How Safe Are We?

February 1, 2019
Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security from 2009 until 2013, reflects on the role she played in the government and offers advice for those in charge of the future of the department.The author, now president of the University of California, was governor of Arizona when she was tapped by Barack Obama to take over the management of the third largest U.S. government agency, with a budget only exceeded by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. She was the third director of a department cobbled together out of 22 different federal agencies in the aftermath of 9/11. While the author takes a few jabs at Donald Trump--notably, for his failure to recognize that our border with Mexico is "not a Tupperware container but rather a living, breathing membrane, a region where family members live and work on both sides"--for the most part she steers clear of partisan politics. Instead, she sticks to a measured, thoughtful analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the department and an account of the changes that have been made since its inception. Along the way, she includes a short version of her biography and the challenges she faced in a new position that began with "a mountain of briefing documents" topped with "a half-inch-thick single-spaced glossary of government acronyms." Among the successes of the department, Napolitano counts, perhaps to some readers' surprise, the effectiveness of the Transportation Security Administration. Among its shortcomings, she emphasizes the difficulty an often unwieldy bureaucracy faces when trying to recognize new threats, particularly those based on new technology. "It is impossible to overstate the urgency of improving our country's cybersecurity," she writes. "After climate change, there is no greater threat to the homeland."A cleareyed, rational examination of a government office that plays a key and often misunderstood role in the lives of all Americans.

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February 18, 2019
Napolitano, former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, looks back at her career and cogently assesses the department’s strengths and weaknesses. She talks briefly about her early life and professions before her time at DHS and about the challenges she faced as Obama’s point person for homeland security. She is proud of her work, acknowledging accomplishments in “What We Got Right” (for example, the risk-based passenger screening programs that evolved into TSA PreCheck), and honestly considering “Where We Need to Improve,” such as the vulnerabilities to voting technology and social media that became apparent after the 2016 election. Both sections give insight into how DHS works to protect the nation’s borders and respond to disasters. Napolitano saves her sharpest criticism for the Trump administration, arguing repeatedly that “some vulnerabilities are more perceived than real,” including “the persistent political hysteria over the security of the U.S. border with Mexico,” and calling the family separation policy “government malpractice.” She recommends that DHS instead focus on cyberterrorism and “the biggest and most irreversible risk of all, climate change.” This valuable work should appeal to readers with cool heads about national security, who will appreciate Napolitano’s suggestion to evaluate risk based on data rather than rhetoric. Agent: Peter Bernstein, Bernstein Literary Agency.

March 1, 2019

Part memoir, part insider assessment, this book offers a deep dive into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as examined by former DHS secretary Napolitano (Univ. of California). To begin, the author describes her entrance into public service and transition to DHS secretary as part of the incoming 2008 Obama Administration. Looking back, nearly two decades since the 9/11 attacks, Napolitano sees this book as an "American report card," intended to evaluate what has been done in American homeland security since 2001--what has worked and what has not. Despite her honest, matter-of-fact style, Napolitano's recollections are not without political underpinnings and occasionally more overt criticism of people or approaches with which she disagrees. These more personal, partisan observations, however, do not detract from the overall historical context Napolitano provides. VERDICT An insightful snapshot of DHS development and government mechanics with the added perspective of personal experience. Recommended for readers of politics, government, and law enforcement policy.--Philip Shackelford, South Arkansas Community Coll., El Dorado

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