The Plot to Hack America

By: Malcolm Nance

Narrated by: Gregory Itzin

Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

In April 2016, computer technicians at the Democratic National Committee discovered that someone had accessed the organization's computer servers and conducted a theft that is best described as Watergate 2.0. In the weeks that followed, the nation's top computer security experts discovered that the cyber thieves had helped themselves to everything: sensitive documents, emails, donor information, even voice mails.

Soon after, the remainder of the Democratic Party machine, the congressional campaign, the Clinton campaign, and their friends and allies in the media were also hacked. Credit card numbers, phone numbers, and contacts were stolen. In short order, the FBI found that more than 25 state election offices had their voter registration systems probed or attacked by the same hackers.

Western intelligence agencies tracked the hack to Russian spy agencies and dubbed them the Cyber Bears. The media was soon flooded with the stolen information channeled through Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. It was a massive attack on America but the Russian hacks appeared to have a singular goal - elect Donald J. Trump as president of the United States.

New York Times best-selling author and career intelligence officer Malcolm Nance's fast paced real-life spy thriller takes you from Vladimir Putin's rise through the KGB from junior officer to spymaster-in-chief and spells out the story of how he performed the ultimate political manipulation - convincing Donald Trump to abandon 70 years of American foreign policy including the destruction of NATO, cheering the end of the European Union, allowing Russian domination of Eastern Europe, and destroying the existing global order with America at its lead.

The Plot to Hack America is the thrilling true story of how Putin's spy agency, run by the Russian billionaire class, used the promise of power and influence to cultivate Trump as well as his closest aides, the Kremlin Crew, to become unwitting assets of the Russian government. The goal? To put an end to 240 years of free and fair American democratic elections.

©2016 Malcolm Nance (P)2017 Novel Audio Inc.

Interesting

I had to keep reminding myself that this book was written before the election. The actions of the current administration fall right in line with a entity that's being manipulated. However I wonder how much could an outside enemy get away with without the willingness of insiders.

15 of 17 people found this review helpful

Short and Terrifying

This has little to do with Trump - it's about how Russian cyber warfare and propaganda is light-years ahead of ours. We may have many advantages, but we are blind in some areas. This blindness could end up causing a civil or world war.

22 of 28 people found this review helpful

Worst preformed and engineered audio book ever

Would you try another book from Malcolm Nance and/or Gregory Itzin?

Malcolm Nance content is great. Very informative. I will never by another book read by Mr Itzin. His inflections and dynamics are extremely repetitive and are not in any away connected to the material and after about 30 min become so annoying that you just have to turn it off. This coupled with the poor engineering of the recording make this the worst book I have ever tried to listen to.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Great content, very detailed and informative.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Gregory Itzin?

ANYONE. My kid could do a better job reading this book

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Very disappointed because I just can't listen to it after 15-20 min. The repetitive unwarranted dynamics and lack of audio compression to at least try to smooth out the audio level spikes at the beginning of almost EVERY sentence actually starts to hurt your ears after a time.

Any additional comments?

While, as mentioned I was very unhappy with the narrators repetitive "style", the resulting wide swings in dynamics could have been made tolerable with some properly applied vocal compression. The beginning of every sentence hits your ears like a freight train and then trails off to almost a whisper at the end of most sentences.

8 of 10 people found this review helpful

Essential info, but sound mixing/narration rough

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This book is essential reading for every American; definitely highly recommend. It's not as smooth a listen as I'd like, not always effortless to follow along. Also, the narration varies in modulation so much that I often had to turn it way up to hear it, and then I'd get my ear blown out by the narrator suddenly seeming to yell.

Would you be willing to try another one of Gregory Itzin’s performances?

Not unless the sample indicated that it was better modulated. Listening from my mobile through an aux cord over my radio, I was often adjusting the volume. Itzin tends to trail off quietly and then begin another sentence yelling, which is often startling and painful on the ear. Aside from that, the performance is good.

Do you think The Plot to Hack America needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Absolutely, let's talk about collusion!

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

Keep in mind, this was written before the election

incredibly insightful look at the systems and strategies employed by our Russian "friends" to install Cheetolini as the perfect Cyberian Candidate

10 of 15 people found this review helpful

Pivotal book

l am a big fan of Malcolm Nance, and am very happy to see him every time he pops up on MSNBC for commentary. He is the real deal: from his combat experience, to his wisdom, poise and his former spy mystique. This book is timely and illuminated the topic for me. l had no idea the Russians were watching us so closely. Looking forward to Mr. Nances' next works.

12 of 19 people found this review helpful

A warning for all democracies.

From the book: "By publically choosing a known, dangerous, and proven autocratic adversary who has murdered opponents, killed his own citizens, conducted acts of terrorism, and invaded and seized other nations in violation of global norms, Trump and Pence chose Russia’s values over America’s. It has been said that this election would spell the rise of fascism and end the two-century-long run of American democratic governance. It may be worse than that. The deliberate subversion of America’s interests to those of a hostile adversary has never before been suggested aloud in polite company in the history of this nation."

9 of 15 people found this review helpful

This is an important read, send to friends!

Read in one sitting, so important. only worry it came to late to save us from ourselves.

6 of 10 people found this review helpful

The Most Definitive Chronicle of the 2016 Election

Malcolm Nance is a crisp, talented, and formidably insightful seasoned US Counterintelligence expert. This is THE MUST HAVE BOOK for every American. Drawing on his years of experience as an intelligence expert who knows the past, present and future ambitions and political, social, economic and military operations of Russia, Nance provides a masterful articulation of the calculated and systematically organized plans that invaded the US democratic process. This patriotic American hero provides vivid details of the motives and strategic Russian intelligence system includes the most robust and factual account of Donald Trump, his associates and their direct ties to Vladimir Putin and the corrupt wealthy establishment of Putin's oligarchical friends. In a nation yearning for answers, Nance provides both the questions and answers as to what happened, why, who and the potentially perilous outcomes from Russia's ongoing efforts to pull the roots of democracy from the soils of the US and our European Democratic allies. Nance's powerful insights explicitly presents Putin's players, how and why Trump and his most trusted circle is connected and aligned with Putin and his Kremlin oligarchy. With no-nonsense candor, Nance articulates the transformation from the KGB to the modern FSB. Nance provides an unparalleled synthesis and analysis of the practices, operations, skill set, psychological constructs, functions, and goals of Putin and his FSB. There is no comparable exposé of the interconnectedness between Russia's operations in Crimea, the Ukraine, Syria, Turkey and Donald Trump, Flynn, Mannafort, Page and others. This book should be heralded as a second to none achievement that presents irrefutable facts that give credence to the Clarion call that should be heard and responded to by every American. Moreover, it compels every patriotic American to demand an aggressive, thorough and unfettered criminal investigation and accountability by those who were part of the hijacking of our representative democracy. This is not a partisan book as Nance presents a poignant and vivid contemporary "Common Sense" that warns America of the powers at hand that connect Putin's Kremlin and, what is now, Trump' s Washington. If ever there was a book that needed to be made into a documentary and aired across the legitimate journalistic vanguards of democracy. . . this is it. In closing, it is my hope that Nance receives both the exceedingly well-deserved Noble Peace and Pulitzer Prizes for his candid, verifiable, and alarm raising exposure of the truth and nothing but the truth of the fortified dastardly powers hard at work that are trying to bring a collapse of the world's democratic nations and the perilous ascension of the murderous, tyrranical Putin oligarchy. It is Nance's genius and insightful expertise that exposes the Putin crime syndicate as crafty, calculated, sinister agents who are unrelentingly attempting to craft their anti-democratic, totalitarian, and liberty undermining world order. Thank you Malcolm Nance. Dr. Larry Smith

10 of 17 people found this review helpful

Telling and chilling

This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the future of a free world. The stunning subversion of democracy and freedom by the Russians and their complicit Republican dupes in the US is the start of a world wide journey towards autocracy and subjugation! This book is a wake up call and should not be ignored.

6 of 11 people found this review helpful

Read, listen, share.

A most important book that should be broadcast to all citizens of all democracies.