Crush the Cell, Michael A. Sheehan
Crush the Cell, Michael A. Sheehan
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Crush the Cell
How to Defeat Terrorism Without Terrorizing Ourselves

Author: Michael A. Sheehan

Narrator: David Drummond

Unabridged: 10 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/20/2008


Synopsis

Written by a man who is arguably the country's most authoritative voice on counterterrorism, Crush the Cell demolishes, with simple logic, the edifice of false "terror punditry" that has been laid, brick by brick, since 9/11. A veteran of special ops, international diplomacy, and bruising clashes with federal law enforcement agencies, Michael A. Sheehan delivers in this book a two-part message: First, that we've wasted—and are continuing to waste—billions of dollars on the wrong protective measures; and second, that knowing the bad guys' next move is paramount.

Somewhere in America, Sheehan maintains, are a number of terrorist cells, their members' heads filled with schemes of mayhem and destruction. Motivated not, as some believe, by feelings of disenfranchisement, disdain for freedom, or economic envy but by a compelling ideological hatred, these individuals plot not just terror but paralyzing terror—the kind that can shut down a country.

Unwittingly aiding and abetting them are many (but not all) "terror experts" and members of the media who, for reasons that are partly self-serving, rate the bad guys' capabilities far higher than they are, playing into terrorists' hands with their hype. Spurred by the pundits' inflated assessments, legislation follows that drains billions from taxpayers' pockets and pours money into a bloated Washington bureaucracy championing needless programs.

Here, Sheehan shows why defensive fortresses don't work whereas offensive operational intelligence does. He also peels back the mystery surrounding terrorist cells, portraying them as typically a group of bumblers searching for a charismatic leader who has what it takes to conduct a complex symphony of violence. Sharing time in the narrative spotlight are not just agents of al Qaeda but also frighteningly destructive lone wolves, cults, and radical movements.

In his career, Sheehan has operated in the mountain jungles of Central America, the back alleys of Mogadishu, and the teeming streets of New York City—but he has also participated at the highest levels of policy making at the White House, the State Department, and the United Nations. It is his time protecting America's most populous city as its counterterrorism czar, however, that yields this book's most fascinating insights. As Sheehan reveals thwarted threats to New York's bridges, subways, and landmarks, and recounts extraordinary simulations staged to gauge terrorists' true abilities, we gain perhaps the clearest picture yet of what modern terror fighting is all about.

About Michael A. Sheehan

Michael A. Sheehan has served as New York City deputy commissioner for counterterrorism, assistant secretary general in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, ambassador at large for counterterrorism at the State Department, National Security Council staff officer at the White House, and commander of a counterterrorism hostage rescue unit in the U.S. Army Special Forces. A graduate of West Point as well as U.S. Army Airborne, Ranger, and Special Forces schools, Sheehan was deployed in such hot spots as El Salvador, Panama, Korea, and Somalia before retiring from the military as a lieutenant colonel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tom on December 27, 2008

Crush the Cell has practical suggestions by an experienced insider with an impressive resume which, surprisingly, he shares at the back of his book. His analysis of past terrorism incidents focuses on the past fifteen years and is enriched with candid assessments of what worked, what our weaknesses......more

Goodreads review by Tyler on July 06, 2022

See TH Book List for review. But overall, this book was very informative and presented some thought-out ways to handle the threat of terrorism in the 21st century world; it would have been amazing if it was about a 100 pages shorter because there is a bit of repetition.......more

Goodreads review by Ox on December 24, 2008

This book gets off to a great start, that by focusing on the terrorist cells, we could reduce the threat terrorism poses to national security. The author goes off-message about half-way through the book, though, when he begins to tell his own story of working with the New York City police. I think t......more

Goodreads review by Lorri on October 02, 2008

wow!! so far very interesting. I am learning a lot about what drives these people to kill us as well as themselves. I cannot wait to finish this book but of course I have to work at this book since non fiction does not come easily to me. I am reading it out loud to my husband while we travel and it......more

Goodreads review by Joshua on August 02, 2014

While insightful, Crush The Cell is written in an overly self praising style. Sheehan knows what he is talking about and delivers countless examples to each statement he makes. The author has even placed his resume in the back of the book. I must say it was difficult to complete the book due to the......more