Top Secret America (Enhanced Edition): The Rise Of The New American Security State (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Okay, the beginning of this book suffers from all of the information that is chucked out in wild fashion. Very much skim worthy, the info is repeated and mixed in with descriptions of govt buildings, contractor buildings, over and over again. It's good information, though, telling a story we all know (or should sense) to be playing out, but it doesn't really pick up until the middle of the book. There the figures, the names, the places are all written of in a much more interesting and readable manner. It gives some very good quotes and perspectives from those tight within this community and, in the end, comes out being a very revealing and worthwhile read. This is a well-written and comprehensive look at the growth of the USA military-industrial complex since September 11th, 2001. The authors detail not only the growth in the military and other organizations that deal with terrorism (like DHS, etc), but it specifically looks at how the growth has been in creating organizations, data, etc that have been classified as top secret. They examine the growth of top secret-related organizations, operations, etc. While people of different political backgrounds may agree/disagree with some of the premises in this book what I found interesting and particularly relevant to the current political climate is that the growth in the top secret USA has lead to an explosion in money being spent that is not being tracked, being spent with organizations that are essentially doing the same work, and no one is figuring out the effectiveness of a variety of programs, operations, etc that have come into existence. It is the lack of accountability that really amazes me. I hope that with the wars in Iraq and Afgahnistan winding down that the higher-ups in the government can scrutinize the spending, the programs, the use of expensive contractors, etc and figure out a way to be more effective and more efficient with money. And I bet if they could figure out what programs were actually working and eliminated the programs that are a waste of money, there would be savings that could be used for the deficit or something. Anyway, this book really makes you think and poses a lot of interesting questions and topics to think about.I won this copy in one of the Goodreads giveaways.
What do You think about Top Secret America (Enhanced Edition): The Rise Of The New American Security State (2011)?
A very dense read. Acronym hell. But you must read it. Otherwise the black SUVs will come after you.
—gabriella
An excellent overview of America's industrial-intelligence-military complex.
—Jay
Americans who care about the future of our republic need to read this.
—brennavanwinkle
