Rating: 
Summary: lapses into partisanship here and there
Review: This is a good quick read about an important subject and an important person. It is a tragedy that the 9/11 Commission could not interview John O'Neill, even just to put the lie to the comforting but false claims that "nobody knew" how bad the danger from Bin Laden really was before 9/11. One limitation of the book is that partisanship and a focus on the FBI occasionally narrows the author's vision and blinds him to the bigger picture and the facts.
For example, the 9/11 Commission report debunks some of the myths propagated by this book about Clinton's response to the embassy bombings in August 1998, e.g., that the strikes were symbolic and based on old intelligence, and designed to distract attention from the unfolding Monica-gate: in fact, the strikes were prompted by fresh CIA intelligence of an 8/20 meeting of Bin Laden and his top lieutenants. Other debunked myths: that Clinton tipped off the Pakistanis just to "be nice" (in fact he feared a nuclear response on India), that Clinton was distracted by Monica in not addressing his response in his 8/17 public appearance (in fact the strike plans had already been set but were kept secret until 8/20), that the strikes were planned by political advisors rather than national security advisors (some targets were chosen weeks in advance by Shelton and Zinni at DoD), and that Clinton had little focus on Bin Laden problem prior to the bombings (in fact his ongoing efforts went through CIA and DoD rather than FBI, in part because of Vincent Freeh's obsession with the Whitewater nonsense at FBI....the same Vincent Freeh who obstructed O'Neill and ultimately pushed him out of FBI). (Clinton's biography also explains the clever way his administration notified the Pakistanis of the strikes in a way that left them little time to tip off Bin Laden, although the 9/11 report does not corroborate that.)
Despite some drifting into a right-wing never never land, this is still a good book, and all should hail O'Neill as a true American hero. The messenger may be flawed, but the basic message of this book rings true and clear and compelling. Read it and weep, Lest We Forget.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Book
Review: This is a remarkable and riveting page-turner based on meticulous research and on-the-record interviews with uncharacteristically candid insiders. Mr. Weiss brilliantly and insightfully brings to life a complicated hero and his struggle to combat the growing world wide terrorist menance.What a story and a revelation for our time.
Rating: 
Summary: Hero Worship
Review: This is an unbalanced, hagiographic account of a man even whose best friends admit he was a pain to work for. Author Weiss cannot find a single critical thing to say about O'Neill, and wastes ink talking about his exploits at Elaine's. The war against terrorism will likely not be solved by cops with inflated egos who have a taste for expensive suits. Weiss is out of his depths when it comes to international affairs, and it shows. The book is full of bloopers like the following (which takes place in Aden, Yemen -- page 315) "As O'Neill stood in the hot Mediterranean sun examining the crime scene..." Aden is about as close to the Mediterranean as Los Angeles is to the Great Lakes. If you're interested, this is one item to check out of the public library rather than shell out bucks for. Balt Fosco, Queens NY
Rating:
Summary: A True Hero
Review: This is the best book I have ever read! John O'Neill is a new hero of mine and should serve as a hero to all of us for his heroic efforts to defend the US against the terrorist attacks that he knew (long before anyone else) would confront us. His loss is a loss to us all. I hope that the FBI appreciates the full extent to which John O'Neill went to protect us. And I hope that they use him as a prototype in selecting future intelligence experts.
Rating: 
Summary: Emotional Read
Review: This is the third book that I have read on this subject and I would say it is probably the best yet it was more personal. The other books are "Why America Slept" and "Sleeping with the Devil". This book of the three seemed to be the most even tempered about pointing blame. I was truly surprised to find out what all the responsibilities of the FBI were. I thought O'Neill was brilliant is his use of the RICO laws to get street gangs and try to use against the anti abortionists. I especially like the part about Chicago with all the night life that O'Neill had. I guess that's because I am from there and it's interesting people telling stories about places that you have been to. Learning how the different fanatical groups showed how they were able to make so much money off of America to put to their own use. It was interesting to find out how the FBI got the information on the plan to destroy planes over the pacific from Ranzi Yousef's (the master mind of the first WTC bombing) lap top and that he had a trial run and exploded a bomb on a plane that I never heard about. He was very clever being an electrical engineer. The way that he smuggled all the parts for his timer and bomb on the plane was sagacious. After learning about this guy I was glad that O'Neill caught him, there is a picture of him in the book and it's pretty creepy. I never realized the destruction of the bombings at the African Embassies was. It was total carnage. Why we never set troops over before seems to be beyond me, it seemed to be played down. I guess we were watching O.J. or something else trivial. The USS Cole incident was much worse in the loss of life and damage than I seem to remember. Then the lack of cooperation that O'Neill got from the State department. I don't know if the explanation was one sided but since there were so many witnesses of the account I have to believe that most of the relationship stories were true. The FBI never got to talk to any witnesses there or later in Pakistan. These guys were fighting uphill from the start. O'Neill personal life was unimaginable for me and I think the author might have taken a little literary freedom on this. He was a total scammer, who seemed to think he was a Goodfella with their rules about women. The trivial things that were used against him to get him to leave the FBI which seemed like his best vocation, reminded me of the petty things that happen at work everyday. His explanation about why President Clinton didn't take swifter and more direct action seem to emphasize that the President was fighting off his other scandals with Whitewater or Monica Lewinsky and that he was frighten of US troops being killed and how it would affect him in the polls. He never told the FBI director that he was bombing Bin Laden and so the President didn't know the data for his location was old. The President did it to draw attention away from the scandals. President Clinton didn't even include the FBI Director in his security briefings in the later years because he was fighting with him. O'Neill seemed amazed how President Clinton let his private life invade his public life because he though all the trivial matters hurt the President's ability to do his job. The book does not talk much about Bush's actions during his first year of his Presidency. It describes mostly that it was a transition period so nobody was moving too quickly. The last part of the book is a real tear jerker and you have to be ready for some of it. I had forgotten that the two planes hit the Towers only 15 minutes apart, I seem to remember it being longer. The nice thing about this book is that there is the epilogue, a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work. Most of these types of books do not utilize this properly but you decide for yourself. The index was helpful too after completing the book. I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in the FBI, History of the last 20 years, Counterterrorist history or would like an interesting read.
Rating:
Summary: Emotional Read
Review: This is the third book that I have read on this subject and I would say it is probably the best yet it was more personal. The other books are "Why America Slept" and "Sleeping with the Devil". This book of the three seemed to be the most even tempered about pointing blame. I was truly surprised to find out what all the responsibilities of the FBI were. I thought O'Neill was brilliant is his use of the RICO laws to get street gangs and try to use against the anti abortionists. I especially like the part about Chicago with all the night life that O'Neill had. I guess that's because I am from there and it's interesting people telling stories about places that you have been to. Learning how the different fanatical groups showed how they were able to make so much money off of America to put to their own use. It was interesting to find out how the FBI got the information on the plan to destroy planes over the pacific from Ranzi Yousef's (the master mind of the first WTC bombing) lap top and that he had a trial run and exploded a bomb on a plane that I never heard about. He was very clever being an electrical engineer. The way that he smuggled all the parts for his timer and bomb on the plane was sagacious. After learning about this guy I was glad that O'Neill caught him, there is a picture of him in the book and it's pretty creepy. I never realized the destruction of the bombings at the African Embassies was. It was total carnage. Why we never set troops over before seems to be beyond me, it seemed to be played down. I guess we were watching O.J. or something else trivial. The USS Cole incident was much worse in the loss of life and damage than I seem to remember. Then the lack of cooperation that O'Neill got from the State department. I don't know if the explanation was one sided but since there were so many witnesses of the account I have to believe that most of the relationship stories were true. The FBI never got to talk to any witnesses there or later in Pakistan. These guys were fighting uphill from the start. O'Neill personal life was unimaginable for me and I think the author might have taken a little literary freedom on this. He was a total scammer, who seemed to think he was a Goodfella with their rules about women. The trivial things that were used against him to get him to leave the FBI which seemed like his best vocation, reminded me of the petty things that happen at work everyday. His explanation about why President Clinton didn't take swifter and more direct action seem to emphasize that the President was fighting off his other scandals with Whitewater or Monica Lewinsky and that he was frighten of US troops being killed and how it would affect him in the polls. He never told the FBI director that he was bombing Bin Laden and so the President didn't know the data for his location was old. The President did it to draw attention away from the scandals. President Clinton didn't even include the FBI Director in his security briefings in the later years because he was fighting with him. O'Neill seemed amazed how President Clinton let his private life invade his public life because he though all the trivial matters hurt the President's ability to do his job. The book does not talk much about Bush's actions during his first year of his Presidency. It describes mostly that it was a transition period so nobody was moving too quickly. The last part of the book is a real tear jerker and you have to be ready for some of it. I had forgotten that the two planes hit the Towers only 15 minutes apart, I seem to remember it being longer. The nice thing about this book is that there is the epilogue, a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work. Most of these types of books do not utilize this properly but you decide for yourself. The index was helpful too after completing the book. I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in the FBI, History of the last 20 years, Counterterrorist history or would like an interesting read.
Rating:
Summary: Every so often someone has vision that transcends their time
Review: Today's books seem to be on one side of the fence or the other, liberal or conservative. Although this book takes an occasional stab at the Clinton admin and the FBI seniors of the time it focuses on a man with a torn personal life and an obsession for his job. One aspect of his life was meticulous the other a mess.
John O'Neil was one of the people that was able to connect the dots unfortunatley he wasn't high enough on the chain of command to get somewhere. He is another cog in the FBI and CIA that knew something was not right and it was coming. That ironically killed him.
The most important fact that John O'Neil harped on was the fact that the towers WOULD be attacked again! The way people speak it is like the 93 attack never happened... If only we would have really listened to him and others back then; the past 10 years would be different. If only the Administration at the time took that attack more seriously...
This was a great book that gave alot of insight into many of the terrorist investigations over the past 20 years. The successes, failures and roadblocks are all defined making this a great read.
Rating:
Summary: What a terrific book!
Review: Weiss has written just a terrific book. A genuine contribution to the Sept 11 story, too. His profile of John O'Neill will be a must read for generations on what happened. O'Neill was more than worth the read and hat's off to Weiss for making sure the G-man's feet stayed made of clay. The facts of the matter on O'Neill's story were even more enhanced by Weiss' story-telling treatment. He wove so much info into this tale. Man. Interviews, quotes, story narrative wordsmithed into this so smoothly and easily.
Rating:
Summary: A riveting investigative report
Review: Weiss's boook is a interesting exploration of a fascinating person and a harrowing time.
Rating:
Summary: Fallen Hero
Review: What an incredible story! When I first about John O'Neill, I couldn't believe the irony. A man possesed with tracking down terrorism, losing his life in the Twin Towers. A must read. I couldn't put it down from the moment I first opened the book...I highly recommend the book to just about everybody out there.
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