Chariots of Chrome: Classic American Cars of Cuba

Book Description

A photographic cruise of Cuba's vintage cars.

Cuba is a vintage car lover's paradise. Until the 1960s, Cuba was the world's leading importer of American automobiles. As many as ten thousand of these mid-century American cars are still used in Cuba, making it the world's largest living automotive museum.

Vintage Cadillacs, Chevrolets, Fords, Pontiacs, Ramblers, Packards, Studebakers and Hudsons are common on Cuban streets and coastal highways, with hot primary colors, dazzlingly ornate chrome, sinfully luxurious interiors, and defiantly large girths. Some cars have been restored to their former glory. Others have been kept in working condition by using Russian truck engines and hand-forged parts.

Chariots of Chrome is an eye-popping pictorial tribute to those generously proportioned American automobiles, once loved and now lost, that still enjoy a vibrant old age in Cuba. Dazzling color photographs capture these beauties against the backdrop of the island's picturesque villages and Old Havana's many landmarks.

This pictorial tribute of historic cars is sure to light any auto aficionado's cigar.

Customer Reviews:

This book will rev your motor.......2004-08-19

If you're an antique car lover then Chariots of Chrome by Simon Bell and George Fischer is the book for you. Lavishly done with rich, full color, well done photographs, Chariots is a feast for the eyes. Cubans, it seems, have maintained hundreds of vintage American cars while most of the world has "moved on." Cut off from the American car market, Cubans, once the largest importer of Detroit automobiles, have been forced to nurse along what they have. Whether equipping these cars with Russian truck engines, hand forging their own replace parts, or taking parts from cars no longer able to keep rolling, the Cubans of the last half of the twentieth century have proven themselves very adept at improving. This book is as much a tribute to their resourcefulness as it is to the cars pictured between the covers.

If you're a lover of things old and wonderful photography then Chariots of Chrome is the book for you. You'll also come to respect the mechanical genius of the Cuban car owner and mechanic.

Book Description

From sources inside the Pentagon and the CIA, Bill Gertz tracks the path of terrorists and terrorism in the United States. He uncovers information that could have prevented 9/11.

Customer Reviews:

Reads like a novel - Well done........2007-09-10

From the opening to the very end, this author writes in a novel-like style that makes this book so very readable.

There is no doubt that the author lays 9/11 at the feet of Bill Clinton - and, a LOT of the blame belongs there. Even more than I thought before reading this.

I do think that much of it lies in the bureaucracy that the FBI, CIA, and military intelligence had to deal with. And will the views of some bureaucrats.

Gertz does a great job of drilling down into some of these organizations and peeling the scab off of some of the intelligence wounds. As I read it, I kept thinking this guy must have INCREDIBLE access to sources and/or his research is just impeccable.

Bottom line - very well written and an easy read. Thank you!

Government Bungling - Again!.......2005-12-24

Gertz begins by relating how, prior to 9/11, the CIA failed to help an Afghan leader trying to rally forces against the pro bin Laden Taliban. As a result, he was captured and executed.

Lack of Coordination: In '95, Philippine police investigating a fire and explosion learned the details of plans to blow up 11 airliners over the Pacific, as well as to fly a plane into CIA headquarters. The individual involved also admitted having attended several U.S. flight schools. This information was not combined with Phoenix FBI findings that a number of Middle-East men with a hatred of America - one had bin Laden photo on his wall. another made calls to a Palestinian terrorist, still another was asking about airport security, and they had a "fatwah" that commericial airplanes were legitimate targets. Nor was it combined with the Minneapolis' finding that Moussaoui was similarly trying to learn to fly large jets, nor a like finding in Oklahoma City. The CIA did track two 9/11 terrorists to the U.S. (who had taken U.S. flight training) - but failed to even notify the FBI. Worse yet, when Minneapolis FBI agents were frustrated in their efforts to have Moussaoui's computer searched (refused because "no crime had been committed") and tried to notify the CIA - they were reprimanded.

The CIA attempted to prosecute Robert Baer (one of its top operatives) for supposedly trying to assassinate Sadam Hussein, per Iranian intelligence. It then claimed credit for stopping several Millenium attacks (actually accomplished via alert Custom's official), and for "thwarting" terrorist attacks after simply nabbing individuals entering with false documents. Also determined that a small boat attack against a U.S. warship was not possible, prior to the U.S.S. Cole bombing.

Lack of Capable Staff: In the early 1990s, the CIA had nobody in Iraq. Subsequent intelligence buildup involved adding staff attached to embassies who largely stayed inside and filed reports. Prior "housecleanings" had moved away from rewarding staff for recruiting spies, and instead focused on diversity, and avoiding recruitment of those with prior criminal or terrorist backgrounds. Clinton administration further weakened efforts by refocusing counter-intelligence on antii-abortion bombings - despite the FBI believing that Islamic terrorism was a much greater problem.

Sudan offered intelligence on bin Laden, and even to arrest him. Clinton administration did not follow-up, and the offer evaporated upon the erroneous bombing of a Sudanese pharmaceutical plant.

Former CIA Director Woolsey: Prior to 9/11, several times each year some crazy person would get into a cockpit, and the call would go out to strengthen the doors. NOTHING HAPPENED! (Was the ONE simple action that likely prevented 9/11.)

A little right biased.......2005-09-09

This was a informative book that outlined what Gertz thought was the reason Sept 11th happened. Though these were problems left over from countless decades of neglect to the intellgence community Gertz seems to protray this as the cause of failure. It is a combination af manyy things and to point your finger at one aspect of the pie is ludicris. The book does make a good point on how politics get in the way of policy. "It is what you do and not what you say, if your not part of the future than get out of the way." Stop pissing around and playing favorites and get the job done!

Excellent reminder of how 9.11 was a complete failure for .......2005-05-12

both the CIA and FBI. Mr. Gertz, the excellent correspondent for the excellent (meaning not anti-Bush/republican NY Times/Wash. Post/CNN/CBS/ABC,etc.) Washington Times does an excellent job in explaining how 9.11 could have been prevented. Examples include the lack of adequately trained translators, CIA apprehension in "penetrating" al-Qaeda, and the 1970 era of anti-CIA political machinatiions that decimated the US intelligence. Also, Mr. Gertz details the lack of attention paid to the intelligence community during eight years of Bill/Hillary/Madeline/fat Al Gore/Sandy stolen documents Berger/et al. Binny struck in 93, 95, 96, 98, and 2000 (and many aborted/thwarted attacks) and all we got from that administration was some cruise missiles and an exploded milk factory in Sudan (while cowardly running from Somalia). This all led to the tragedy of 9.11 (and now the madman Kim Jong-il.)
Mr. Gertz does offer many solutions to the problems with many quote from senior intelligence officials (thank you, James Woolsey).
Thank you for the great work Mr. Gertz.

"Breakdown" Wears Blinders.......2005-03-04

"Breakdown: How America's Intelligence Failures Led to September 11" by Bill Gertz provides an operational history of America's spy community.

While his credentials and writing ability are beyond reproach, Gertz fails miserably by simplistically concluding that politics ruined our intelligence gathering system. Without mentioning the bloody, destabilizing covert actions that compelled legislative intervention, Gertz blames congressional panels "packed with liberal Democrats who assumed that U. S. intelligence agencies posed a threat to American democracy and engaged in wide criminal activity."

To agree with Gertz, one must ignore scores of corporate-friendly coups supported by the CIA in the last half century. For a more complete examination of intelligence misdeeds, read "Endless Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World" by Jonathan Kwitny.

By taking a partisan stance to draw a political conclusion, Gertz fails to put the blame where it belongs; on the hubris ridden, bureaucratic Boys Club that the intelligence service has become. Sycophancy and conformity cross party lines, and smother the creative thinkers in our nation's intelligence community.

The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing: Foresight and Warning

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Political Appointees More Worried About Themselves
The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing

The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing: Foresight and Warning
Peter Caram
Manufacturer: Janus Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 185756586X

Book Description

The World Trade Center was both a great engineering feat and a potent symbol. This careful analysis asserts that it was also a security hazard for almost all of its existence. The author, until recently a detective sergeant and antiterrorist officer at the World Trade Center with experience in airport security, voices harsh criticisms of the security lapses that allowed the 1993 bombing to take place, a precursor and unheeded warning of the 2001 disaster. Completed before this cataclysmic event, this book gives an insider 's perspective on Port Authority attitudes and on the mismanagement of security functions at the World Trade Center. It claims that officials did not give serious attention to the resentment of the United States' policy in the Middle East, nor to the mindset of Islamic fundamentalists, or even to expressed threats from dedicated terrorists. The author himself, of Arab-American descent, paints an indignant but well-informed picture of the situation prior to the attack in 1993. He offers chilling evidence that terrorists regarded the 1993 bombing as a bungled job that needed completion.

Customer Reviews:

Political Appointees More Worried About Themselves.......2003-12-25

Six died, thousands injuried, and the only thing the political appointees (including the politically appointed police supervisors) were worried about was who had access to the documents that predicted the '93 WTC Explosion.

Police Officers like Sgt. Caram, in ANY jurisdiction, are nothing more than Political Pawns to be used as needed. While the cops on the street are more concerned with true public safety, the political hacks care less. This book about the '93 WTC exemplifies this notion.

The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing.......2002-08-09

It happened in 1993 & again on 9/11/2001 with catstrophic devastation. This book educates Americans on the culture of the terrorist. It also tells us not to judge all Arabs peoples as having the ideals as the terrorists. It was a warning which went unheeded. It is fair to note the author went to great length to inform the proper people of our vulnerability, however he was not taken seriously, the horrors were dismissed as happening to some other country, where terrorism is more prevelant. We would do well to listen more astutely to those who have information for our protection & presevation.

The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the Future of Terrorism

Average customer rating:

a great book
A REVEALING LOOK INSIDE THE MIND OF TWO PREMIER TERRORISTS
Very Informational Book!
Essential reading for 911 witnesses
A tale of two terrorists---and a war everyone ignored

The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the Future of Terrorism
Simon Reeve
Manufacturer: Northeastern
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1555534074

Book Description

The first book on Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, this New York Times bestseller warns of a new age of apocalyptic terrorism. According to `The New Jackals' a group of several thousand men who fought against the Soviets during the 1980s Afghan War have since dominated international terrorism. Author Simon Reeve warns that many of these men, known as the `Afghan Arabs', have become a new breed of terrorist, militants with no restrictions on mass killing. Reeve spent years investigating the two most dangerous `Afghan Arabs': Osama bin Laden, currently the most wanted man in the world, and Ramzi Yousef, the young British-educated mastermind of the massive bombing of the World Trade Center bombing (WTC) in 1993. Yousef's attack resulted in more hospital casualties than any event in American history since the Civil War. He is described by experts as a modern `Carlos the Jackal' because of his astonishing crimes. The New Jackals is a true-life investigative thriller, with details of a tense two-year manhunt told through interviews with a senior FBI agent, but it also includes a series of major revelations. For example the book offers the first real insight into bin Laden's early years. The New Jackals also reveals that in the 1993 WTC attack Ramzi Yousef wanted to topple one tower of the building into the other (killing perhaps 250,000 people) with a massive radioactive bomb that would have forced the evacuation of much of New York. The author details how Yousef detonated a bomb on a plane over Japan, planned to kill the Pope and President Clinton, blew-up an Iranian shrine, plotted to attack CIA headquarters with chemical weapons, and was stopped just days before he was due to simultaneously destroy 11 airliners over the Pacific. The New Jackals sheds new light on Yousef and bin Laden, describing them as the first of a new breed of terrorist, and reveals how they have been responsible for some of the bloodiest and most audacious acts of terrorism in history. Highly detailed and yet immensely readable, The New Jackals is one of the most prophetic books of the last decade. It is essential reading for anyone seeking insights into the new breed of terrorist behind the devastating strikes on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. A new epilogue by author Simon Reeve assesses the current status of the sinister al Qaeda network and warns the West remains vulnerable to further apocalyptic attacks.

Customer Reviews:

a great book.......2007-06-28

well researched book that discusses the origins of terror without the usual handwringing... also discusses bin laden in Iraq, as well as other subjects....

A REVEALING LOOK INSIDE THE MIND OF TWO PREMIER TERRORISTS.......2005-12-31

This book is far and away the best "terrorist history" I've read. Even better than "The Cell" (and that's saying something). The author brings exhaustive and original research to the task and engagingly tells the tale of two master terrorists. First is the ungainly, awkward looking Ramzi Yousef. Upon reading this account, my respect for his dark talents increased manifold. A true genius, albeit in the art of mass murder, Yousef brings an unfettered, focused malevolence to his work - as he plans the deaths of literally thousands of unsuspecting victims. His evil is made the more evident by the fact of his non-affiliation: that is, although influenced by his evil uncle Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (architect of 911), he is nonetheless a free lance terrorist - no ideological stars in his eyes, not a mere subset of someone else's evil: he sees clearly, calculates coolly - and is greately disappointed when the 1993 WTC bombing only kills 6 - instead of his target of 250,000 casualties (!!??). The section on Usama Bin Laden is shorter, but still enlightening.
This book is an articulate, engaging, easy read and very much worth the time.... I highly recommend it

Very Informational Book!.......2004-12-27

Simon Reeve did a good job of displaying the most potent forces in the world of terrorism today.Reeve points out that the war in Afghanistan produced two of the most evil terrorists
who are on the world stage today.After the first bombing of the
World Trade Center the FBI began a pursuit and investigation of
Ramzi Yousef.During their worldwidw investigation of Yousef the
FBI discovered another factor in the world of terrorism.The FBI
found that Osama Bin Laden,behind the scenes,had been financing
terrorist operations all over the world.It was found that Bin
Laden was an Arab millionaire who could well afford to finance
terrorist operations.This is a well researched book that makes
for interesting reading.

Essential reading for 911 witnesses.......2004-06-13

This book proves that a gum shoe journalist can have a clearer understanding of this issue than the US administration - with all the zillions it spends on defence.

As Mr Reeve indicates, it is quite possible that other intelligence agencies [eg. the Israelis] were more aware of what was coming than the US authorities. It was certainly in Israel's interests to keep quiet and thereby bring the US into their war - as they would see it.

For anyone trying to make sense of the senseless events of 911 - I would recommend this book.

A tale of two terrorists---and a war everyone ignored.......2004-04-14

The New Jackals is, on one level, a straightforward true crime saga. Yet it remains an early and insightful account of the rise of Islamist terror.

Author Simon Reeve was an English journalist who was largely ignored on the subject of terror prior to September 11th. Earlier books such as Reeve's The New Jackals (published in 1999) expose as the theatre of the absurd the recent political grandstanding about "who knew what and when." Everyone, it seems, knew for more than a decade the United States was at war, and no one, it seems, bothered to treat it as such.

As the author reminds us, the World Trade Center was bombed almost a decade before it was hit September 11th. London-based Reeve recounts the police investigation that followed the first tragedy. The details of the ensuing manhunt represent true crime writing at its best. Unless a reader closely followed the trial of those eventually arrested and convicted, the information is jarring and, in light of what later happened, dismaying. Reeve writes in a crisp, fast-paced style that captures the frenzied efforts of federal and local law enforcement officers to bring the first bombers to justice.

The bulk of the book focuses on the terrorist masterminds. Author Reeve chronicles the now-familiar story of how the "Afghan Arabs" who fought the Soviets later turned against the Americans. Ramzi Yousef, who has been described as what Osama bin Laden would like to be, did not run and hide after he engineered the first bombing of the WTC. In fact, the terrorist went on to plot the bombing of American airliners over the Pacific Ocean. Yousef, now imprisoned in the United States, represents one of bin Laden's more terrifying footsoldiers. As Reeve chillingly points out, there are many on the outside ready to step into Yousef's shoes to carry out bin Laden's goals.

Customer Reviews:

A good introduction for children..........2002-03-04

If you want to introduce children to the history of the first attack on the World Trade Center which occurred in 1993, this book should be your first choice. While not a scholarly account of the attack, this book gives the necessary details of the who, when, how, and why of this terrorist attack. Highly recommended for children!

The Attacks on the World Trade Center: February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001 (Terrorist Attacks)

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The Attacks on the World Trade Center

The Attacks on the World Trade Center: February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001 (Terrorist Attacks)
Carolyn Gard
Manufacturer: Rosen Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0823936570

Customer Reviews:

The Attacks on the World Trade Center.......2004-09-22

After the second, successful, attack on the World Trade Center Towers in New York City many questions were left unanswered: Who could be so cruel? How could anyon feel this much hate? Could these attacks have been prevented? Carolyn Gard compares September 11, 2001 to the attacks on Pearl Harbor. In The Attacks on the World Trade Center, Gard gives step by step accounts of these attacks starting before the first plane left the Boston airport. One of the main purposes of this book is to further educate people in what actually occurred and how some of the victims felt just minutes before their deaths.

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Fascinating memoir
Behind the headlines

Defending Mohammad: Justice on Trial
Robert E. Precht
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0801441552

Book Description

"The arrest of Mohammad Salameh, an illegal Palestinian immigrant, and three other Arab men in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing set off the first major `Muslim scare' in New York City history. It was in this atmosphere that the four defendants were indicted and stood trial for the terrorist act. I was a public defender with New York's Legal Aid Society at the time and by chance was assigned to represent the lead suspect, Salameh. The high-profile case snapped me out of my midcareer doldrums. Salameh was the ultimate underdog, and I was determined to ensure that he received a fair trial before an impartial jury. Unfortunately, the key court actors—judge, prosecutors, and defense lawyers—failed to meet this challenge.

Terrorism defendants are not predestined to receive unfair trials. If we are alert to the stress factors that can undermine impartiality, we can take measures to avoid transforming the potential for injustice into the actuality of an unfair proceeding."—from the Preface

This is the inside story of an epic courtroom showdown between terrorism and the American legal system. On a snowy day in February 1993, a massive car bomb nearly toppled the World Trade Center. Four Middle Eastern men were quickly arrested and charged with the crime. At the time, Robert E. Precht was a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society Federal Defender Division in Manhattan, handling routine cases as a public defender. He was surprised to be appointed defense attorney to the chief suspect, Mohammad Salameh, and challenged as never before by the media circus that this major terrorism trial would prove to be. The events and personalities of the trial make for gripping reading, but equally compelling are Precht's observations on the forces arrayed against fair trials for accused terrorists.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating memoir.......2004-08-16

This book is a riveting account of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing trial, from the view of one of the defense lawyers. Why is this book so good? The author is exceptionally candid: He openly discusses conflicts with the judge, with fellow defense counsel, with his client, and within himself. Rather than being self-serving -- as many of these memoirs are -- Precht gives us insight into the daily problems of defense counsel and the larger issue of trying accused terrorists within our criminal justice system. This book is easy to understand & leaves a lasting impression. If you are a current or future lawyer, or just interested in terrorism and civil liberties issues, read this book.

Behind the headlines.......2003-10-14

Precht has done a remarkable thing: He's made the courtroom drama of this trial both personal and a fascinating case study of justice in modern America. Perhaps more important today than when the trial took place a decade ago (the first foreign terrorist trial in the US), the book made me think about our current administration, the abridgement of our rights, and the constant balance of rights and protections in a democracy. Thanks.

Defending Mohammad: Justice on Trial: A Defense Lawyer's Account of the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing Trial

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Defending Mohammad: Justice on Trial: A Defense Lawyer's Account of the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing Trial
Robert Precht
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K1S5GU

The Terrorist Trial of the 1993 Bombing of the World Trade Center: A Headline Court Case (Headline Court Cases)

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The Terrorist Trial of the 1993 Bombing of the World Trade Center: A Headline Court Case (Headline Court Cases)
Michael J. Pellowski
Manufacturer: Enslow Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0766020452

Two Seconds Under the World:Terror Comes to America-The Conspiracy Behind the World Trade Center Bombing

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Two Seconds Under the World:Terror Comes to America-The Conspiracy Behind the World Trade Center Bombing
Jim Dwyer , Deidre Murphy , Peg Tyre , and David Kocieniewski
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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