reading this book. This easily could have been due to the fact that the way Twain wrote The Prince and the Pauper was actually on a very easy reading level, which would lead me to recommend this book to readers of middle school age who enjoy adventurous tales like The Boxcar Children or The Hardy Boys.

The Prince and the Pauper written by Mark Twain is an adventurous, exciting book. The book takes place in London around the 1500's. Two boys were born on the same day, Tom Canty and Edward Tudor. Tom Canty was born unto a poor life, and as a boy growing up, "Tom's reading and dreaming about princely life wrought such a strong effect upon him that he began to act the prince." And just his luck, did he happen to some across the Prince of Wales, after suffering the hard blow of the soldier knocking him into the crowd. The Prince of Wales is Edward Tudor, the other boy born on the same day but born into a rich and wealthy family. As a result from the encounter, the two boys decide to switch places, as the Prince of Wales says to Tom Canty, "Doff thy rags and don these splendors."
The book describes the boys' adventures throughout the experience of living each other's lives. As the Prince of Wales lives as the pauper, he is introduced to and learns about many different people such as the Canty family, Miles Hendon, a troop of Vagabonds, Hugo, the peasants, the hermit, and others. And as Tom Canty acts as the Prince of Wales, he experiences living the higher life of royalty, being treated with respect and given so many opportunities and choices.
Through having the plot be that the characters switch places, the book is more exciting because the reader could act in the character's place and experience the lifestyles and adventures involved with each person's life. Other than being able to understand better each person's lifestyle with the type of writing, using dialogue in Old English adds a stronger effect to bringing everything back in time to understand the setting. Although at times, the Old English could get confusing.
Overall, I thought that this book was interesting because it explains the lifestyles of different people in London around the 1500's in a way that is fun and easy to understand. Although at times, I did feel as if it carried on too much about things that were insignificant. Other than that, the book was good and I would recommend that it be read, if you are interested in adventure.
Other adventure books written by Mark Twain, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, were also interesting, but I enjoyed reading The Prince and the Pauper more because it contained more excitement for me.

Like many thinking Americans of all political ideologies, I was both horrified by the events of September 11th, and the response of my elected officials.

Instantly, a public policy originating against suspected terrorist funder Osama Bin Laden morphed into an assasination attempt against Saddam Hussein, and then just as quickly an unexplained general urge to impose our goverment on the Iraqi people, who (despite the abuses under Saddam) do not seem as enthusiastic about our dictates.

That the Bush administration's intervention rationale changed as quickly as the weather was convienently discarded by a 'liberal' media more enamored with fawning descriptions of 'patrotism' than raising difficult questions which had the very real potential of casting a shadow on the American political system itself. Because many of today's news anchors came of age during Vietnam themselves (and learned the administration response is not always truthful) the ommission is all the more upsetting.

I also realized however well-intentioned my politcs, they would be difficult to communicate in a soundbite driven economy where even the most initally open-minded of swing voters becomes quickly ailenated by lengthy political tomes. Thus, even if a majority of citizens actually doubted the administration, their ability to provide memorable soundbies quickly reassured the same audiences. This book is an excellent tool for beating the far right at it's own game.

The updated images are intentionally culled from 1940's-1950's propaganda posters, ironically a time when patriotism was also blindly practiced. In those days, the fastest way to defeat your opponent was to accuse them of un-American behavior, a frightening trend returning in our own era. Government abuse of constitutional rights is allowed as long as good citizens remain silent and do nothing.

Yet, Wright, a millitary vetran himself also has rengineered some entries to directly appeal to the self-humor of anti-war protestor's. Social change by nature is hard and prolonged, but taking a little time out to engage in sardonic humor at one's self helps lighten the long journey ahead.

Although there are dozens of national and local anti-war organizations, this book would be especially helpful for groups (new ones, and/or students) who want to protest 21st century colonization without blowing their own budgets. The professionally edited images arrive ready for modifications (an explicit suggestion within the book) thereby helping to ensure American democracy is more than a slogan, and something we actually practice ourselves.

In-freaking-credible! Micah has taken WW2 posters and detourned them into new messages against the creeping fascism the USA finds itself in today. The typical visions of charging soldiers, the Statue of Liberty, and various patriotic images are framed with ironically Orwellian slogans or calls to rebel and protest. Perfect for enlarging as protest signs, or copying and leaving on a public bulletin board or under an SUV's windshield wiper.

Next to each poster is a text written by the Center for Constitutional Rights, giving further detail to the message of the poster.

Now, before you start accusing the artist of "treason", take in mind he served as a US Army paratrooper (Charlie Co., 2nd Ranger Bat., 75th Ranger Reg.) during the "liberation" of Panama in 1989, and actuially saw the effects of our bombing raids: The obliteration of El Chorrillo, an impoverished neighborhood next to Noriega's headquarters, into dust and ashes. Something that was mentioned in passing by the US news reports as "surgical strikes designed to break resistance in Noriega strongholds".

Anyone even remotely interested in curent politics, or political activity should buy this book. Better still, reproduce the images (something the artist encourages in the inroduction) so others can be enlightened.

Buy this book...while you still can!

These posters speak for themselves. Every conscious American will love this book.

...

Consistent with other people's experience with this Kaplan book, the practice tests were much more difficult than the real GMAT. Therefore, the book makes the real test seem easier. What's funny is that I scored about as well as I did on the short diagnostic exam (so, was all the prep really worth it? I think so.). However, I scored well above the very first time I took the GMAT (9 years ago), and for that I am greatful. Since I was worried that Kaplan might not be a complete study guide, I bought the ARCO book as a companion, which I also recommend. Forget about the Barron's guide. I used this one the first time around and I scored horribly.

There were only a couple mistakes in the book and on the CD. However, Kaplan needs to beef up its AWA section to take into account the new E-rater system ETS uses to score the AWA sections.

I've been studying with the book and the software for over a month now and I'm just about to take the test. The strategies and techniques taught in the book are intuitive and helpful. I felt that I'm much prepared for the test after the studying. But the full GMAT practice tests on the CD are definitely very difficult - i guess that's kaplan's way for trying to give you an accurate score with out the "adaptive" format. Since it can only give you 37 or 41 questions for the time alloted, it might as well give you all hard questions to see where you stand. And some questions had wrong answers and a few explanations to the answers were not well written. Overall, to really get a good sense of what your score will be, you should buy the powerprep software from ETS for real CAT tests.

I scored in the 700s on the big test, and relied on 3 resources: Kaplan GMAT CD ROM, A+ Notes for Algebra by Rong Yang and the Official Guide by ETS (DO NOT GET THE FLAWED SOFTWARE -- BUY THE ETS BOOK).

My focus area was math, having not taken a math class in 8 years, but those 3 resources helped me get me where I wanted to be. Be forewarned, the Kaplan CD math questions will game you. The questions on the real test are more straightforward, and don't try to trick you with units as often as Kaplan does. So don't be discouraged if you score a 570 on a Kaplan practice test with poor Math scores, you can probably add 100 points. But that's my experience -- let the poor score scare you into more study!

I was probably ready for the verbal portion without much review. If your weakness is Math, as mine was, those three resources worked for me. I found Kaplan's timed tests and quizzes to be very helpful.

But study you must, young Jedi.

That good old-fashioned saying "hindsight is 20-20" comes to mind after reading this book by Bill Gertz. We could have stopped the terrorists if.....If only......we could've....we should've..... I am still left asking the question what difference does it make now? We didn't. So all we can do is learn from our mistakes and make sure something like this doesn't happen again. Unfortunately, instead of spending his time centering on the question of 9/11, Gertz goes on a crusade about how Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter essentially caused it.

Without really explaining their functions, Gertz begins by running down all the shortcomings of the US intelligence community. He believes that our government relies too much on the latest technological gimmicks to get information instead of using old-fashioned spies. Terrorists and the like sometimes have just as much access to technology as the CIA and so can neutralize eavsdropping. Arguing against the difficulty that some officials say we have in infiltrating terrorist groups, Gertz asks how then could John Walked Lindh have had contact with figures such as Osama Bin Laden?

Gertz also believes that intel has also become an entrenched bureaucracy that is just as political as any other branch of government. Instead of thinking of the whole of US security, they are more interested in themselves and whether they look good or bad. Also, the different branches, such as the CIA and the FBI do not like to share their information with each other.

Most of the book, unfortunately, has to do with blaming the Clinton adminstration almost exclusively for the lead-up to 9/11. Blaming the supposed "liberal" slant of his presidency, the 1990's, according to Gertz, was a decade where government agencies were reined in and held back from infringing on civil liberties, to a fault. It was also a decade where lawyers increasingly had more say in the intel community and the CIA and others were afraid of taking actions that could bring them legal troubles. He also blames our lack of significant punishment of terrorist activities as a catalyst that emboldened Osama to attack us so blatantly. After moaning and complaining the whole book, Gertz does offer about a page and a half of reform ideas that will make the world a paradise.

This book was written in a very dull style. It was like reading a cereal box or a memo. There is not even the slightest attempts at making it engaging or of inspring the outrage that the emotional title of "breakdown" conveys. It does not seemed researched at all even though there's about 80-odd pages of internal government documents from the US and England which seem thrown in there for looks sake. None of the "quotes" in the book are cited, but seem more like overheard conversations or a "I heard it from a friend of a friend" type gossip-mongering.

Gertz never does really accept the fact that the supposed sapping of the will of the intelligence community by Congress and Democratic presidents directly stemmed from Vietnam and Watergate. It was because of these events that the American people stopped trusting our government. When you feel betrayed by your government and you don't believe it is looking out for your interests, you are going to try to limit it. To Gertz, it was as if the presidencies of Ford, Reagan, and both Bushes didn't even exist. They had no hand in neglecting our intelligence services, even though 9/11 happened on Bush Jr.'s watch.

Ironically, in the past week I have been reading this book, George W. Bush has been having to deal with another breakdown in intelligence. Not only did he rely on a forged document in his State of the Union address, it was a forged document from a foreign intelligence agency. Now, how on the earth has our intel community improved under George W when we can't even find our own justification for going to war. Even to this day, England has not revealed their "supposed" evidence. Not to mention, there have been allegations that the Bush adminstration, and especially Dick Cheney, push the intel community to back up their sometimes wrong conclusions about the state of the world. This is exactly the thing Gertz is complaining about. That intel should be about finding the truth, not currying political favor, and that our intel agencies don't have the energy or will to invigorate themselves to doing their job. The consequence could be another 9/11.

Bill Gertz shows again why even his adversaries rate him as America's premier intelligence reporter today. Gertz's expose of the intelligence failures that led up to 9-11 is going to shock the nation and cause some much needed soul searching in our intelligence community.

The book is written in terse, fact-based prose that often reads like a suspense thriller. Yet it's based on Gertz's solid news reporting experience on the spy and defense beat with the Washington Times, earning him a reputation as the man with the best top-secret leaker's rolodex in Washington.

Gertz is also a patriot. He takes names, kicks ..., and points the finger squarely at our intelligence agencies' politically correct, risk-averse bureaucatic culture for failing to provide the "human intelligence" necessary to prevent terror attacks. This is a book that delivers. If Gertz's advice is taken, some heads are going to roll, notably that of Clinton holdover George Tenet at CIA. America and the world will probably be a safer place as a result, and our spy networks will get a long overdue new set of teeth.

If you need a Washington journalist with access to CIA and intelligence officials and documents, you need Bill Gertz. He has the access and the knowledge, and the trust of the intelligence community.

The book reads a lot like a Tom Clancy novel, transporting the reader instantly to the rocky hills of Afghanistan, and to the dusty cities of the Middle East, and then back to the paper covered desks of CIA intelligence analysts, and so forth. It names names, and tells stories of all intelligence agencies and intelligence gathering communities. Not just the CIA and the FBI, but the top secret NSA and other bureaus. It talks about the long term degradation of the CIA in particular, intensified by the political machinations of the Clinton administration.

You find out that thanks to Clinton, the last and best of CIA intelligence agents (that's spies) in Iraq, Robert Baer, was yanked back to the US and his cover shattered because it was brought to Clinton's attention that the NSA intercepted a memo within Iran saying they suspected that America was trying to assassinate Saddam Hussein, and they would rather stop Baer in his tracks than trust the CIA. Of course, Baer was simply staying alive and abreast of events in Iraq, doing a job no one else can do right now, nor will anyone be able to do it.

That is, of course, just the tip of the iceberg.

Perhaps we would be able to avoid war in Iraq if our espionage forces were supported these past 12 years. But we have zero "HUMINT" in Iraq and many other places we need it.

When you are done with this book, you'll be sad to know that George W. Bush, despite his sincere efforts in the war on terror, has not fired Clinton appointee George Tenet, figurehead of the CIA and one of its chief problems, and that no one in the CIA has been held accountable for the gross negligence of September 11th, nevermind Coleen Rowley's attempts to bring the issue to light to the tonedeaf liberal media. However, perhaps reform can be accomplished by Tom Ridge, the new Homeland Security Cabinet officer. Perhaps then, as vigilance has been returned to those affected by 9/11, vigilance and an effective organization will be returned to America's FBI, CIA, INS, and NSA.

I am not in the habit of writing bad reviews, but I found this book awkward to use. It is too large, and did not focus on the exam. It contained errors (but that is a common complaint about books in this category). I was disappointed that they did not include a flashcard version on CD. I recommend you NOT buy this book. Spend the money instead on an exam review book and one of the fine "practice test" products available for the CCNA. (I can recommend Boson.)

So far I have seen several CCNA books and softwares. I think this software is the best way to practice CCNA test. Very simple to use. This is bug free software because this is using Internet Explorer. By the way this is somewhat expensive so I give 4 stars.

Excellent way to prepare the CCNA test. Easy to use and abundant questions. I just passed the CCNA exam with 93%, and this was excellent preparation tool for CCNA test.

I really injoyed this book. It was a great medical thriller with some good twists and turns. The charecters are beleaveable and the plot boarderlines where we are already headed. For once the main charecters didn't sneak by they actually had to get themslefs out of trouble.

This medical thriller by David Shobin, will keep you rivited to your chair. This is one of the most believeable book I've read in a long time. You won't be able to put it down.

Loved the book. Action packed suspense that keeps you glued to the pages waiting for the next move. If you like Robin Cook you'll love David Shobin. So full of twists and turns you'll think you're on a roller coasteer at Disneyland. You'll fall in love with Chad and Maks. Keeps you guessing with a surprise ending. Happy reading.