An insider topples the house of cards known as 'homeland security'
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"Homeland security" is now permanently part of the American government vocabulary. This phrase ideally means protecting the country from internal and international attack.

However, Clark Kent Ervin's scathing book documents numerous failings within the newly created Department of Homeland Security itself. Under funded and disorganized, DHS issues propaganda intentionally designed to make the American people feel 'safe' as opposed to taking real measures which would actually protect the country against another terrorist attack.

As was being practiced while he served as Inspector General, homeland security largely is a ploy to play on people's emotions. Truly effective policies require substantially more money, resources, and time than what the government itself invested.

We kid ourselves believing America is any safer today. Ervin meticulously documented how the government did just enough to keep people complacent (the airport security) but selectively 'forgot' other public areas where large groups of people are vulnerable to attack.

He does have the insider perspective, but I am also wondering if some of the harsh accounts of incompetence contained inside this book partially stem from unresolved inter-office politics. Plus, other authors already suggested that DHS and affiliated agencies (ahem..FEMA!) were a political dumping ground for administration buddies as opposed to a source for bureaucratic expertise.

Still, this is an overall excellent account of the very important differences between the government assuring people that we are safe and actually being safe. It is required reading for any American because we need to know the truth about the 'effectiveness' of homeland security policies.
653291
Donald Trump, the Master of Celebrity Schmaltz, has been famously associated with the phrases I think big and I kick ass to win, and perhaps in emulation of Trumps BIG and ambitious perspective on things, the celebrity-savvy authors of this BIG overview of his business history and rise to power took BIG risks with this explosive saga.

Laid out like a brainy, sprawling tabloid, it nails the bombastic unreality of The Donalds (Horrifying) World. Its hot, its already won some literary awards, and it tramples with a sense of bemused irony across more of the big-ticket scandals of Trumps ongoing mess than any of the sycophantic odes to his genius published by groveling members of his tribe. Theres 800 pages of amazement here: a world class compendium answering, Who is he, and how did it happen?

In any normal election, this book would have been a game-changer that influenced the outcome.  But 2016 was a year in politics when freaks and loonies took over, and who better than media gurus and spinnmeisters Darwin Porter and Danforth Princeworld-class authorities on the rich and very famousto focus on The Donald as a naughty, perhaps crazed, celebrity?

Look to this book for the core of The Donald, and the fleurs du mal that blossomed, contrary to each of his pundits predictions, into a Presidential Administration.  FIVE STARS! Theres nothing else like it on the market. In terms of visibility and whatever allegiance this ode to power may garner, at home and abroad, theres room for growth Because THE DONALD and his only in America saga has only begun.
1017876
House of Cards has to be one of the most intriguing BBC series I've seen in quite some time. I'm not one who finds politics compelling, but this series manages to draw you in to the "games" politicians love to play, in this case, with each other. There is absolutely nothing they won't do. They'll ruin marriages, set up the occasional "necessary" murder, and blackmail each other with explicit photos. Ian Richardson is at the heart of this drama as Francis Urquhart, the scheming British Prime Minister who loves to "put a bit of stick about." He's deliciously evil but throughout the series, I loathed his character. Really. He gets away with EVERYTHING. He's too smart and too clever and he's 100 steps in front of his enemies. Will his reign of terror ever end? That's really the kicker for this series: who has the guts to bring him down??? The writing for this series is brilliantly adapted by Andrew Davies who's talent also extends to other BBC productions like Vanity Fair, Pride and Prejudice, and Bleak House. All of the supporting characters are marvelously cast-especially Colin Jeavons as F.U.'s toady, Tim Stamper. House of Cards is an absolute masterpiece. Beware: you will get sucked in!
2567307
I admit that I didn't closely read the synopsis of the story. The holidays and all. I assumed it was going to another story of post disaster America. Boy, was I ever wrong! This is a story about the shadow government and a couple of retired CIA operatives who knew too much. This book starts off with a bang and is high velocity the entire time until the end. I could not put this book down. After I read the book I also consumed everything that the author had to say in his acknowledgements and I've gotta say that I found much of this section as fascinating as the book. Please, sir, may I have more??
84200
Former US Representative Altmire walked the high wire through three successful elections as his Western Pa District evolved under his feet from a center-left to a hard right battlefield. His vote against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act cost him his seat since he had pledged to his voters since 2006 that he would be a reliable vote for health care reform. The book helps explain his thinking on that vote while also providing some tantalizing inside baseball stories about his contacts with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and many others. It is a good read for anyone who relishes the inside view of the Miracle Congress of 2009-2010 and how the Democrats destroyed what used to be known as the Republican Party giving birth to the Tea Party and the extinction of the political moderates on both sides.
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Behind the scenes of the most chaotic White House administration in history.
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In this well-written book, Mike Lee (with co-writer L. Ron Hubbard Jr.) details a blueprint to put America's financial house in order by passing a balanced budget amendment. What's really fascinating is how Lee's alien abduction experience, and to a lesser extent, his participation in Scientology, helped shaped his financial outlook.

In chapter 17 ("Probed"), Lee's riveting recollection of his ordeal on mothership Xagna 5
is both terrifying and oddly touching. Lee's emotional attachment to Drone #263 is quite understandable under the circumstances, and their eventual parting (when Drone #263 is recycled into an aluminum container) is heartbreaking.

Years later at a Scientology workshop, when Lee's introduced to tenets of the faith (e-meters, thetan particles, balanced budget amendment), and decides to do the Church's bidding in Washington DC, his "probing" comes full circle.

Though at 2,407 pages, the book could use some trimming, it nevertheless delivers on the promise of showing a realistic path for a balanced budged amendment to become part of the constitution of this great land. Bravo, Mr. Lee, Bravo!
1639265
In a work of so-called fiction, the author of  THE  EMPRESS  PROJECT has woven a tale of political intrigue, blind ambition, and deceit that has, at its core, "nailed" the transparent ambitions, lack of integrity, and purposeful manipulation of the news media machine, as well as the voting public, by one of America's most dangerous political bullies, ever.  A must read for anyone who cares about who holds the reins of power in Washington, I highly recommend  THE  EMPRESS  PROJECT.  It is a work  of fiction, but it could very well be true.  That is what is so scary.
2676851
Crisis of Character: A White House Secret Service Officer Discloses His Firsthand Experience with Hillary, Bill, and How They Operate is the stunner it was advertised to be. I devoured the book in less than a day. It is an easy read. Although there have been a library full of books written about Hillary I must admit this is the first one I have read about either Hillary or Bill. I also want to confess I am not thrilled when employees or aids write about their charges.
That said, Secret Service Officer Gary J. Byrne (a 29-year veteran of the military and federal law enforcement) wrote the book about the numerous trials of serving on the Clinton detail. Hillary is portrayed as a Jekyll and Hyde temperament type who had to be treated with kid gloves by all around her. Its no wonder given the many other women in the Presidents life.
Byrne gained credibility when he writes he was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury concerning Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. I found it fascinating that his initial response to hearing of The Drudge Reports report of the Lewinsky affair was to vomit. He became physically ill knowing the impact the affair would have on all including himself.
Byrne also writes of other affairs which he or his fellow agents walked in on or cleaned up after. The book is full of first hand claims. First hand greatly adds to the credibility.
Toward the end of the book, Byrne deals with terrorism. He reveals precisely why the Underwear and the Shoe Bomber failed to blow up the aircraft they had successfully boarded.
The book is sad. Sad because of the state of the dysfunctional state of Hillary and Bill. Governing seemed to be a non-issue.
3843548
Fast moving story  of an attempt of takeover of the U.S. government and how it was stopped.
3002793
Corporate fraud has not involved an attractive female doctor turned CEO until now, with Robin Cook's "Critical." This is a great book...a fast, page-turning ride of intrigue involving the health care system, a development stage company going IPO (an Initial Public Offering), organized crime, and Washington lobbyists.

Angela Dawson, MD/MBA, a divorced single parent, doctor turned CEO is facing the challenge of a lifetime for any CEO. The company she founded, Angels Healthcare, LLC, is about to go public but is experiencing a mini-epidemic of nosocomial methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. A number of patients have died at three of their New York City based hospitals resulting in the shutdown of their surgical suites, a cash crunch and the potential delay of the IPO. This delay may mean insolvency and the loss of millions not only to the founders but also to key investors, one of NYC's crime bosses.

Key figures include Jack Stapleton, forensic pathologist in NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner who is scheduled for knee surgery at Angels Orthopedic Hospital; Stapleton's wife, Laurie Montgomery, who is also a forensic pathologist at OCME; Walter Osgood, MD, Department Head of Clinical Pathology for Angels Healthcare; Michael Calabrese, Dawson's ex-husband who helped raise the start-up capital for Angels from childhood friend and crime boss, Vinnie Dominick; Adam Williamson, a killing machine who worked for healthcare lobbyists in Washington, DC; and Angelo Facciolo, hitman for Dominick.

Montgomery who becomes increasingly concerned with her husband's scheduled surgery as a result of post-mortems on a stream of patients operated at Angels' facilities initiates an unofficial investigation of the cause. Dawson, Dominick, and the DC lobbyists, concerned with "overenthusiastic medical examiner" take matters into their own hands to silence Montgomery. Dominick had already murdered Paul Yang, Angels' Chief Accountant, and Amy Lucas, Yang's administrative assistant.

"Critical" bobs and weaves between stories of the key figures then lurches to an unexpected and satisfying outcome. The book also raises and details some issues of the day, including:

* The rise and shortcomings of specialty hospitals in the US - They "don't have the resources for serious problems and have to outsource them, are interested in the cream of patients (healthy, well insured), like quick procedures that require no overnight stay (in and out), and have no ER or ICU.  They are money making machines."

* Conflicts of doctors and the business of medicine - "Success from business as measured by wealth and its trappings had trumped altruism, charity, and the pleasures of interpersonal intimacy.

* Hospital infection rates - Hospital acquired infections affect about two million patients per year resulting in  90,000 deaths per year in the US alone.

* Nosocomial methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections - one of the greatest healthcare concerns we have today as bacteria mutate and become resistant to available antibiotics.

As one who is not a big reader of fiction, I found "Critical" to be an excellent book. It is a great story that also outlines some critical issues of the day, raising questions about today's morality. As someone who has worked in healthcare for more than thirty years, I agree with Cook's final assessment, "In politics, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In medicine, its money, not power." We - doctors, the delivery system, the regulatory system and  payors, which includes the federal government - have lost sight of the patient.
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I recommend this book as a way of getting a feel for being inside the White House for the first two hundred days of Trumps administration. Just the fact that he was there, given access, and was unsupervised speaks volumes to the chaos in the White House. Bannon seems to be his most valuable and credible informant.  Worth reading!
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I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book last week before it hit the shelves. This is a compelling biography about a former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino and his life struggles. Bongino's story begins in Queens, NY as a child. His family was poor and life was tough. He talks about his time with the NYPD and how he landed a job with the Secrete Service. It's packed with plenty of stories in between.

Those of you who felt compelled to write a negative review of this book should now go back and actually read it. Don't pull a Pelosi, it's so obvious that you never read the book because you don't know what's in it.

I per-ordered 3 books for Christmas gifts and will order a few more. Great job Dan Bongino, I can't wait for the sequel!
2926775
Wolff exposes a  2016/2017 campaign and subsequent White House filled with intrigue, bellicose rantings, and an uncontrollable leader.  Its like reading a vampire series with Team Jarvanka on one side and Team Bannon the other.  Riveting yet scary since this is real and a threat to the USA and the world.
1035888
I could not resist buying this book after reading the preview offered on Amazon, and it turned out to be money well-spent.  I could not put the book down!  The insiders look into how the President's men operate, how the media so often twists the truth, and how this President continues on his mission to defeat terrorism and bring safety and freedom to our world despite the chaos around him was absolutely fascinating!  A really good read!
2829412
Measure of Danger is a wild ride into the minds and actions of a group of domestic terrorists in this country. A real threat to the country is seen through the eyes of an insider.  Fast paced, with geat characters and amazing insights into how new technology can bring terror to your front door, Measure of Danger is a great read and Jay Klages is a new star to watch.
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"The Billionaire's Apprentice: The Rise of the Indian-American Elite and The Fall of the Galleon Hedge Fund" by former Wall Street Journal reporter Anita Raghavan belongs in an elite category of Wall Street exposes that I call: "You Cannot Put It Down" - along with: James Stewart's - "Den of Thieves" (about Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken); Bryan Burrough & John Helyar's - "Barbarians at the Gate" (about the takeover of RJR Nabisco); Michael Lewis' - "Liars Poker" (about the trading culture at Salomon Brothers); William D. Cohan's - "House of Cards" (about the fall of Bear Stearns); and Lawrence McDonald's - "Colossal Failure of Common Sense" (the inside story of the death of Lehman Brothers). Trust me, that is good company; and, Raghavan's book has just been longlisted for the coveted "FT-Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year".

The book is a thriller as the Feds move in on billionaire hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, owner of the Galleon Hedge Fund and his accomplice, the ultimate insider, Rajat Gupta - the first foreign born CEO of the prestigious management consulting firm: McKinsey. Raghavan masterfully weaves the rise and fall of the two within the context of the rise of the Indian-American elite - which includes the pair of insider traders' nemesis who nailed them: U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York - Preet Bharara. The brazen insider trading of Rajaratnam is captured on wiretaps that are laid out in the book.

The book is particularly timely as Rajaratnam's "MO" of sucking insider information out of a network of sleazy intermediaries who insinuate themselves with corporate insiders is strikingly similar to the latest victim of Bharara - SAC Capital and "Stevie" Cohen. What Raj and Stevie call "a mosaic" of information, coupled with "window dressing" research departments, is really a thinly veiled MO for trading on material non-public information - the legal definition of insider trading. When Rajat Gupta leaves a Goldman Sachs Board Meeting and calls Rajaratnam within 23 seconds of the meeting end with inside information and Raj then trades on it minutes before the close of the market, selling $25-million of Goldman shares in advance of the public learning of disappointing quarterly earnings, it's no surprise that Raj is now serving 11 years in prison.

If you want to read a thriller as the Feds move in on insider trading; understand how the trading of insider information works in the hedge fund community and learn a fascinating history of the meteoric rise of the Indian-American elite, this is your book. I promise you will not be able to put it down. You may need to take a shower though after all the bad behavior. Raghavan is part of that "rise of the Indian-American elite" having written what will become a Wall Street classic in her first book.

Listen here to Anita Raghavan's interview on my radio show - "Business Talk with Jim Campbell" - Sundays from 10-11am & 10-11pm EST on the Business Talk Radio Network:

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