This was one of my "dollar store" acquisitions, so wasn't something that I specifically went looking for, but I guess I was hoping for more attitude in G. Gordon Liddy's Fight Back: Tackling Terrorism, Liddy Style. Perhaps because this is a "team effort" (it's co-authored with his ex-seal son, an emergency medicine MD, and a defense department terrorism expert) it mutes what I was expecting from the "Liddy Style" ... as this reads a lot more like a government manual than his seminal book Will!The book is in three sections, "Know Your Enemy", "Secure Yourself", and an "Emergency/Terrorism Response Handbook" (it's the former in the index, the latter in the page headings). While there are fascinating bits of data in each of these sections (such as an analysis of various bio weapons in the third part), the most interesting elements are in the beginning where (I'm assuming) G.G.L. is providing his "take" on the various threats out there.
The problem I had with the book is that there isn't very much in here to "help" a standard family with a standard budget. I don't think in our apartment that I'd be able to build in a "safe room" (especially with the dimensions suggested), and unless one's a Mormon, it would involve a substantial re-working of priorities to simply stock the supplies recommended. Much of the "take-away" here is that the main target of this are corporations and their CEO's, as substantial parts of the book are dealing with how to set up the exteriors of office and factory buildings and how to avoid getting kidnapped (including such useful information as the optimal angle and speed to take a curb in order to drive off on the sidewalk).
Again, I suppose that I had hoped to have been exposed to more of the acerbic Liddy wit here, but that is in very short supply, and is largely limited to a re-print of a "fictionalized" White House memo, originally published in Omni magazine, detailing a disastrous series of attacks on the US.
Speaking of re-prints, I was somewhat surprised at how much the book uses out-takes from assorted state and federal government publications. Given the team assembled to work on this book, one would think they'd have been able to come up with more focused material than quoting the Rhode Island Department of Health.
If one's not in a position to free up a large amount of money for "preparedness", I'm afraid that Fight Back is a pretty grim read, as it's basically outlining "how you're screwed" rather than how one might "fight back" or "tackle terrorism". As I noted, this "like new" (it has one small black marker dot on one edge) hardcover came from the dollar store, even though it's still "in print" (Amazon is offering it at a 42% discount). The new/used guys have this for as low as a penny (plus shipping, of course), so if you're interested in reading it, and can't run across it for $1, that is likely your best bet for getting this.
