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Breakpoint Book Review

Breakpoint is the third notable book from the author. Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror warned about how we were conducting the war against terror. The Scorpion's Gate demonstrated what could happen as a result. And now, America's preeminent counterterrorism expert and number-one-bestselling author shows us all what might come next.

The global village - an intricately intertwined network of technology that binds together the world's economies, governments, and communications. So large, so vital - and so fragile. Now a sophisticated group is seeking to "disconnect the globe," destroying internet cable centers, computer grids, communications satellites, biotech firms. Hard to do? If only that were so.

The major government agencies all lumber into action, but behind the scenes, the special projects office of the Intelligence Analysis Center knows that to catch unconventional terrorists requires unconventional methods. A small team - smart, agile, and quick - immediately starts to sift through a welter of often contradictory information about right-wing militias, Russian organized crime, Jihadist terrorists, and enemy nation-states, chasing leads all across the country and overseas. But the attacks are coming more swiftly now, and growing in destructiveness. Soon, they will reach the breakpoint - and then there may be nothing anybody can do.

Reviewers everywhere praised the suspense and pace of The Scorpion's Gate, the vivid depictions of war, espionage, and bureaucracy, but most of all they hailed its authenticity: "Unlike most novelists, the man has actually been there and done that," said The New York Times Book Review. "What distinguishes this book is Clarke's breadth of knowledge about the ways of terrorists and the military. His conjectures and scenarios consistently ring true," agreed the San Francisco Chronicle. "Some of us," added The Washington Post, "have learned to listen when Richard A. Clarke has something to say."

And we'd better hope they're listening now.

Breakpoint is filled with the technology being developed right now for a future just around the corner or in many cases already here - a technology certain to cause enormous political, social, and economic change. Will the changes be for better or worse? And what will happen then? The answers will surprise you.

Sometimes you can tell more truth through fiction.

Socrates' verdict: 8.5 out of 10