When the Eagle Screams: America's Vulnerability to Terrorism

At first this book bothered me with it's lack of references. Bowman would make an assertion (or state a fact, depending on your views) but not provide a reference for fact checking. Some of the government reports he quotes do not even appear in the bibliography. One example of this is when he refers to "a 1979 government report." Looking in the bibliography, there are no references at all from 1979. My question: "Which report?"In spite of this recurring problem throughout the book, there are some very important points which he makes. Our country is completely reliant on energy distribution systems that are vulnerable to disruption.When I finished the book, I felt like he started out with his conclusion (the last 3 or 4 chapters) and then wrote the rest of the book to support it. This didn't work very well, but... the conclusions are important enough that I have a hard time dismissing the book as I was initially ready to do.

This book tells us the public secrets none of us realized until the World Trade Center bombing. Without telling terrorist how to destroy us, the author helps us all to realize that international terrorism is not just an easily ignored horror overseas, but is imminent to us. Our lives, our dreams; the very survival our country may depend on how our leaders deal with the issues in this book. Our country's web of utilities and other services have bound us together, and supported us through decades of hard times. They may now be our downfall