Dana
Priest (Author) &
William M. Arkin
(Author)
Description
The top-secret world
that the government created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks has
become so enormous, so unwieldy, and so secretive that no one knows how much
money it costs, how many people it employs or exactly how many agencies
duplicate work being done elsewhere. The result is that the system put in place
to keep the United States safe may be putting us in greater danger. In TOP
SECRET AMERICA, award-winning reporters Dana Priest and William Arkin uncover
the enormous size, shape, mission, and consequences of this invisible universe
of over 1,300 government facilities in every state in America; nearly 2,000
outside companies used as contractors; and more than 850,000 people granted
"Top Secret" security clearance.
A landmark exposé of
a new, secret "Fourth Branch" of American government, TOP SECRET
AMERICA is a tour de force of investigative reporting-and a book sure to spark
national and international alarm.
About the Author
Dana Priest is an
investigative reporter for The Washington Post.
She has won numerous awards, including the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for public
service for "The Other Walter Reed" and the 2006 Pulitzer for beat
reporting for her work on CIA secret prisons and counterterrorism operations
overseas. She is the author of The Mission:
Waging War and Keeping Peace with America's Military.
William M. Arkin has
been a columnist and reporter with The
Washington Post since 199
Review
Chilling
and essential
GLS (Brooklyn, NY
USA) -
TOP SECRET AMERICA
is an astonishing and alarming book, and should be read by anyone who cares
about the fate of this country. The bloat and chaos described by the authors is
horrifying, as is the spread of programs and equipment meant to fight terrorists
into everyday law enforcement activities. I'm not sure what was most alarming:
that there are now so many secret anti-terrorism programs that nobody in the
government knows who is doing what, or how to control the octopus; or that
during these hard times the private contractors busy ripping off the taxpayer
via fear tactics are making billions of profits. Actually, there was a lot in
the book that was scary and eye-opening, and I thank these two reporters for
lifting a curtain on what has been, until now, the true "top secret."
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