Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent

The Book in 1 Sentence

Stories of the real ghost you should be afraid of.

Brief Review

This was a superb book with stories of our fight with terror groups from the 80s to just before/after 9/11 from a Counterterrorism Agent. Frank does an immaculate job putting stories in front of you highly the thought process of each step without putting you to sleep.

Why I Read this book

I am a Post 9/11, Global War on Terror/OEF/OIR (Whichever term you prefer) veteran. My first 10 adult years were active duty military with a combat deployment to Afghanistan and a forward deployed liaison position during OIR. Terrorism, whether foreign or domestic, is all I have a good handle on outside my current career. Hearing stories of past events that spearheaded the lessons I was testing from boot camp to what I train in my liaison position is a truly remarkable thing to hear first hand.

In-Depth Review (Favorite Quotes)

Americans since the birth of our great nation have fought against religious extremism. Hell, in the Marine Corps hymn, it references some of the first fights we had against it: “From the halls of Montezuma, to the shore of Tripoli.” This book covers another round of events from the 80s to early 2000s.

Franks way of presenting his stories with such detail and clarity, is astounding for how long after the events took place he wrote the book (honestly makes me wonder how anyone does it).

The way the stories are presented as well as the consequences of the events that take place are put together in such a way that there is no question about what is going on. Franks stories are important lessons that every American should know and understand how it has affects their everyday life.

This is a must read.

How my life / behaviour / thoughts / ideas have changed as a result of reading the book.

One of the things that I feel like I am reminded after this book is that as an Americans, we are all targets. People hate us, some with legitimate reasons and others without other than fear or hate, same as some stupid Americans being racist and believe they are better because of their skin color, but I digress.

With being a target, every action, pattern, location, or honestly random happenstance can be our downfall. The behavior should change to be more observant. Not judgmental, but observant to what is going on around us. Not in our phones.

Rating

9/10. Read it! It is that simple.

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