Changing Homeland Security: Ten Essential Homeland
Security Books
Christopher Bellavita
This article presents what I consider to be ten essential homeland security
books. The list is personal and provisional. The discipline is too new to
have a canon. We need to continuously examine what is signal and what is
background noise in homeland security's academic environment.
Much has been written about homeland security. A lot more is in the
publishing pipeline. My list includes books I find myself returning to as I
seek to understand contemporary homeland security events. Beyond
personal interest, I believe they form a foundation for a growing
understanding of the parameters of what it means to study homeland
security as a professional discipline. Other books – and important articles
– could be added, but ten is sufficient to start.
These books are:
• The Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon
the United States: 9/11 Commission Report (2004)
• The National Strategy for Homeland Security (2002)
• After: How America Confronted the September 12 Era (2003)
• Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror (2004)
• America the Vulnerable: How Our Government is Failing to Protect Us
From Terrorism (2004)
• Homeland Security: A Complete Guide to Understanding, Preventing,
and Surviving Terrorism (2005)
• Catastrophe Preparation and Prevention for Law Enforcement
Professionals (2008)
• Trapped in the War on Terror (2006)
• Unconquerable Nation: Knowing Our Enemy; Strengthening Ourselves
(2006)
• The Declaration of Independence (1776), The Articles of Confederation
(1777), and The Constitution of the United States of America (1787)
Taken together, these works outline a broad historical narrative about
homeland security. We were attacked. We quickly developed a strategy to
make sure we prevented future attacks. We tried to come to terms with
what happened to us as a nation. Next, textbooks and workbooks aiming to
systematize homeland security ideas star