The Watchdogs Didn't Bark: How the NSA Failed to Protect America from the 9/11 Attacks by John Duffy

The Watchdogs Didn't Bark: How the NSA Failed to Protect America from the 9/11 Attacks Reviews

• 
  Joseph

  Just a note to the Goodreads librarians: the hardcover edition of this book is actually 255 pages. Overall, I didn't learn much from this book, probably because I had read several other books about government malfeasance following 9/11. I had read everything I could get on Ed Snowden, and now that local libraries are closed indefinitely, I will finally be able to tackle one or more of my several TBR piles. On the plus side, the book was not afraid to name names. The authors present the argument that the government was actually trying to infiltrate al Q'aida and their failure led to the tragic events on that September morning. A good starting point for those looking to read up on current events, you might consider getting this book before it gets put on moratorium by the powers that be.
• 
  Bonnye Reed

  GNab I had to take this information in fairly small doses. Within 50 pages I was spitting mad, and it didn't get much better as the story progressed. These are the people we trusted implicitly to keep us safe, and to keep the world at bay from our shores. Their peeking into our phone and internet use that we have found so offensive was only the tip of the iceberg. Not only did these watchdog's not bark, they spent our billions while playing hide and seek and keep-away like children.
  
  Hot Books is a fairly new publishing platform established in 2015 by Skyhorse publisher Tony Lyons and David Talbot. Their publications shine a light on issues that truly matter to Americans - from environmental concerns to why our elections have failed, the deportation of our Veterans and the poisoning of our earth in the search for fossil fuels to benefit the 1%. They are a publishing concern that I applaud and will continue to read.
  
  I received a free electronic copy of this political eye-opener from Netgalley, Ray Nowosielski and John Duffy, and Hot Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.
  
  pub date Sept 11, 2018
  Hot Books pub
• 
  Book Him Danno

  4 1/2 stars
  I hate to say this might come off more personal than it should because of the topic that is being written about.
  
  Readers will not be able to get though the first 100 pages without wanting to pull their hair out. Realizing the people who were suppose to be protecting us failed at their one job is hard but seeing how easy it would have been for them to prevent something like this from happening years before the first bomb that failed to take down the towers years before 9/11. I can't say how much I wanted to punch something.
  
  I understand there are always two view points but these author make a compelling story that will have readers demanding more answers. I understand there are things as normal people we do not need to know. I can see the debate of transparency vs allowing Americans to sleep in their beds at night with a fake since of security everything is alright with the world.
  
  
  
  History isn't going to judge this time in history well because there is so many falsehoods and well as the buried truths.
  
  Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Hot Books for the an advance copy of Ray Nowosielski and Emanuel Stoakes The Watchdogs didn't Bark.
• 
  Robert Jones

  Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
  
  
With all the controversy surrounding 9/11 and the events leading up to such tragedy. Was it an inside job or was it really just a tragic event that could of been avoided? The authors, Ray Nowosielski and John Duffy discuss in full detail the failure of the CIA and the criminal Intent displayed.
  
"The Watchdogs didn't Bark," is a novel that everyone should read, especially if you were alive when those planes slammed into the "World Trade Centers." It doesn't matter if you weren't in New York, this has been a very serious topic and it is even worse that the CIA knew about them a whole 14 months in advance.
  
What is the purpose of a system, that makes those who value truth, into enemies of the state and participates in the kind of actions detailed here?
  
 People who should have been held accountable for 9/11, later over the years caused the nation and the world serious problems. In this novel, it's revealed by Tom Drake,"That his colleagues knew Mihdhar and Hazmi were staying in Bangkok the week before they arrived in the United States.
  
"Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it; so that when come to be undeceiv'd, it is too late, the jest is over, and the tale had it's effect..." -Jonathan Swift, The Examiner-
  
"The Watchdogs didn't bark, is a seriously informative dog that has brought serious insight into everything I do.
  
  Things that I didn't know before, have now become more clear. At the end of the day, several different questions still remain. Why didn't that information get passed on to the FBI? This is a novel that has been clearly researched and provides clearer insight, into how the CIA and the NSA failed to prevent 9/11 and several other terrorist attacks leading up to that tragic day.
  
 "The purpose of a system, is what it does."-Stafford Beer-

• 
  Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken

  I almost threw this book several times. Not because of any technical issues, but the mere fact that in MANY ways, 9/11 could have been prevented - if everything in this book is factual and correct. I want it to be wrong, but given the evidence, it is hard to see how that would be possible.
  
  Full review to come.
• 
  Shaela

  Of all the books and pieces that have been written on the subject of September 11th, The Watchdogs Didn't Bark is certainly a well informed, eye-opening addition to the genre. With so much hindsight at its disposal, Watchdogs leads the reader through the build up and catastrophe of 9/11, outlining the missed opportunities and oversight of those assigned to protect the U.S. The reader is forced to watch as everything falls, one by one, like dominoes. It's uncomfortable, to say the least.
  
  I felt as though The Watchdogs Didn't Bark was well written and offered insight I would not have simply "stumbled across." The story was told not as a dry work of non-fiction, but almost as a psychological thriller, There were components of the story that were perhaps a bit abrupt, so if I had one piece of constructive criticism for the authors, it would be on the flow of the book, but honestly, that criticism would be much more serviceable for a work of fiction.
• 
  Timothy Frasca

  Clear, meticulous outlining of how the CIA knew two of the 9/11 hijackers had entered the U.S., hid this fact from the FBI, covered up its (criminal) error later, and was let off the hook by both the GWB and Obama Administrations. Also, details on how much Saudi government was involved with the attackers. And yet, half the country thinks Iraq did it.