Sunday, February 15, 2009

Tuesday's Schedule in San Francisco... so far.

On Tuesday, February 17, 2009:

11:00 to 12:00 - Talking live with Ronn Owens, KGO-AM

1:00 to 1:30 - Taping Forum / KUSF-AM

7:00 to 8:00 - Talking, answering questions and signing at Books Inc., 601 Van Ness, San Francisco.

The Reviews Are In

From The Economist, 12 February 2009
http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13097608

“Securing the City” is a gritty, down-to-earth work; a very American book about a very American city. Mr Dickey accompanies cops on the beat, rides in their helicopters and describes in detail their gizmos and their crime labs. He delights in a tough-guy language that owes as much to Mickey Spillane as to Raymond Chandler. So the general reader can enjoy a book that has the pace and drama of a thriller, and for the specialist interested in questions such as how to defend a city of nearly 8.5m people, or what turns young Muslims into suicide-bombers, there is much to ponder.

As the Middle East editor of Newsweek, Mr Dickey is not only one of America’s most knowledgeable commentators on the area, he was writing about Osama bin Laden for almost a decade before the attacks on the twin towers. He adds fascinating new detail and asks some troubling questions.


From The New York Times, 4 February 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/books/04garn.html?_r=1

In his revealing and nerve-rattling new book, “Securing the City,” a look inside the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism division, Christopher Dickey recounts the details of dozens of terrorist plots against New York City and elsewhere. Some were planned by smart and determined people, others by misfits and crazies and DVD addicts who couldn’t pull off the heist of two AAA batteries at a Radio Shack. The problem, Mr. Dickey writes, is that, given luck and the right assistance, “even the dumb ones could be dangerous as hell.”

“Securing the City” recounts the story of how, within a few years after Sept. 11, the Police Department transformed itself from a large but not untypical urban police force into one that possessed one of the world’s elite intelligence-gathering operations. The department had no choice. Terrorists are obsessed with New York City, focusing on it, Mr. Dickey writes, “like a compass needle quivering toward magnetic north.”....

From The Washington Post, 1 February 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/29/AR2009012903568.html

Securing the City deftly, colorfully and persuasively highlights how large national bureaucracies can learn from nimble and fleet-footed local start-ups. After all, a speedboat can always run circles around a supertanker.

From The Rocky Mountain News, 30 January 2009
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/29/securing-the-city-inside-americas-best-force-the/

Readers will be scared by the near misses and anxious about the future, but can't help but also be inspired by this well-researched story of just why and how plot after plot against the city has been foiled.

Friday, February 13, 2009

The Economist: NYPD's fighting force, Feb 12th 2009
The NYPD offers an alternative to the highly militarised war on terror

http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13097608



Upcoming tour events:

Costa Mesa, CA - Thursday, February 12, 6:00 PM: Drinks, dinner, talk and signing
World Affairs Council of Orange County, The Center Club, 650 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa, 92626

Los Angeles - Friday, February 13, 7:00 PM: Talk and signing
Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., W. Hollywood, CA 90069

San Francisco - Tuesday, February 17, 7:00 PM: Talk and signing
Books Inc., 601 Van Ness, 94102

Briarcliff Manor, NY - Wednesday, February 18: Talk and signing
St. Theresa, 1394 Pleasantville Rd.

New York City, Thursday, February 19 - Private event

Houston, TX - Monday, February 23, 6:00 PM - Talk and signing
Houston Forum, Omni Houston Hotel, 4 Riverway

Dallas, TX - Tuesday, February 24, 6:00 PM - Talk and signing
World Affairs Council, Rosewood Crescent, 400 Crescent Court 75219

Plano, TX - Wednesday, February 25, 7:30 PM - Talk and signing
Legacy Books, 7300 Dallas Parkway, Plano TX

Austin, TX - Thursday, February 26 - details to be announced.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

"Fresh Air": 40 Minutes on "Securing the City"

Christopher Dickey: Intelligence The NYPD Way

Christopher Dickey

Christopher Dickey is a journalist and the author of The Sleeper, a novel about a former terrorist living in the U.S. Photo courtesy of Simon & Schuster

Fresh Air from WHYY, February 11, 2009 · According to journalist Christopher Dickey, one of the world's best intelligence-gathering operations is based not in Langley, or in London, but in Manhattan: the New York City Police Department.

Dickey's new book Securing the City explores New York City's creation of an elite counter-terrorism force. Dickey describes the practices and people that are leading the NYPD's fight against terrorism.

David Cohen, a former top CIA official, has been hired to lead the intelligence operation; the force uses state-of-the-art equipment, from high-tech helicopters to radiation-sensing devices, and sends officers overseas to gather information on terrorists.

Dickey is Paris bureau chief and Middle East regional editor for Newsweek magazine.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100559912&ft=1&f=1003#commentBlock

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

A Cappella Books : Christopher Dickey at the Carter Library

c dickey has sent you a link to a blog:



Blog: A Cappella Books
Post: Christopher Dickey at the Carter Library
Link: http://acappellabooks.blogspot.com/2009/02/christopher-dickey-at-carter-library.html

--
Powered by Blogger
http://www.blogger.com/

Saturday, February 07, 2009

"Securing the City" on The Daily Beast

Thank you, Tina:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-02-04/cops-vs-al-qaeda/

Securing the City - Upcoming Events

Atlanta - Monday, February 9, 7:00 PM: Talk and signing
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, 441 Freedom Parkway

Chicago - Wednesday, February 11, 11:30 AM: Luncheon address and signing
The Union League Club, 65 West Jackson Blvd.

Costa Mesa, CA - Thursday, February 12, 6:00 PM: Drinks, dinner, talk and signing
World Affairs Council of Orange County, The Center Club, 650 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa, 92626

Los Angeles - Friday, February 13, 7:00 PM: Talk and signing
Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., W. Hollywood, CA 90069

San Francisco - Tuesday, February 17, 7:00 PM: Talk and signing
Books Inc., 601 Van Ness, 94102

Briarcliff Manor, NY - Wednesday, February 18: Talk and signing
St. Theresa, 1394 Pleasantville Rd.

New York City, Thursday, February 19 - Private event

Houston, TX - Monday, February 23, 6:00 PM - Talk and signing
Houston Forum, Omni Houston Hotel, 4 Riverway

Dallas, TX - Tuesday, February 24, 6:00 PM - Talk and signing
World Affairs Council, Rosewood Crescent, 400 Crescent Court 75219

Plano, TX - Wednesday, February 25, 7:30 PM - Talk and signing
Legacy Books, 7300 Dallas Parkway, Plano TX

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

NYT Daily Review: How to Beat Terrrorists

Books of The Times

How to Beat Terrorists: Use Big Stick and Brains

By Dwight Garner

...

In his revealing and nerve-rattling new book, “Securing the City,” a look inside the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism division, Christopher Dickey recounts the details of dozens of terrorist plots against New York City and elsewhere. Some were planned by smart and determined people, others by misfits and crazies and DVD addicts who couldn’t pull off the heist of two AAA batteries at a Radio Shack. The problem, Mr. Dickey writes, is that, given luck and the right assistance, “even the dumb ones could be dangerous as hell.”

“Securing the City” recounts the story of how, within a few years after Sept. 11, the Police Department transformed itself from a large but not untypical urban police force into one that possessed one of the world’s elite intelligence-gathering operations. The department had no choice. Terrorists are obsessed with New York City, focusing on it, Mr. Dickey writes, “like a compass needle quivering toward magnetic north.”....