The Closing of the American Border - by Edward Alden (Paperback)

About the Book

Alden presents a provocative, behind-the-scenes investigation into the consequences of America's effort to secure its borders since 9/11. The result is a striking and persuasive assessment of the dangers faced by a United States that cuts itself off from the rest of the world.

Book Synopsis

The Closing of the American Border is a provocative, behind-the-scenes investigation into the consequences of America's efforts to secure its borders since 9/11. Basing his conclusions on extensive interviews with former secretary of homeland security Tom Ridge, former secretary of state Colin Powell, other Bush administration officials, and many of the innocent people whose lives have been upended by the new border security and visa rules, Edward Alden offers a striking and compelling assessment of the dangers faced by a nation that cuts itself off from the rest of the world.

From the Back Cover

On September 10, 2001, the United States was the most open country in the world. But in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil, the U.S. government began to close its borders in an effort to fight terrorism. The Bush administration's goal was to build new lines of defense without stifling the flow of people and ideas from abroad that has helped build the world's most dynamic economy. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way.

Based on extensive interviews with the administration officials who were charged with securing the border after 9/11, and with many innocent people whose lives have been upended by the new security regulations, The Closing of the American Border is a striking and compelling assessment of the dangers faced by a nation that cuts itself off from the rest of the world.

Review Quotes

"Opportunity for all, openness, freedom--for the past century, those three values have been America's gift to the world. In this penetrating, impeccably researched, and devastating book, Edward Alden shows how America sacrificed each one after 9/11, in a bid for security that has yielded far less than it has cost. This is a superb case study of how the conduct of policy can drift depressingly far from the worthy intentions that gave rise to it." - Edward Carr, The Economist
"Compellingly argued and meticulously researched. . . . The Closing of the American Border tells heart-rending stories of immigrants who have lived for years in the U.S. and yet fall foul to the system. . . . This is not the price you pay to win the war on terror. It is how you lose it." - Clive Crook, The Financial Times
"Alden's book reads like a case study in good intentions and bad effects." - The Wall Street Journal
"Compellingly argued and meticulously researched." - Clive Crook, The Financial Times
"A thought-provoking study that will leave you looking at our borders in a new light." - The San Antonio Express-News
"In this revealing and richly researched account, Alden describes how the Bush administration came to rely on the blunt instrument of immigration enforcement to carry out its counterterrorism strategy after 9/11." - Julia Preston, Foreign Affairs
"This is an outstanding and important book--well written, vividly detailed, and completely convincing. I've been waiting for the writer who would put together the full picture of what America did to itself in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks--how it changed from the country that attracted the world's talent to the country that detains, deports, and discourages talented foreigners who have no conceivable connection to any terrorist threat. Edward Alden now tells exactly that tale, and if enough people read it, it should change the way Americans talk and think about this issue." - James Fallows, author of Blind Into Baghdad