David Potenziani

Excellent and thoughtful

Revisado: 08-24-22

I teach a course on the US health system for graduate students. After reading this book, I will be assigning portion services to my students. The analysis of both the health system in economic and personal terms is very valuable understand the pathology that is American healthcare.

The author points out the social determinant of health as the underlying problems of the American healthcare system. This analysis is spot on. Unless we can address issues of poverty, homelessness, drug addiction, and a host of other social problems, we will never truly address the health needs of our people.

The author has written a compelling story. It should be read by all Americans.

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American Democracy by an Intelligence Insider

Revisado: 07-12-18

First, some personal context. I approached this book as a story of a life that overlapped mine, at least in time. Every reader encounters a book with their lived experience involved and even consciously considered. Having come to adulthood during the Vietnam Era and followed current events as carefully as work, wife, and children allowed, it was still good to hear another’s life story about the American experience.

Mr. Clapper ably recounts his life and provides a sort of inner monologue of a person who is unusually aware of the issues surrounding his chosen career. Most of that was in an official capacity for the US government and involved the collection of intelligence, its curation, and presentation to those in power. His professionalism was evident in every measured phrase—a carefulness with language rewarded the reader listening with a quietly compelling story. Mr. Clapper saves his thunderbolts for late in the story, when the reader can assess his point of view and weigh them according to the evidence. He clearly showed the benefit of his experience in clarifying the complex.

The story is that of a true patriot. Not the flag-draped circus with the soaring chorus lifting our eyes to the jets roaring overhead. Rather, the patriotism that values the pain and sacrifice of so many to achieve at least some of the freedoms and liberties that are our national birthright. Mr. Clapper’s growing sensitivity to and defense of the LGBT community and the plight of those who served the country with the double burden of hiding who they were as they served their nation demonstrated to me that he sought to support the values of human dignity in the face of prejudice and flawed law.

He made mistakes, but fessed up to them. His relations with the news media and Congress often got him in trouble. For a considered and careful thinker, those encounters with the now voracious news cycle of novelty and crafted drama were clearly a trial.

To be sure, there’s a lot of “inside baseball” in the story as he told of the changes to the intelligence community over time, some that he helped prompt. The reward for those details comes towards the end, as he recounts the benefits of intelligence integration and the alignment of means and methods between agencies. In some ways, Mr. Clapper suggests that was his practical life’s work.

But he did not write the book just to describe the evolution of the intelligence services, but rather as a warning and clarion call to other Americans that our freedoms are under attack from without and within. Vladimir Putin regularly appears pulling levers behind the curtain as he and his intelligence community seek to undermine American institutions. They find unwitting and perhaps witting help from American news media and political candidates. Mr. Clapper is extremely careful to draw lines where the evidence stops, but also equally careful to indicate where the evidence suggests how to continue looking.

If you are trying to assess the current state of American politics, this book will help from a distinctive perspective of an intelligence insider.

By the way, Mark Bramhall is an excellent narrator. He captured the cadence and clip of Mr. Clapper. His delivery becomes the voice of the author and helps the story and its message come through clearly.

I recommend reading this book to understand a portion of the reality we all face.

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