Book Review Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft Copyright 2006 Review by Steve Fritsch
On Wednesday morning, September 12, 2001, one day after the worst terrorist attacks in United States history, President George W. Bush convened his National Security Council (top-level officials cleared to handle the nation's most sensitive intelligence matters) into the White House Cabinet Room. The main focus of their meeting, though it was certainly multifaceted, was to immediately assess the damages inflicted on America by al Qaeda the day before and to develop plans to prevent any further terrorist attacks. It was perhaps the most daunting task faced by a presidential administration since 1861, when the Lincoln administration confronted growing Southern succession and the capture of Fort Sumter. Members of the Bush Administration were the major players at a truly pivotal moment in world history, and the world was going to be watching their every move and decision.
		.
As the meeting began, with each member of the NSC advising and informing one another, President Bush abruptly stopped the dialogue, looked directly at Attorney General John Ashcroft and said, "Don't ever let this happen again."
		.
Although Ashcroft admits he did not know whether the President intended the remark for anyone else in the room, he decided to take it "personally." Ashcroft, from that moment on, had convinced himself, "Never again. Don't let this happen again." The Attorney General would used these words as his "guidepost" for the rest of his appointment and "devoted" himself to an "intense, sometimes secret war with a mission many people thought was impossible: stopping terrorists from attacking again on American soil."
		.
Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice, is the memoir of former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, chronicling the period from his 2000 election defeat for the U.S. Senate through his four year tenure as Attorney General, concluding with his letter of resignation as "the nation's top law enforcer" to President Bush on November 2, 2004 (Ashcroft served through January 2005). Throughout the book, Ashcroft explains and defends the decisions he made regarding the David Hansen/FBI spy scandal, the "botched" execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, and most importantly anti-terrorism measures following the 9/11 attacks.
		.
Claimed in the book's dust jacket as the ''most controversial attorney general in U.S. history,'' Ashcroft certainly was the most polarizing and divisive member of President Bush's original Cabinet. His support and defense of the USA PATRIOT Act is still one of the most controversial topics in American political debate. Therefore, although Ashcroft may no longer serve in a government position, because of the decisions he made while attorney general he still remains largely at the epicenter of heated arguments surrounding how the U.S. should confront terrorism in the post 9-11 world.
		.
On the flip side, because Ashcroft is such a polarizing figure whose name was mentioned just about everywhere for four years after 9/11, many people seem to have had their fill of him and want no more (on both the political left and the right). Because of this, Never Again did not generate serious press for its revealing content and what the book tries to prove and explain. This is very unfortunate. Never Again offers information that is very difficult to find elsewhere in the media and it gives Ashcroft's first-hand explanations on why the Patriot Act is so important and why he made certain decisions while in office. The simple fact that Never Again did not become a New York Times Bestseller, and has continued to struggle in sales in comparison to other books on 9/11 and the post-9/11 world, only goes to show that most Americans have made up their minds on Ashcroft and no longer value his experience and expert advice. The result of this is a serious error in judgement by Americans because Never Again is a must-read book for any individual interested in why 9/11 happened and what must be done by the government to prevent future terrorist attacks.
		.
Overall, Never Again is a wonderfully insightful book, full of insider information and behind-the-scenes stories of how the Justice Department worked in the days before 9/11 and after. To those people who are interested in learning about the September 11 attacks, why it happened, and what needs to be done to make sure it never happens again, John Ashcroft's book is highly recommended.
		.