
From Publishers Weekly
As founding director of the Institute for Homeland Security, adviser
to the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh and
author of previous books about terrorist threats, Larsen might
be seen as profiting from fear of terrorist attacks. Refreshingly,
he blows the whistle on fearmongers, while for the most part maintaining
an understated tone. Larsen criticizes government officials at
all levels—Republicans, Democrats and those without political
party labels—for spending billions of dollars without a logical
rationale. He explains why questions such as What can we do to
ensure that al Qaeda does not smuggle a nuclear weapon into the
United States through one of our ports? are not only uninformed
but lead to wasteful spending. Larsen argues persuasively that
the priorities should be preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons-grade
nuclear material, detecting biological weapon attacks, improving homeland security
education and designing information systems that tie together data from a variety
of credible sources. The author delivers on his promise for a commonsense guide.
(Sept. 7, 2007)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of
Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Accolades
Our Own Worst Enemy is the single best thing that has been written
on homeland security and, as Randy Larsen suggests, every American
should read it. Straight talking, full of common sense and written in an
entertaining style that makes it hard to put down, this book asks the right
questions and provides concrete recommendations that government officials,
corporate executives and every citizen need to understand and apply.
—Admiral Steve Abbot, USN (Ret),
Deputy Homeland Security Advisor to the President 2001-2003
Larsen advocates a seldom used tool to fight terrorism—common
sense.
—Bob Schieffer, CBS News
Larsen explains how to ask the right questions—from
the Oval Office to the front office to your kitchen table.
—Bruce van Voorst, former
Senior Correspondent for National Security, Time
Magazine
…Larsen might be seen as profiting from
fear of terrorist attacks. Refreshingly, he blows the whistle
on fearmongers, while for the most part maintaining an understated
tone. Larsen criticizes government officials at all levels—Republicans,
Democrats and those without political party labels—for
spending billions of dollars without a logical rationale…The author
delivers on his promise for a commonsense guide.
—Publishers’ Weekly, July 23
…should be required reading for all who are concerned
about national security… For me, it proved to be an all-absorbing
page by page tableau, comprised of provocative ideas, eminently
rational concepts and well-skewered current ideas and initiatives.
—Donald A. Henderson, M.D., M.P.H.,
Dean Emeritus, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
|