At the Center of the Storm

My Years at the CIA

By: George Tenet

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

In the whirlwind of accusations and recriminations that has attended the post 9/11 world, one man's vital testimony has been conspicuously absent. Candid and compelling, At the Center of the Storm is George Tenet's memoir of his life at the CIA - a revelatory look at the inner workings of America's top intelligence agency and its dealings with national leaders at home and abroad. With unparalleled knowledge and breadth, Tenet illuminates how the country was prepared, and in some respects was not prepared, to deal with a world full of new and deadly threats.

Beginning with his installation as director of Central Intelligence in 1997, Tenet unfolds the momentous events that led up to 9/11: his declaration of war on Al Qa'ida, his worldwide operational plan to fight terror, his warnings to White House officials, and the plan for a response laid down just six days after the attack. Tenet also reveals the CIA's efforts since 9/11 to hunt down the fugitive members of Al Qa'ida's leadership.

In his gripping narrative of the run-up to the war in Iraq, Tenet provides fresh insights and background, including a privileged account of how the famous "sixteen words" made it into the president's State of the Union speech, the real context of his own now-famous "slam-dunk" comment, and the CIA's views of the rise of an Iraqi insurgency. Finally, as the country digs in for a prolonged war, he gives his thoughts on how we can forge a more secure world.

©2007 George Tenet (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Worth the Time

CYA or not, the perspective of the CIA during this time is a valuable read.

Must Read

When I buy a book written by the director of the CIA, I, of course want to know their side of what goes on in the CIA. Thank you for not burdening the book with ego and HR problems. I feel from beginning to end it is worth reading a few times. Thank you for all of your work ...there are many people out here listening to what the people in the hot seat have to say.

Good reading about 9/11 Intelligence History

Any additional comments?

This was a well done and balanced historical review of the intelligence communities processes and information before, after and during the 9/11 attack.

Well Worth the Read

I was thoroughly interested in hearing the perspective of this participant in the goings-on before and after 9/11. It's sometimes difficult to find one's own opinion amidst the sound-bites, slants, takes, and, imo, downright lies. Mr. Tenet, as well, has his "slant"; but it's an honest one and can be deciphered without the difficulty of much confusion and muddle. Thank you, Mr. Tenet!

Excellent

Strong representation by Dir. Tenant of the facts on multiple issues with a clear and concise background of the buildup to the invasion of Iraq. A must read for anyone who cares about their country.

As good an explanation as you'll get

I must admit that I've gone from being disdainful of George Tenet, to being an admirer. This wasn't the book that changed my opinion -that was "The One Percent Doctrine", Ron Suskind - but this book confirms my feelings.
There are no new startling revelations in this book, but it is probably the best insider view we will ever get during a critical time in world history.
Why only 4 stars? The narration and writing style quite match. Making the book slow going at times, and at other times making the authors quips fall very flat

Really good insight albeit defensive...

Where does At the Center of the Storm rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love to read memoirs of those who played leading roles in history.

What about Arthur Morey’s performance did you like?

Well spoken, clear and interesting.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

General Pervez Musharraf's coming to Jesus moment when Tenet said, " We stole these nuclear weapon blueprints from AQ Khan, and he stole them from you." WOW, that was gold!

Any additional comments?

It's a perspective that really needed to be told. Mr. Tenet demonstrates clearly what he was faced with and gave some incredible insight that only he could know. However, some aspects were designed with a formal defense in mind...I can't blame him. He took a lot of heat.

In the beginning of the book he mentioned that he would talk openly and fairly about his successes and failures. By the end of the book I was still looking for the "failure" he mention, I was expecting an act of contrition...a coming to Jesus moment about his part in the problem of WMD intelligence. There was none of it. Somehow I feel cheated but I did find the book interesting, well organized, and quickly paced.

Read it, it's a SLAM DUNK!

Impressive

I looked at this book for a few months before picking it up. I am glad I did. I follow politics pretty closely and was fairly unimpressed with what I saw coming from Tenet and the CIA, but he puts up a pretty good defense of himself in this book while doing something few big names like to do...admit they made a mistake or did something wrong. This book gives great insight and has shifted some of my opinions of the government, though my views on the political administration is still firmly affixed. If you want a political diatribe this book will leave you jilted. If you want a pretty fair assessment this is a good start.

I never heard anything bad about George Tenet...

...except from journalists who never met him and neocons looking for a fall guy. He's quick to accept blame for the Iraq WMD scandal and slow, in the extreme, to fall back on the now-commonplace historical consensus that Bush 43's administration was determined to go to war in Iraq within days of 9/11 and almost certainly would've found an excuse even if CIA hadn't vouched for Saddam's ongoing CBW programs. His story is competently told and engaging (though it's obvious from the monotonous fore- and afterwords why Tenet didn't narrate the audiobook himself) and does an important historical service in setting the record straight: the real responsibility for the Iraq debacle lies with men who, unlike Tenet, are happy to point the finger at somebody else.

Surprisingly good

As Mr Tenet was a major player during 9/11 and the Iraq invasion, and yet not one of the principals you normally get to hear in the media, I was interested in hearing his side of the story.

The book appears well written and holds interest. As an audio performance, it holds interest throughout and flows well. Some of the edits are a bit sloppy as you can hear the reader's voice change in timbre as re-reads have been inserted. But this is not objectionable.

By far the most interesting part of the book is the afterward, spoken by Mr Tenet himself. Here, he ponders on the future, using his past experience as a guide and, at least for me, hits every nail on the head. The things he says in print are things that I have been verbalizing to acquaintances for years.

This is not to mean that I blindly agree with Mr Tenet:
1) No matter what he says in the book, 9/11 was missed under his tenure. He may have seen the dots, but without being able to put them together, he lost the game. And that's what it's all about: winning the game.

2) He also (admittedly) got it wrong regarding WMAs in Iraq, which, although it was not the Bush Administration's sole reason for invading Iraq (the others being even more ridiculous), was the reason being fed to the public to justify invasion.

In both cases, he bears responsibility, at least in part, for the deaths of many people, which he really has yet to admit to.