Publishers Weekly
02/18/2019
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. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
"A measured, thoughtful analysis... A clear-eyed, rational examination of a government office that plays a key and often misunderstood role in the lives of all Americans."—KirkusReviews
"Janet Napolitano has distilled a lifetime of service in How Safe Are We?. Her thinking is clear and her vision for the future is expansive. The message of this book could not be more timely."—George Stephanopoulos
"A smart, strategic, and impactful book on the security of America. The compelling narrative weaves together Janet's incredible life experience with her insightful commentary on some of the biggest issues we face today-from cybersecurity to immigration, to natural disasters. And this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to make sense of which threats are real and which are dangerous political theater."—Kathleen Sebelius, Former Secretary of Health and Human Services
"Janet Napolitano provides a knowledgeable report card on what works well in securing our nation and what still needs improvement. Her fact-based and practical observations should be welcomed by those looking for clear assessments of how safe we really are."—Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, 2005-2009
"Not only is Napolitano's account of her time as head of DHS funny and blunt, her smart take on creating 'a safe, secure and resilient nation' is steeped in vast experience and rich insider detail. This terrific book should be required reading for everyone who works in - or cares about - keeping our homeland secure."—Jennifer Granholm, former Governor of Michigan
"This succinct and insightful book should be widely read-whether by the expert practitioner or average citizen. It is an enlightening report card on the whole range of national challenges which come under the broad rubric of homeland security, including critiques of the current administration's approach. Janet Napolitano knows what she's talking about; unlike so many pontificators on this subject today, she's lived the issue. She is the consummate public servant and she has contributed to her distinguished record of accomplishment with this superb volume."—James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence
"A compelling account of Homeland Security in the 21st Century-where we were, where we are, and where we need to go. Napolitano's emphasis on cyber and natural disasters highlight threats that are still not being adequately addressed at the national level. This book offers common sense approaches to these threats and others that continue to rapidly evolve."—William Bratton, former New York City Police Commissioner and former Chief of the LAPD
"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."
—Publishers Weekly
Library Journal
03/01/2019
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
Kirkus Reviews
2019-01-21
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.
