First published 2018
Michael Hayden examines the unprecedented challenges facing America's intelligence community under a president who attacks the very agencies meant to protect national security. The former CIA and NSA director argues that intelligence professionals find themselves under assault from the White House itself, even as global threats multiply. North Korea advances toward nuclear weapons capable of reaching American soil. Russia deploys sophisticated information warfare tactics that undermine democratic institutions. China's role in the international order remains uncertain. Hayden contends that the intelligence community must expand its mission beyond traditional threat assessment to actively defend truth in an era of deliberate misinformation. He documents how core democratic structures face unprecedented stress while the president responds to evidence of Russian cyber attacks by attacking intelligence agencies rather than the foreign adversary. The book reveals fundamental shifts occurring both globally and domestically, examines America's diminished capacity to respond effectively, and proposes concrete solutions for protecting both intelligence capabilities and democratic governance.
Genres: history, american, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism
Setting: America, Russia
Period: 21st-century
304 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Press