Product Description

Why do we remain unprepared for the next terrorist attack or natural disaster?
Where are we most vulnerable?
How have we allowed our government to be so negligent?
Who will keep you and your family safe?
Is America living on borrowed time?
How can we become a more resilient nation?

Americans are in denial when it comes to facing up to how vulnerable our nation is to disaster, be it terrorist attack or act of God. We have learned little from the cataclysms of September 11 and Hurricane Katrina. When it comes to catastrophe, America is living on borrowed time–and squandering it. In this new book, leading security expert Stephen Flynn issues a call to action, demanding that we wake up and prepare immediately for a safer future.

The truth is acts of terror cannot always be prevented, and nature continues to show its fury in frighteningly unpredictable ways. Resiliency, argues Flynn, must now become our national motto. With chilling frankness and clarity, Flynn paints an all too real scenario of the threats we face within our own borders. A terrorist attack on a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas into Boston Harbor could kill thousands and leave millions more of New Englanders without power or heat. The destruction of a ship with a cargo of oil in Long Beach, California, could bring the West Coast economy to its knees and endanger the surrounding population. But even these all-too-plausible terrorist scenarios pale in comparison to the potential destruction wrought by a major earthquake or hurricane.

Our growing exposure to man-made and natural perils is largely rooted in our own negligence, as we take for granted the infrastructure handed down to us by earlier generations. Once the envy of the world, this infrastructure is now crumbling. After decades of neglect, our public health system leaves us at the mercy of microbes that could kill millions in the next flu pandemic. Flash flooding could wipe out a fifty-year-old dam north of Phoenix, placing thousands of homes and lives at risk. The next San Francisco earthquake could destroy century-old levees, contaminating the freshwater supply that most of California relies on for survival.

It doesn’t have to be this way. The Edge of Disaster tells us what we can do about it, as individuals and as a society. We can–and, Flynn argues, we must–construct a more resilient nation. With the wounds of recent national tragedies still unhealed, the time to act is now.

Flynn argues that by tackling head-on, eyes open the perils that lie before us, we can remain true to our most important and endearing national trait: our sense of optimism about the future and our conviction that we can change it for the better for ourselves–and our children.

“Steve Flynn offers the answer not only to protecting America from terrorist attacks and natural disaster but also to revitalizing our democracy. This book is a must-read for all members of Congress, 2008 presidential candidates, and ordinary citizens who want to build a better and safer future.”
–Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Advance praise for The Edge of Disaster

“Steve Flynn has done it again. Like America the Vulnerable before it, The Edge of Disaster is the must-read book for every American, elected official, and presidential candidate who is committed to ensuring that our nation continue to thrive in perilous times.”
–Mark Warner, former governor of Virginia

“Since 9/11, protecting our nation against a terrorist attack has consumed policy makers in Washington. What Stephen Flynn points out in The Edge of Disaster is that much of this effort has been directed overseas, often at the expense of our homeland and its much more likely areas of vulnerability. Laying out a series of potential disasters both manmade and natural, Flynn calls for a greater emphasis on preparedness and the ability of communities and the nation to recover. Painting an often frustrating and infuriating picture of missed opportunities, The Edge of Disaster is a call to action. The time to act is now. We can only hope that policy makers are listening.”
–Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey and
former administrator, Environmental Protection Agency (2001-03)

“Steve Flynn’s book makes the very persuasive argument that national security preparedness is linked to natural disaster preparedness. By investing significantly in our critical infrastructure, in citizen preparedness, and most importantly in leadership, we can be better prepared for all hazards. A great book that I highly recommend.”
–James Lee Witt, former director, Federal Emergency Management Agency

“Steve Flynn has become a relentless contributor to the dialogue on prioritizing the work of the post-9/11 security environment. The Edge of Disaster calls into question the neglect of domestic preparedness in favor of the Department of Defense-driven offensive in the global war on terrorism. The book offers provocative challenges to both our elected and our private-sector leaders, and both should read it thoroughly.”
–Admiral James M. Loy, former commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, and former deputy secretary of homeland security

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #189139 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-20
• Released on: 2007-02-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

From AudioFile
Stephen Flynns book is an important piece of policy research. He has gathered an impressive array of facts to make his point--that American society is dangerously non-resilient and courts catastrophe by being unprepared for and unable to recover from major disasters, both natural and man-made. With a weighty topic like this and Flynns effective, if sometimes repetitive, writing style, an audiobook should be a good fit. Unfortunately, Dick Hills speech pattern is at times choppy, at times sluggishly overwrought, at times plagued by mispronounced words. In the end, its not appropriate for over seven hours of serious and sometimes complex political/policy fare. Despite the impressive credentials of both the author and narrator, this production falls short. T.F. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Homeland Security expert Flynn examines the vulnerability of the U.S. to disaster--natural and man-made--and what the nation must do to fortify its security. By exploring several well-documented and frightening scenarios, Flynn exposes our weaknesses and the consequences of our failure to adequately plan for disaster. Among the scenarios he explores: an avian flu outbreak in New York; destruction of a chemical plant in New Jersey; a San Francisco earthquake that compromises levees and leads to massive flooding. Flynn points to threats from our blithe disregard for the dangers all around us, including chemical plants and oil refineries operating in close proximity to crowded communities. We can't plan for every disaster, but the nation can be better prepared, Flynn maintains, and he offers advice on how corporations and the government can reduce the risk of disaster. Among his suggestions: making sure energy management and public-health systems have enough resources and building more power-transmission lines to keep lights on when temperatures rise. Flynn's book reads like a thriller but has the added punch of reality. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Stephen Flynn is among the world’s most widely cited experts on homeland security and trade and transportation issues. A senior fellow with the National Security Studies Program at the Council on Foreign Relations since 1999, he is the author of the critically acclaimed bestseller America the Vulnerable. Flynn lives in Connecticut with his wife and daughter.

Customer Reviews

The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation
A well thought out discussion on the vulnerability of our nation and the incompetence of the current administration as related to addressing infrastructure needs and resiliency in the event of terrorist attack or natural disaster.

This is an "apolitical" book written by a respected author with extraordinary experience in the subject.

We are still in danger
Experts study a problem and politician's just talk. Things that could be done to protect us are known but our elected officials don't enact programs that matter. The author of this book has testified before congress at least 17 times but still no change.

Risk Mitigation
It is generally considered that defending the lives and property of its citizens is a central responsibility of all levels of government. In the U.S. the execution of this responsibility by the federal government has been misinterpreted to equate to fighting a so-called war against a phantom enemy called `Terror'. Yet as this book makes clear, National Security, the rubric under which this responsibility falls, incorporates not only protection against manmade and natural disasters, but recovery from them as well. The truth is that it is impossible for any country to provide 100 per cent protection from either and prudence would suggest that robust recovery plans are an essential part of national security.

Flynn argues in this book that the U.S. local and federal governments should embrace both risk management and risk mitigation as part of their security strategies. He makes the point that dangers of injury, death, and loss (i.e. risk) are unavoidable, but can be minimized with proper planning and execution. In this book he provides a realistic appraisal of the type vulnerabilities that put the U.S. at risk from manmade and natural forces and suggests methods to mitigate this risk. His suggestions are sound and founded in his own experience as a former U.S. Coast Guard Officer. He notes that some local jurisdictions have actually undertaken risk analysis and mitigation, but that the federal government apparently finds that risk management is a politically incorrect concept.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the obvious agency responsible for assessing National Security risks and their mitigation, but appears unable or unwilling to do so. Rather than implementing realistic risk management, DHS has chosen to try to provide complete protection against everything and has succeeded in protecting very little. In this conclusion Flynn very much complements the description of DHS given by Clark Kent Ervin in his book "Open Target" (Amazon.com).

Indeed this reviewer would suggest that readers interested in National Security issues would be advised to read both books.