Very much enjoyed reading this book, no it is not like a Robert Ludlum or John LeCarre novel. It is a true testament to the real American Heroes who tread into dark and dangerous places and situations that most of us would fear to go. What stands out here is the dedication and patriotism of these men and woman, who, though obviously highly skilled and intelligent choose a life of sacrifice and service over money and fame. They seek to protect the rest of us from horrors that we can barely appreciate, while often suffering the criticism from the ill informed. The big payoff if they are killed in the line of duty is an anonymous gold star on a wall at Langley. I would hope more people read this book if only to understand that it is a dangerous world in which we live, and perhaps, if only for a moment, take a break from American Idol and Monday Night Football to appreciate these American public servants.

OK. After glancing at the excellent reviews, I probably will continue to read this book. I am giving a rating only because posting the review requires it. In fact, I haven't finished the book. But what caused me to leave the book to see what others thought of it is this:
On page 30, upon Burton's entering the CIA headquarters for the first time, I read "" ... a statue of Nathan Hale, a Revolutionary War spy who went to a British hangman's noose with the immortal words 'Give me liberty or give me death' on his lips."
Give me liberty or give me death? Those are certainly immortal words! Nathan Hale? It's been quite a while since I took American history, but that quote is attributed to Patrick Henry. Hale is remembered for the words "I regret that I have but one life to give to my country."
So what made me pause in my reading - and write this - is that I am perplexed. Did Burton dredge up an inaccurate memory? Worse, might that what is actually written somewhere in the mysterious places of the CIA. Or, finally, is the Random House editor a little deficient in his/her American history, to let this error slip by?
I know, I know, some will same I'm picky. But it's so wrong that it stopped my reading dead in it's tracks. Has that passage caused any other readers at least a short pause?
Well, as I said above, because of the excellent reviews the book has received her, I will return to it and continue my reading.

This is a fun little book, but it's not much of a "confession" as billed. Burton was a DSS agent with an interesting career, but he was not a big player. Most of his involvement was at a low-level, conducting debriefings, meeting a few informants, and reading lots of cables. He does not document personal involvement in ANY top takedowns, no intelligence "coups" nor any real excitement. In spite of describing his countersurveillance training, his need to wear "tied shoes" to be able to fight, and running through his home neigborhoods watching for tails, he never really makes the bigtime. He does have some decent tips on countersurveillance and terrorist planning and execution cycle, and some interesting inside tidbits, but this is no true "ghost."

Great book and classic story about learning "what you do not know". For those who do not understand what it is like to build a program without any guidance, Fred Burton gives a great insight into his personal school of hard knocks. This book is an in depth look at how the USA developed Counter-terrorism (CT) operations complete with failures and successes. You can feel the emotion, the challenges, and the personal toll it takes on normal people. He also gives some insight into the difference between "serving the country" and "being a politician." Fred is an American hero who stepped up to the plate when his country needed him.

I found this book hard to put down. The pages turned rapidly as I gleaned behind the scenes insights into events to which I had been exposed to via electronic and print media in the past. As I put down the completed book, I experienced two strong feelings: 1. I am very glad that I was able to experience a microscopic view into the activities of people working behind the scenes, with little or no publicity, to protect our nation all hours of all days 2. I am concerned that our intelligence community may still be hindering itself through a lack of cooperation between the various agencies; even with the advent of Homeland Security. I highly recommend this book to all concerned citizens.
As an aside, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this book becomes a successful movie.

The story behind the headlines. A great account of the hidden war being fought by our intelligence people to keep the bad guys off balance. It is hard to put down as I imagine I will miss something. Very gripping, gritty stuff. These stories are real. An account of some very brave people who do a dangerous and dirty job so we can sleep safely at night.

In this intense, fast-paced memoir, Fred Burton has revealed his day to day struggles to keep our country safe from terrorists. He's done a masterful job of letting us understand how he thinks and what motivates him to keep going, despite unbelieveable chaos and stress. His courage and patriotism make this an important read for all Americans!

Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent by Fred Burton is a great read about the sacrifices that the brave men and women waging the war on terror make on a daily basis. Burton is an expert in the field of counter-terrorism and reading his book is like taking an advanced class on the subject. Sadly, there still seems to exist the lack of teamwork amongst the agencies that are so needed to work together. Hopefully, with works like this readable book by Burton, people will wake up and realize the need to focus on the issues and not worry about obtaining glory or credit for stopping the threats that exist.

Burton is a hero and we should all thank him for the dedication and commitment he has shown to this country. A four star read. Enjoyable, informative, and scary.

Mr. Burton does a bang up job of putting the reader right in the action as he chronicles his experiences with the State Dept's Diplomatic Security Service. The reader gets a front row seat at what was going on inside the Beltway and behind the scenes during some of the most critical events impacting US and international security. A low-threat, but riveting read for anyone interested in national security affairs.

I recommend this book for everybody. It is important to understand why our government does what it does to combat terrorism.

This is an extraordinary account of one of our (U.S.) first counterterrorism agents. The experiences encountered by 'the ghost' will help you put into perspective where your job fits on the stress curve. It provides some unnerving insight into the world of terrorists and those determined to thwart them.
Very exciting and well written,once you start it you won't want to put it down until you finish it!

I got on the library hold list early for the book Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent by Fred Burton. From the standpoint of a "been there, done that" memoir, it's a good read. You get a feel for how difficult it is to fight terrorism on a global basis. But the book loses a bit when it comes to style and storyline. It seems to be building up to something that never quite happens.

Contents:
Part 1 - Rookie Year: The Buried Bodies; Down the Rabbit Hole; Night Train; The Dark World's Redheaded Stepchildren; Chasing Shadows; No Space Between Black and White; The Mad Dog of the Middle East; Two Hits for El Dorado Canyon; Human Poker Chips; One More Gold Star; The Gray Hell of Wait and Hope; The Stench of Good Intentions; Shipwreck; The Beer Hall Encounter
Part 2 - The Veteran: Little Italy; Mice; Threat Matrix; The Bronze Star Assassin; PAK-1 Down; Night Flight; In Country; Pakistani Two-Step; One Hour to Nowheresville; The Buffet at the End of the World; Puzzle Pieces; The Perfect Murder; Autumn Leaves; Two-Minute Free Fall
Part 3 - War Weary: Street Dance; The Colonel's Revelations; Watching the Watchers; The World's Most-Wanted Man; Deadly Equation; Money Changes Everything; Finale In Pakistan; Lillybrook
Epilogue - Brotherhood of the Badge; Author's Note; Acknowledgments

Burton's story begins in 1986 when he was assigned to the Diplomatic Security Service's (DSS) small Counter-Terrorism Division. It was made up of a whopping three people, two of whom were brand new, and all the work was manual and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants. Imagine everything being paper files, tons of filing cabinets, and all the growing institutional knowledge of terrorism in certain areas being all in the head of one or two people. Burton was quickly crowned the Middle East "expert" and as such became deeply involved in terrorist activities in Beirut, Iran, Iraq, India, and Pakistan, just to name a few. As major terror figures like Abu Nidal and Ramzi Yusef carried out their plans, Burton and his small (but growing) team tried to anticipate, warn, prevent, and ultimately capture (or kill) these criminals. His front-row perspective on these events makes you realize that luck and chance plays a much bigger role than you'd like to believe or admit. It really is a wonder that more events like the first World Trade Center bombing don't happen...

While I found the material interesting, I struggled with the style and pacing of his story. 90% of all the action takes place in the mid-80's with the kidnappings and air bombings. Any one of those incidents could be a full book in itself, so by necessity he can't go as deep as you might like. He's writing in as "as it happens" style, so there are times you feel as if you already know the outcome of the story since the major players may have already been caught/jailed/killed. Part 3 jumps to the mid-90's and gets a bit more personal as to what the job has cost him, but the gap doesn't necessarily bring you further along in the DSS story. And for all intents and purposes, it end in 1994. Nothing much on why he left, why he joined a private security firm, and so on. For a book written in 2008 and for a topic very much in the forefront of today's headlines, the 15 year gap from then to now just screams to be addressed somehow. Maybe it's all classified or he's forbidden from writing about later events, but how do you not even touch on 9/11 and the full impact it had on his agency or his private firm?

I would still recommend this as a good read if only to understand the battle that goes on in The Dark World. Just don't expect to come away with a full up-to-the-minute analysis of where we are today.

This is a great book that opens to readers the continual danger of terror attacks. Having lived overseas for 37 years in Indonesia I know from first hand experiences the dangers or terrorism. I hope that this book will open the eyes of Americans to the dangers ahead.

Excellent read. Supports opinions expressed by other non-fiction authors writing in the world of CIA, NSC, FBI, MACVSOG, Delta, etc.

This genre is especially interesting to one who has lived through the WW II to present era, in that some activities behind the scenes and headlines are brought to light.

This is an interesting, quick read on counter terror operations pre 9/11. Written from a personal perspective, it provides an unique historical preface to the radical terror movement that threatens western civilization today.

This book seemed to be written by someone who has no idea how to tell a compelling story. I kept thinking that something exciting was about to happen, but never quite got there. Mr. Burton went to a safe house and other people brought him people to interview. WOW!

Mr. Burton was on the phone in Washington when they captured the most notorious terrorist in Pakistan. Whew! I was on pins and needles with that one.

I would rather read something from the people who actually were in the field being the ghosts, not the person who was in the office reviewing their work. If Mr. Burton spent more time in the field than he writes about, he should have included that in the book.

Uneventful, is the best word I can think of.

This is simply the most important book to read during these times. Even if you are not interested in the war on terror or domestic security, this book will give you a very real perspective of what it means to live in our increasingly complex world. I would go so far as to suggest it is your duty to read this book. You will understand recent history and geopolitics from an engaging, dedicated and compassionate human being. This is very easy to read. You will not be sorry.
As a follow up, Fred Burton is an analyst at Strategic Forecasting (Strafor). Subscribing to these newsletters is the best way to be informed at a deeper level of what is going on in the world. You can toss out your newspapers, turn off your TV and radio, and read these non-partisan analytical reports on every geopolitcal issue. You will be enlightened and more knowledgable. In short, you will be a more involved citizen.

Ordered the book. Arrived quickly. Still reading it. Since I served in Vietnam for nine years and worked in Intel/psyops, reading it takes me back in time.....well written, interesting...

What would it be like to have a job chasing terrorists? Fred Burton gives us a realistic idea. Written like a spy novel. But unlike in a novel he is not always dodging bullets and terrorists don't spring on him from out of his closet. No, he is assaulted by mounds of paperwork. Agent Burton is challenged by bureaucratic obstacles and frustrating puzzles. He is overwhelmed by too much data but can't find the pieces to solve his puzzles.
When you read a book like this (involving people and organizations that still threated us) you have to wonder, how much of the information about the various terrorist threats are still classified? How complete and accurate are the stories so skillfully related in a book like this? Are we only being permitted to see the tip of the iceberg? And if we are is the ice down below in the "Dark World" where we cannot see about the same as the ice we are allowed to see?

Intriguing first-hand accounts of Counter Terrorism efforts beginning in the 80's. Could not put book down until I had read it from beginnng to end. Highly recommend for any one interested in real wars we now face in this day and age.

Ever since I was almost killed by Chechen terrorists in Moscow (in July 2000, 90 people were killed near Pushkin Square), I have been reading books on terrorism. None is better than Fred Burton's book. It reads like a LeCarre novel, but it is all true.

The number one target of terrorists is the US State Departments Foreign Embassies and their employees. As a member of the DSS, Fred's job was to protect those people. Of course, he knew all the details about every attack since he personally investigated many of them. While I am familiar with most of the attacks he describes, I have never before learned so many interesting and important details. Fred describes many of the techniques used to identify and counter the terrorists. While I am sure that many techniques remain classified what he presented was extremely interesting.

As a former engineer who performed accident investigations on DC-8 aircraft, I was particularly fascinated by his chapters on the C-130 crash which killed Pakistani President Zia. He was personally involved in the investigation process and showed that the cause was not a missile. The description of how the investigation evolved from the challenging relationship with the Pakistanis to dodging poisonous snakes at the crash site to the conclusion that poison gas was used was fascinating. This is a unique book for anyone interested in terrorism.

The book reads like a Ludlum spy novel but it is true! Agents really do all of those things to prevent detection, to protect themselves and their contacts and to bring in the info. Even better,Burton shows the facts of the opponents and dangers that the US and other nations face. He also tells of the detailed analysis and preparation that is necessary. These dangers will not go away, soon. I heartily recommend this book to anyone concerned about present and future dangers. To go with it, read anything by George Friedman, of Stratfor.

It must be difficult to write a book from the inside on security topics: Too much of what you do or did and the enemy has your playbook. Too much of what you know about the enemy and how you got that information and you never get his. But if you don't "share", the book has nothing. Fred did a good job of mixing what we already know about the history he helped analyze with the background that only the inner circle knew at the time to present a story worth telling.

I have been a longtime subscriber to STRATFOR and this book is a great help in appreciating the careful analysis that it's analysts present.

This book is a real page turner - I was on an international flight and for the first time in over a decade, read an entire book cover to cover in one sitting. Just couldn't get enough of it. A well written history of a driven man who has experiences that few could get their head around.

Fred Burton's book, Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent, is an exciting, disturbing, and frightening book. Difficult to put down, Ghost takes the reader through the modest beginnings of the DSS and the USA's effort at countering the increasing terrorism directed against us.

Burton was in the eye of the storm and the reader feels the stress and strain of responsibility as it weighs him and his fellow agents down and prevents him from sleeping. The story transports the reader from our nation's capital to the middle east and around the globe.

Aside from being an interesting story, Ghost provides a realistic picture of the adversaries faced by the west in general and the US specifically. The book was both gripping and frightening, and I highly recommend it.

Twenty years ago, the idea of defending the United States against terrorism was relatively new. So new, in fact, that only a three-man Defense Security Service (DSS) team situated in a windowless, smoke-filled office in the basement of the Harry S. Truman Building in our nation's capital was responsible for keeping tabs on the most violent religious extremists in the world.

Fred Burton, a key figure in international counterterrorism and one of the original three agents, has taken off his Barbour Beaufort spy jacket to give a deeply personal account of the terroristic threats and acts America faced during his years as a DSS agent in "GHOST: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent."

Burton, currently vice president for counterterrorism at Stratfor, a private intelligence company, recounts riveting, real world cases of espionage that detail how the U.S. tracked Libya-linked master terrorist Abu Nidal; captured Ramzi Yousef, architect of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; and pursued the assassins of major political figures including Yitzhak Rabin, Meir Kahane, and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the president of Pakistan.

"Ghost" is a fascinating read, written in a solemn, heartfelt tone that conveys the angst and strife Burton felt as he tried to rid "The Dark World" of terrorists, while bringing home American hostages safely.

"I carry a list of names with me at all times. It is written in the black ink of a fountain pen in a hardback black Italian moleskin journal, and it travels with me in my weathered Ghurka shoulder bag or, when I'm on the road, in my small Zero Halliburton aluminum case, right next to my Smith & Wesson Model 637 five shot revolver...Each name on my list has eluded pursuit and is still out there...Most of the names have long been forgotten by the public, but not by me."

In a telephone interview during a nationwide book tour in Washington, D.C., Burton provides additional insight into his years with the DSS, and his thoughts on the Texas border serving as a portal for terrorists entering the U.S.

Q. Given your former job and current occupation, isn't it dangerous to come out with a book and tour that exposes you to people who still reside in "The Dark World?"
A. Having been in this business for as many years as I have, going back to my days as a police officer as well as a special agent, it comes with the territory. I would venture to guess that street cops in San Antonio, and the border agents in Texas, are at more risk than I am. I have no fears of retribution, but I still take safety measures.

Q. How is "The Dark World" doing?
A. It's getting harder for them. The U.S. government has a much more robust capability to analyze threats and to make sense of the puzzle than we ever did. There are now thousands of analysts and thousands of agents assigned to this issue around globe, so they have a much better capability to oversee things. The technology has greatly increased from the days when I first started with 3x5 index cards, so their ability to connect the dots is much better.

Q. How effective is al-Qaida today?
A. al-Qaida is under a tremendous amount of pressure. The Federal Government has done a very good job of hunting down, capturing and killing high valued targets as evident with the recent military tribunal of Khalid Sheilkh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
The real concern from a domestic terror prospective is the "Lone Wolf Threat." When you start game-boarding possible scenarios, one of the most worrisome is the individual who is inspired by al-Qaida and doesn't tell anybody what he's doing. Therefore, you don't have the capability to have an informant close to him to report on his actions.

Q. How does religion reach the level of violent extremism in other countries?
A. We have extremists in all walks of religion. When you start looking at Islamic fundamentalists, you have individuals who are co-opted, trained and indoctrinated at an age where they're easily influenced.
With regards to al-Qaida, they look for individuals who can be taken aside, used and manipulated. The Holy Grail for an organization like al-Qaida is to find individuals like Ramzi Yousef, who I was involved with in the first World Trade Center bombing, or a Mohammed Alta--individuals who have the intellect to become tactical commanders.

Q. How close was the world on the brink of nuclear war after the assassination of President Zia of Pakistan?
A. When that plane crashed, you had a country that was without a government. You had a country that had always been engaged in intelligence and covert operations and wars and rumors of wars with India. Literally, you had the world on fire there for a while and you had a very tenuous situation that wouldn't have taken much to push either country over the edge. Fortunately, calmer minds prevailed and, with some diplomatic pressure, we were able to buy time which was exactly what we needed to help diffuse the situation.

Q. Governor Rick Perry has appointed you to the Texas Border Security Council. Are there any indications that terrorists are coming into the U.S. via Mexican smuggling routes?
A. We have evidence of terrorist operatives coming into the United States (via the Texas/Mexico border)...we have picked up terrorists that are on the No-Fly List, the Most Wanted List, and the Terrorist Lookout List. It's a real issue...and it's affecting our entire Homeland Security Program.

Q. If you could remove only one name from your list, which would it be?
A. Remember, this is my list and my reasons are personal. If I could only remove one name from my list, it would be Hasan Izz-al-Din, who is still operating in Lebanon. Among the many terrorism acts he's been associated with, he was involved in the death of CIA Beirut Station Chief Bill Buckley, and the TWA Flight 847 hijacking and death of U.S. Navy Diver Robert Stethem.

Like several other reviewers, I also read this book in one sitting. I was shocked to learn the thoroughness of the preliminary surveillance work terrorists had done against potential U.S. government targets, not just abroad but within our own borders.

And not just foreign terrorists -- that decorated Vietnam combat vet who went off the deep end during the 1980s and managed to not just ascertain the private home address of the Secretary of State, but figured out the weaknesses of the Diplomatic Security Service's protective detail WITHOUT the detail's realizing he was there amazes me -- all due respect to the eminently capable but undermanned DSS -- that more terrorist strikes weren't committed against our most senior officials on our own soil.

Here's hoping that the remedies instituted by Burton continue to save lives, although I worry that by writing this book, he may have given the terrorists valuable information on how to counteract those defensive measures.

The most interesting part to me was that Burton starts out his career having a world view that is starkly black and white, but toward the end of the book acknowledges the shades of gray that the REAL WORLD acts in. And yet despite this realization, he still tries to cling to that black-white, good-evil world view. Even though he's seen with his own eyes truly evil men who escaped justice and were under the protection of the U.S. government Witness Protection Program for having turned in their own baddie associates.

All that said, this book is still a fascinating read, and worth the full cover price.

This exciting well written memoir by Fred Burton, former Deputy Chief of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), the Department of State's counterterrorism (CT) division, is among other things, a detailed look back at all the glaring warning signs and signals America was given years before the catastrophe of 9/11. The author had been a Maryland cop. "He protected his community, loved law enforcement, but wanted something more." He applied for federal service and the DSS whom he had never heard of offered him a job. So in 1986 he entered "THE-DARK-WORLD", "THE-BLACK-WORLD"... he became a "SPOOK". His entire life was turned upside down. His normal jogging routes had to be constantly changed as he started carrying paranoia with him along with his sweatshirt. His route to work involved a constantly changing labyrinth of right turns, left turns, double and triple u-turns. His wife was told there would never be any discussions about his workday, and he was trained to understand that sometimes, without a warning, he wouldn't be home for weeks at a time without his wife knowing he was leaving or where he had gone.

Fred was one of the earliest members of organized counter terrorism (CT) and his early work involved researching almost every terrorist act in modern recorded history including Beirut 1 and 2. He was told to study top secret documents in the "buried bodies" files to see if he could find any patterns or anything that had been missed. From there Fred was thrown to the wolves and had to learn on the job. He started flying all around the world on a moment's notice, wherever there was a blown up plane, or assassination, or hostage situation. Security was always the top priority, and orders were never questioned. "FRED'S BOSS ONCE TOLD HIM TO GO THE WHITE HOUSE AND DELIVER A BRIEFING. HE ASKED TO WHOM AND HIS RESPONSE WAS, "YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT. THEY'LL BE WAITING." "I DID IT AND DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE WHOM I WAS TALKING TO THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS AT 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE." Another time Fred was parking his car in the garage when his phone rings. He answers it. It's his boss. "Fred?" "Yes?" Be at Andrews at 2100 hours for a trip. Pack for a week, maybe two. "Okay. Where am I going? "You don't need to know that yet." CLICK.

The reader is "dragged" down memory lane through the rubble of destroyed humanity as the author leads you in an effective real-time horrid lesson of modern terrorism. One of the most chilling mental realizations occur after the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, when Fred finds out that the FBI had an informant who penetrated the mosque responsible two years earlier. He had worn a wire and attended planning sessions and meetings with Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman the blind Egyptian cleric. Fred convinces his contacts to let him see the transcripts of what this informant recorded. "He is floored!" Part of the transcripts detailed a planned assassination of Egyptian President Mubarak. They had an entire detailed plan to overcome the American government agents that were assigned to protect the President of Egypt. The terrorists knew every move of the American security detail, and their plan probably would have worked. The terrorists had become expertly familiar with every move the American security personnel made... IT WAS FRED'S SECURITY DETAIL! "AS I READ THE TRANSCRIPTS, I REALIZE THAT I HAD BEEN ON SOME OF THE DETAILS THEY'D BEEN WATCHING. THE REVELATION DRAINS THE COLOR FROM MY FACE. WE NEVER EVEN CAUGHT A WHIFF OF THIS SOPHISTICATED SURVEILLANCE OPERATION."

This memoir is an educational-historical book on America's battle against terrorism that leads you from the author's first days that entailed nothing but studying files of "dead-bodies", all the way through his personal growth, which results in him openly disagreeing with a Pakistani Colonel, who says the plane that crashed killing his countries President was downed by a missile. When you're done with your "SPOOK'S" tour through "THE-DARK-WORLD", you will truly feel enlightened!

Any book that can add to the body of documentation proving that radical Islam has been waging war on the west for over thirty years is very important. Mr. Burton joins Ralph Peters and Bob Baer in keeping a light focused on this fight to the death that most of the country doesn't even realize we are engaged in. Having been stationed in the FRG during the period Mr. Burton describes, I remember very well the LaBelle bombing and many of the incidents he describes. What I've not seen, until recently, was how they were are so terribly interlinked. Mr. Burton provides a very unique perspective that I can't imagine coming from anywhere else.

I have to admit, this is one of the last subjects I thought I would enjoy reading about, but a friend asked me to read it, and after a few chapters I found it so intriguingly well written that I couldn't seem to put it down. If only History textbooks in school could have been so elequently written it would have made the subject a lot more interesting. This book definately puts an new insight into a subject I have never really thought(or cared) much about. I am thouroughly enjoying learning about something new in such an surprisingly enjoyable book.

I tried to resist after the first chapter...but after chapter two I couldn't.

The book's not only interesting -- it's so well written. The fact that it's written in the present tense somehow gives it a clarity, and you can imagine Fred Burton relating his story -- lots of facts, as objective as possible, StratFor style.

Very interesting read. Fred Burton was there for all the big ones. I watched the news, I followed the stories, but I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. This isn't a fast-paced spy thriller, but instead, an account of tracking down some of the scariest people on earth. I had a hard time putting it down. Well written and thought provoking. If you are interested in current affairs, military history, or real-world spies, you'll thoroughly enjoy Ghost. I'm not sure what the one-star guy was reading, he may have been trolling in the wrong genre.

This is a great read about the inner workings of US counterterrorism. How the bad guys were caught and eliminated. A fascinating look at a world few know about. Fred is a true American hero. Definitely worth reading.

"Ghost" is a excellent and eye opening read from cover to cover!!!
Fred Burton deserves our graditute and is a true American hero.
This book should be required reading.
Bravo Zulu Mr. Burton

A gripping book, made all the more profound by the author's deft use of imagery as the reader is taken along on a counterterrorism agent's life and career, from his time as a rookie in Maryland to his experiences fighting terrorism throughout the world.

Ghost is exceptionally well-written, giving the reader an authentic look into Burton's world -- complete with the interesting juxtapositions between his home and work lives. It is impressive that he and his agency were determined to "find out the how so we can prevent it from happening again" rather than focusing solely on the who and why in every terrorist attack. This, and the fact that Burton is clearly an intelligent, multi-faceted person willing to give voice to his feelings add a level of depth to his memoir. Ghost was accessible, vivid, and riveting - I read it in one sitting and am recommending it to my customers and friends.

This is a well-written and fast paced book. It provides an interesting behind-the-scenes look at terrorism and counterterrorism in the 80's and early 90's, without revealing so much as to seem indiscreet. As such, it makes a refreshing change from the increasingly common "kiss-and-tell" memoirs of many former government officials.
Its scope is fairly small, just a decade or so in the life of a DSS agent, and is told from his point of view, but it is partly that human element that makes the story so interesting and unusual.

A great read so far! Can't put it down and can't wait to finish it!

Ghost is a memoir by one of the founding agents of the Counterterrorism Division of the Diplomatic Security Service, part of the U.S. Department of State. Author Fred Burton reveals the sinister realities of the global counterterrorism game in a very serious, readable, unpretentious way. The book is devoid of the ego-tripping and grandstanding that a lot of these memoirs suffer from (i.e. books like "Jawbreaker" etc.).

Burton gives you the point of view of a working professional field agent, dedicated and patriotic, doing work that Hollywood thinks is like Jack Bauer but really resembles that of an unusually committed and hard-core local cop or criminal investigator. Burton puts the lie to the idea that effective work against Al Qaeda et al. is anything other than good police work. If you think the military should be the first line of defense against AQ et al., read Burton for the fuller picture. To beat the terrorists, we need guys like Fred Burton too.

The book had a lot of things that were new to me, including:

* the theory that the airplane crash that killed Pakistani President Zia was a KGB hit -- the Soviet Union's "farewell kiss" to the mujahadin as the Red Army withdrew from Afghanistan in defeat. Burton was the lead investigator on that case.

* how scary-close the world was to nuclear war after the Zia hit. Burton says that Pakistan, fearing Zia's death might be the first phase of an attack by India, put its recently deployed nuclear forces on high alert. The Indians did the same, and for a few days it was very touch and go, the worst international nuclear tension since the Cuban crisis.

* the real story of how Ramzi Yousef, the first World Trade Center bomber and Al Qaeda's first master of terror, was taken down. Burton played a key role in this first battle with Osama Bin Laden's true believers, directing Pakistani and U.S. agents on the ground.

* new, inside stuff on the Beirut hostage crisis, including the search for hostages William Buckley, David Jacobson, and Father Martin Jenco. (You really get the sense that Burton still weeps for them. You feel his frustration, and his rage.)

* how terrorists have occasionally been turned into effective double agents, used as spies in the battle with Hezbollah and other radical Muslim groups.

* how counter-surveillance programs employed by the DSS successfully uncovered terror attacks or assassination attempts before they actually took place. These programs, which Burton advocates today, saved many lives since the mid-nineties.

* Burton is rather funny in discussing how the State Department's details protecting international dignitaries often put Burton in the position of protecting foreign leaders suspected of mafia ties, terrorism, and other criminal activity.

All in all, Ghost gives a fresh, unusual perspective by a man who was in the trenches for a very long time and deserves our gratitude. The book is worth reading for its insights into the tradecraft of the working "terror cop."

Very readable, in its best parts a lot like a spy novel.

If you have ever wondered what is going on behind the scenes, read this book. This is a wonderful opportunity to see what effort and steps are being taken to make our lives safer. There is a reson we have not seen planes fly into buildings or a major attack on our soil since 911. Finally we can see our tax dollars at work. Simply superb!!!!!

If there is anything important to know about the world today, it's background on the Middle East and what has happened there, from its origins until the present. Watching folks ranging from the man on the street to high level politicians, it's evident that they have not often read their history on this subject. We need to know as much as we possibly can about recent history, too - without the wisdom of history, we just keep making the same mistakes. And nothing replaces live experience. So this book is not only fascinating in the usual respect, but something more. It is an important book. It tells us things from the perspective of a person on the ground gaining knowledge, trying to piece together meanings, to figure out what is going on, relating to us things that happened that we heard about but really did not understand.

And that's exactly where we stand ourselves - we are part of this world, faced with the need to know, to understand what's going on, and with never enough real life information to help us be truly knowledgeable. We are responsible for choices we make, for effects that "we the people" have on policy through elections, through actions, through our dialogue with others, through the way what we know affects those around us.

All the flashy spy movies are fun, the thrillers carry us away, but in the end, such escape and misinformation are all too often pretty much junk food - it tastes good at the time but in the end we remain empty. Ghost is a book that doesn't just entertain, but informs and intrigues. If it isn't the exact perspective as other books on the subject, that's all to the good. Human experience is not going to be the same. That's part of the point. Because each perspective has the opportunity to contribute specific knowledge to build up a larger picture. Ghost presents a straight-forward and clarifying picture of a set of events that are a part of a critical history of our struggles in the Middle East, and an opportunity to gain new understanding about this crucial area of the world. And recent history tells us we must learn more, and soon.

Look behind the "curtain" of media coverage on terrorist events and you can see a quite different world. This book is a no holds-barred look upon the reality of the late eighties and early nineties terrorism in the Middle-East. It is told through the perspective of a man who lived it. Fred Burton has some amazing stories to tell, and while I have not had a chance to finish the book yet, I believe that anyone interested in the real life stories of a real life spook will find this book one that they cannot put down. I don't know where the guy who gave this book one star is coming from, I highly recommend this book.

What an incredible book! I can't even imagine living the life of Fred, but I'll bet it's amazing to work for him. I recommend this book whole heartedly to anyone looking for a true behind the scenes look at how our country fights terrorism.

I've read several large excerpts from this book and it's interesting, engaging and topical. From what I've read, Fred Burton seems like the kind of guy I'd like to buy a couple of beers for as I listened to his stories. Many of the incidents in this book were ripped right out of the headlines of their day. Highly recommended not only for readibility, but also as a testament to a little-known part of the intelligence fight.

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