Böcker av Jeffrey D. Simon

America in the early twentieth century was rife with threats. Organized crime groups like The Mafia, German spies embedded behind enemy lines ahead of World War I, package bombs sent throughout the country, and the 1920 Wall Street bombing dominated headlines. Yet the story of the one man tasked with combatting these threats has yet to be told. The Life and Times of William J. Flynn is the first book to tell the story of William J. Flynn, the first government official to bring down the powerful Mafia, uncover a sophisticated German spy ring in the United States, and launch a formal war on terrorism. As the Director of the Bureau of Investigation (the forerunner to the FBI), Flynn would become one of the most respected and effective law enforcement officials in American history.Long before Eliot Ness and the Untouchables went after Al Capone and the Italian mob in Chicago, Flynn dismantled the first Mafia family to exist in America. The success against the Mafia made Flynn famous, with front-page stories about him in newspapers across the country. His rise through the ranks was swift. As Chief of the Secret Service (then an organization devoted to intelligence rather than protecting the president), Flynn, nicknamed ¿the Bulldog¿ for his tenacity in pursuing leads, again won national acclaim when he uncovered a sophisticated German sabotage campaign in the United States on the eve of American entry into World War I. As the Director of the Bureau of Investigation, Flynn would devise the first counterterrorist strategy in U.S. history in his investigation of the anarchist terrorists leaving bombs across the country. He would also appoint an ambitious library clerk named J. Edgar Hoover to the Bureaüs newly created Radical Division. Flynn¿s distinguished career came to an inglorious end, however, when he was unable to find the perpetrators of the infamous Wall Street bombing in September 1920. He never again returned to government service, instead turning to editing a detective fiction magazine called Flynn¿s that became one of the most popular magazine publications of its time. In this riveting and well-researched biography, the first devoted to the man who became one of this country¿s greatest detectives, author and terrorism expert Jeffrey D. Simon reveals the fascinating, exciting, and at times tragic story of William J. Flynn.

On August 6, 1974, a bomb exploded at Los Angeles International Airport, killing three people and injuring thirty-five others. It was the first time an airport had been bombed anywhere in the world. A few days later, police recovered a cassette tape containing a chilling message: “This first bomb was marked with the letter A, which stands for Airport,” said a voice. “The second bomb will be associated with the letter L, the third with the letter I, etc., until our name has been written on the face of this nation in blood.” In The Alphabet Bomber: A Lone Wolf Terrorist Ahead of His Time, internationally renowned terrorism expert Jeffrey D. Simon tells the gripping tale of Muharem Kurbegovic, a bright but emotionally disturbed Yugoslav immigrant who single-handedly brought Los Angeles to a standstill during the summer of 1974. He had conjured up the fictitious group “Aliens of America,” but it was soon discovered that he acted alone in a one-man war against government and society. The story of the Alphabet Bomber is about an extraordinary manhunt to find an elusive killer, a dogged prosecutor determined to bring him to justice, a pioneering female judge, and a devious mastermind whose heinous crimes foreshadowed the ominous threats we face today from lone wolf terrorists.

Chronicles the US response to terrorism from the days of Thomas Jefferson and the Barbary pirates to the confrontation of George Bush and Saddam Hussein. This title explores the terrorist trap: the psychological, political, and social elements that make terrorism unlike any other conflict.

A new era in terrorism is emerging and the lone wolf is at the forefront. From Anders Breivik in Norway, who murdered scores of young people in a bombing and mass-shooting attack, to Nidal Malik Hasan in the United States, who killed many of his fellow soldiers after opening fire at a military base, lone wolves have demonstrated that they can be as dangerous as organized terrorist groups. Who are these terrorists and what can be done about them?An internationally renowned terrorism expert presents the first comprehensive treatment of this important issue. After delving into the diversity in motivations and backgrounds of lone-wolf terrorists, Simon makes the following key points about this growing threat:*; Lone wolves have proven to be more creative and dangerous than many terrorist groups.*; The Internet has provided the perfect breeding ground for isolated individuals with terrorist tendencies, but it may also prove to be their undoing.*; The common perception that nothing can be done about lone wolves is wrong. In fact, innovative strategies and policies can be developed to both prevent and respond to this type of terrorism.*; Few women are in this category, but this is likely to change in the coming years.*; Lone wolves are not just Islamist extremists, but can be found among all types of political and religious ideologies. Drawing on his more than twenty-five years of experience studying terrorism, Simon has produced an insightful book that is essential reading for anyone concerned about the potential terrorist threats from violence-prone individuals in our midst.