I received an e-mail from Edward Alden, Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of a new book entitled The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration and Security Since 9/11. I have reviewed the links and have put this book on my “must read” list.  Below is the e-mail I received with the relevant links:

Dear Mr Maged,

I wanted to alert you to a book I have written, published last week by HarperCollins, that may be of interest to readers of your blog. The book is entitled The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration and Security Since 9/11. It tells the story of the internal battles within the Bush administration after 9/11 over how far to go in tightening U.S. borders in what was often a misguided effort to keep out terrorists. That story is interspersed with many personal tales of innocent people who got caught up in the labryinth of post-9/11 restrictions. I also make a number of larger points about the damage that has been done to the U.S. economy and to the country’s standing in the world by the heavy-handed way in which border security measures have been implemented.

The book comes out of reporting I did after 9/11 while I was the Washington Bureau Chief for the Financial Times, and well as more than a year of further research after I joined the Council on Foreign Relations.

I think it might be of considerable  interest to readers of your website. It is available in bookstores, and on Amazon.

You can also get a preview of the first chapter at: http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061558399

There is also a podcast of an interview online at: http://www.cfr.org/publication/17259/alden_on_us_immigration_clampdown_post911.html?breadcrumb=%2Fbios%2F2472%2Fedward_alden

A somewhat more truncated transcript of a different interview is at: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/09/17/post-911-antiterrorism-measures-should-be-more-targeted-says-new-book.html

Thanks very much for your interest, and keep up your superb work on these issues. We need it now more than ever.

Best regards,

Ted